BioPartnering North America 2004 to Provide Excellent Forum to Facilitate Pharma-Biotech Deal Making.

Business Editors/Health/Medical Writers

BPN 2004

SOQUEL, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jan. 27, 2004

Technology Vision Group LLC (TVG) is pleased to announce that last minute preparations are underway for the 2nd Annual BioPartnering North America (BPN) conference in Vancouver, February 8-10, 2004. BPN will be held at the Westin Bayshore Resort and Marina in Vancouver, B.C., Canada, as a partnership between Technology Vision Group LLC, BC Biotech, BioAlberta, and BIOTECanada with the support of key industry leaders.

BPN is the North American version of the distinguished BioPartnering Europe conference held in London each October, which is a cornerstone of the annual conference calendar. Over 570 delegates from 334 various companies have already registered to attend BPN 2004. These numbers include 38 registered pharmaceutical companies and represent a total of 25 countries including Australia, China, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Italy, Japan and the U.K.

"BPN provides a wonderful opportunity for highly motivated representatives of biotech and pharmaceutical companies from all over the world to meet and discuss their next partnerships and alliances," said Mr. Hector MacKay-Dunn, Q.C., Senior Partner, Farris, Vaughan, Wills & Murphy Barristers and Solicitors. "We are confident that BPN's novel format and networking tools will help forge the deals that will make the headlines for 2004 and beyond."

The program for BPN 2004 is an engaging format of BioPartnering Leadership Sessions, Open House Presentations, and Emerging Company Presentations offering diverse information and networking opportunities. Full conference details, including program and registration information, are available at: http://www.techvision.com/bpn.

BioPartnering Leadership Sessions

Leaders from the financial, pharmaceutical, and biotechnology industries will address cutting-edge themes of interest to corporate decision-makers. Each year, topics are chosen to reflect the most pressing issues affecting the bioscience industry, and key speakers bring their experience to the BioPartnering North America audience. Each of this year's five sessions offer delegates the opportunity to better understand issues relevant to doing business in different parts of the world.

The first session, "Partnering Trends in 2004," will provide an overview of trends affecting partnering deals in 2004, with a discussion of specific case-studies. The panel will be chaired by Mr. Tracy Lefteroff, Global Managing Partner LS Industry, PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP.

"Building a Local Biotech Cluster Through Partnering - The Case of British Columbia," will be the second session of 2004. This panel will focus on the development of British Columbia as an important West coast center of biotech excellence. Mr. Hector MacKay-Dunn, Q.C., Senior Partner, Farris, Vaughan, Wills & Murphy Barristers and Solicitors will chair the session.

From Arnold & Porter, Mr. Julian Thurston, Partner, and Mr. Steve Parker, Senior Partner, will co-chair the third session, "Biotech-Pharma Dealmaking: Who's in the Driver's Seat?" This session will discuss the future of biotech-pharma dealmaking as companies big and small respond to challenging economic times. The panel will address issues such as survival, competitive positioning, power shifting and anticipated realignments within the industry.

"The Dynamics of Asian Deal-making," chaired by Ms. Barbara Kosacz, Partner and Head, National Life Sciences Practices, Cooley Godward LLP, will be the fourth session. The panel will be comprised of biotech and pharma executives who have been successful in making deals in the Asian market. They will discuss strategies for negotiating and partnering with Asian companies, with specific advice on the unique deal considerations in this high growth market.

To complete the BioPartnering Leadership Series for 2004, "The New Paradigm in Pharmaceutical Development: What We Need to Know About Pharmacogenomics," will be chaired by Mr. Bruce Schmidt, Business Development, Genome British Columbia. This session will bring together key thought leaders from pharma, biotech and academia to discuss the benefits and limitations to pharmacogenomics for drug development, and how this new paradigm will benefit the pharma and biotech industries.

Open House and Emerging Company Presentations

A hallmark of BPN is the Open House Presentations that in 2004 will feature 56 biopharmaceutical and diagnostics companies that give interactive presentations in specially constructed booths. Presenting companies are available during a 2-hour period for informal discussions with business development executives. BPN also showcases a number of young companies from various parts of the world in the Emerging Company Presentations. In 2004, 16 companies will offer 15-minute podium presentations in the main plenary hall. Each company will then be available for private discussions directly afterwards. To view a list of confirmed Open House and Emerging Company presenters, visit: http://www.techvision.com/bpn/presenters.php.

Produced by:
Technology Vision Group LLC

Hosted by:
BC Biotech, BIOTECanada, and BioAlberta.

Sponsored by:
Angiotech Pharmaceuticals, Inc., Arnold & Porter, AstraZeneca,
BioWa, Inc., Boehringer Ingelheim GmbH, Bristol-Myers Squibb Company,
Burrill & Company, Canadian Institutes of Health Research,
Cooley Godward LLP, DDB Technology, Farris, Vaughan, Wills & Murphy
Barristers & Solicitors, Genome British Columbia, Government of
Alberta, Gowling Lafleur Henderson LLP, Industry Canada / Industrie
Canada, Leading Edge British Columbia, Merck,
PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, QLT Inc., RBC Financial Group, Simon
Fraser University, TAP Pharmaceutical Products Inc.,
University-Industry Liaison Office - UBC, Vancouver Economic
Development Commission, Ventana Clinical Research Corporation, and
Western Economic Diversification Canada.

Supported by:
Acumen Journal of Life Sciences, Biotechnology Focus, BioWorld Today,
CCNMatthews, Contact Canada(R), Department of International Trade,
Euro RSCG Life NRP, Global Bioscience Partnership, and U.S.
Commercial Service.

Global Bioscience Partnership:
Alsace Development International, APBio, AusBiotech, BayBio,
BC Biotech, BIA, BioAlberta, BIOCOM, BioMelbourne Network, BioNova,
BIOQuebec, BIO-SA, BIOTECanada, Biotech Consortium India Limited,
CIGB, CIMAB S.A., Council of Great Lakes Governors - Australia,
Council of Great Lakes Governors Canada Trade Office, DIB, EBE, ERBI,
London Development Agency, Metro Atlanta Bioscience Council, Oregon
Biosciences Association, and Technology Vision Group LLC.