Vienna to Host BIO?Europe 2009

At the closing of BIO–Europe 2008 in Mannheim/Heidelberg which saw 2400 life science executives engage in an astounding 10,250 one–to–one meetings, EBD Group today announced that next year´s BIO–Europe partnering conference will pay a visit to Vienna, Austria. The 15th annual edition of BIO–Europe, the world´s largest stand–alone partnering event will gather leaders of the life science industry at the Wiener Messe on Nov. 2-4, 2009 to take dealmaking to a new level. This represents the first time in the conference´s 14 year history that it will venture outside of Germany, and is testimony to the recognition of the Vienna region´s emergence as a robust cluster of biotech innovation.

Joining LISA VR in welcoming BIO–Europe 2009 will be the Ministry for Economic Affairs and Labor, the City of Vienna, the Austrian Business Agency and the Center for Innovation and Technology. In the recent years over 140 life science companies have been established in Vienna.

"The biotechnology scene in our region already employs nearly 10,000 people many of whom specialize in red biotechnology. Five life science universities, outstanding research institutions such as IMP and IMBA, international corporations with headquarters in Vienna for the Eastern and South Eastern European markets and numerous dynamic start–up companies have combined to make the industry a showpiece for Austrian technology policy," said Michaela Fritz and Eva Czernohorszky, Managing Directors of LISA VR.

Latest news from the Viennese emerging start–up scene offer proof of the dynamism of this young life science location. For example, Affiris recently secured EUR 430 million from GlaxoSmithKline for the rights to its Alzheimer´s vaccines currently under development, emerging company Intercell is close to market with its Japanese Encephalitis Vaccine, and Fibrex is a company worth monitoring after its positive Phase II results for FX06, a fibrin derived peptide for the treatment of reperfusion injury in myocardial infarction.

Vienna is home to the Research Institute for Molecular Pathology, the Institute of Molecular Biotechnology, the Austrian Center of Biopharmaceutical Technology, the Austrian Breast and Colorectal Cancer Study Group and the Gregor Mendel Institute for Molecular Plant Biology.

The University of Vienna, the Medical University of Vienna, the University of Natural Resources and Applied Life Sciences, the University of Veterinary Medicine and the Vienna University of Technology represent five of the universities with a focus on life sciences located in the capital.

Global life science players in Vienna include Baxter BioScience, Boehringer Ingelheim Austria, Eli Lilly´s Vienna School for Clinical Research, Sanochemia and Octapharma.

About EBD Group

EBD Group is the leading partnering firm for the global life science industry. Since 1993, biotech, pharma and medical device companies have leveraged EBD Group´s partnering conferences, technology and services to identify business opportunities and develop strategic relationships essential to their success.

EBD Group´s conferences are run with the support of leading corporations and international trade associations and include:

• BIO–Europe and BIO–Europe Spring®, the world´s largest stand–alone life science partnering conferences, supported by the Biotechnology Industry Organization (BIO)
• BioPharm America TM, EBD Group´s North American partnering event
• EuroMedtech TM, EBD Group´s new partnering event for the innovative medical technology industry
• BioEquity Europe, the investor conference co–organized with BioCentury Publications and BIO

EBD Group´s sophisticated Web–based partnering service, partneringONE TM, is used as the partnering engine at numerous third–party events around the world. Outside of the conference format, EBD Group´s consultants provide hands–on assistance for firms seeking to in– or out–license products and technologies.

EBD Group has offices in the USA and Europe.

For more information please visit www.ebdgroup.com.

About BIO

BIO represents more than 1,200 biotechnology companies, academic institutions, state biotechnology centers and related organizations across the United States and in more than 30 other nations. BIO members are involved in the research and development of innovative healthcare, agricultural, industrial and environmental biotechnology products. BIO also produces the BIO International Convention, the world´s largest gathering of the biotechnology industry, along with industry–leading investor and partnering meetings held around the world.