UK at Bio2004
The UK represents one of the world's leading hotbeds of biotechnology, and at this year's BIO 2004 it will demonstrate its stronghold in the biotechnology market with representatives hailing from more than 150 leading companies, universities and research and development institutions.
The UK represents one of the world's leading hotbeds of biotechnology, and at this year's BIO 2004 it will demonstrate its stronghold in the biotechnology market with representatives hailing from more than 150 leading companies, universities and research and development institutions.
The UK@BIO pavilion will highlight UK expertise in biodefence, vaccines, cancer research, drug development and more. The primary themes of the UK presence at BIO include:
•Biodefence - UK companies have developed some of the world's leading biodefence and health protection services. Companies including Isogenica and Acambis, as well as representatives from the Health Development Agency, will be at the UK@BIO pavilion to discuss the latest development of vaccines against infectious diseases technologies for the detection of biological warfare agents.
•Structural biology - Having been involved in mapping one third of the human genome and the discovery of DNA, the UK has an impressive history in structural biology. Companies including Aeres Biomedical, Cambridge Antibody Technology and Biovation
•Cancer and oncology -The American Cancer Society expects 1,368,060 new cancer cases to be diagnosed in 2004. As these staggering figures continue to grow, many UK companies are working to develop treatments and identify new cancer discoveries and inventions which could form the basis of new diagnostics, therapeutics or enabling technologies. Companies including Cancer Research Technology, Piramed and Pro-Cure Therapeutics will all be at the UK@BIO pavilion to discuss these latest developments
•Drug discovery - from conception to production -As home to one of the largest biotechnology markets on the planet, the UK has numerous companies that can discuss the process of discovering a potential new drug and then taking that new product all the way to market. Companies including Trigen, Argenta, Antisoma and others will be exhibiting at the UK@BIO pavilion and would welcome the opportunity to discuss further the various phases of drug discovery.
•Doing business globally - The ability to function globally often marks the difference between a successful and a failed biotechnology company. Breaking into the European marketplace is a challenging hurdle for even the largest companies. The UK@BIO pavilion offers an unparalleled delegation of UK businesses that can address the varying needs of Biotech companies looking to break into European and global markets.
In addition, Lord Sainsbury, the UK's Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Science will be presenting at the BIO Ministerial Seminar on Sunday, June 6th at 12:00 pm at the San Francisco Marriot and will be available for a select number of media interviews. Lord Sainsbury will be the first UK Government official to formally address the recommendations made in November, 2003 by the Bioscience Innovation and Growth Team (BIGT). The BIGT is the largest review of policy in the biotechnology sector to date and outlines the steps the UK Government is taking to secure its leading position in the bioscience sector.
Sir Richard Sykes, Rector of Imperial College London, will also be on hand. Following the November release of the BIGT recommendations, one of the first steps that the UK took was to appoint Sir Richard Sykes to head up the industry-led Bioscience Leadership Council, which was developed to monitor progress of the recommendations.