BIO-Europe Spring International Conference Builds Value through Partnering

The first-ever international biotechnology partnering conference
held in Italy drew to a close today, after bringing together more than
1100 biotechnology executives, global and regional pharmaceutical
companies and financiers from five continents.

Over a three-day period, many delegates identified new business
opportunities and developed strategic relationships to further their
businesses in many parts of the world.

The delegates engaged in more than 4000 individual partnering
meetings, heard presentations by more than 120 companies, and attended
panels and workshops on a variety of business and therapeutic topics.

Conference highlights included:

-- The release of an Italian national report showing that the
country is quickly growing its biotech industry, which, today,
stands at 222 companies generating more than $4B in revenue.

-- Predictions that mergers, acquisitions, spinouts and project
funding will replace traditional capitalization models in
which investors finance companies from startup to maturity;
that biotechnology outsourcing from North America to the
Asia-Pacific region will become more prevalent; and that
methods developed in industrial and agricultural biotechnology
could, potentially, transform medical biotechnology.

-- A roundtable meeting at which the heads of North American,
European and other regional industry associations and
companies discussed current policy trends -- and the
importance of balancing the fulfillment of immediate public
health needs with commitments to future research.

-- The meeting, which featured a state-of-the art online
partnering system, was deemed a great success by attendees
from large and small pharmaceutical and biotechnology
companies.

Robert Wills, VP of Alliance Management, Johnson and Johnson, New
Brunswick, NJ, said, "The world is clearly getting smaller and it is
crucial that companies like ours reach out to cover the globe. We
recognize that there are a lot of smart people all over the world.
Holding a meeting like this in Southern Europe allows us to interact
with companies we might otherwise not know existed, and to determine
if there are matches between our work and theirs. One could,
conceivably, schedule 30 or 40 meetings over the three-day period --
which would, otherwise, take a year. By giving big pharma and small
biotech an international forum in which to interact, by all measures,
the EBD BIO-Europe Spring Partnering Conference has been a great
success."

Matthew Roe, Senior Director of Business Development for Genzyme
Pharmaceuticals, said, "EBD has achieved great success in launching a
new meeting in a new country -- and has made both the partnering and
the program a real success."

Andy Brookes, Senior Director of Business Development for Biogen
Idec, International, said, "As our company and the industry globalize,
conferences like this provide important contacts from all over the
world. We are pleased to take part in a conference with such a vibrant
atmosphere."

Harvinder Popli, Head of In-Licensing for Ranbaxy Laboratories,
LLC, a New Delhi integrated, research based, international
pharmaceutical company, stated, "We came hoping to find European
laboratories seeking to maximize their value in Asian territories. We
had more than 20 meetings and, as a result expect to partner with
several new companies. That is a very optimal outcome. This is a
conference that we would attend again."

For Ming Li, MD, PhD, Professor of Medicine, Chinese University of
Hong Kong, said, "BIO-Europe Spring provided the perfect opportunity
to meet with key business development players. As a result of our
meetings we have entered discussions with a major global
pharmaceutical company. We are very happy with this result."

Peter Trinda, CEO, Thymed GmbH, a German company providing immune
system testing, said, "We came to the conference seeking new contacts
and potential partners. We had thirty meetings and now have 4-5
serious potential partners. The partnering system worked very well --
and people were also available for conversations outside the system.
This was one of the most cost-effective conferences I've attended for
generating potential new deals. I will definitely come again."

Deborah Ashib, PhD, Molteni Therapeutics, srl, a spinoff of
Moltein Farmaceuticici located in Toscana Lifescience Park, in Siena,
Italy, said, "It is definitely a huge opportunity for Italian
biotechnology to have large pharma and the best-known VCs in the world
come to Milan, all at the same time. The conference's presentations
showcased the best biotechnology, innovative medicines and therapies
in the world. As a result of the partnering meetings, we now expect to
be able to raise significant funding that will allow us to more
quickly bring our innovative molecules to market."

Prof. Alberto Albertini, Director, Consiglio Nazionale delle
Richerche, Instito de Tecnologie Biomedicine, in Milan, Italy, said,
"This meeting comes at the opening of a new era for the Italian
biotechnology community. Holding the conference in Milan, where 70 of
our biotechnology companies are located, has given us the opportunity
to educate industry around the world about our work -- and to educate
Italian researchers about how best to bring their work to fruition in
the marketplace."

In the words of Carola Schropp, Managing Partner of EBD Group, "We
are pleased to have organized such a vibrant community of
biotechnology leaders from so many parts of the world. The deals and
consensus reached over the past three days will shape our industry for
years to come."

About EBD Group

EBD Group is the leading partnering firm for the global
biotechnology industry. Since 1993, firms in the life sciences have
leveraged EBD Group's partnering conferences, technology and services
to identify business opportunities and develop strategic relationships
that drive their business.

EBD Group's conferences (run in collaboration with leading
industry partners and international trade associations such as BIO and
Eucomed) include BIO-Europe, the world's largest stand-alone life
science partnering conference; BIO-Europe Spring; the investor
conference, BioEquity Europe (co-organized with BioCentury
Publications); and the convergent medical technology partnering
conference, BioDevice Partnering. EBD's novel, web-based, partnering
software system is also used at numerous third-party events around the
world. Outside of the conference format, EBD Group's consultants can
provide hands-on assistance for firms seeking to in- or out-license
products and technologies.

EBD Group has offices in San Diego, Munich and London. For more
information visit www.ebdgroup.com.