Leaders from the biotechnology and pharmaceutical industries
gathered last week for the 2nd annual BIO-Europe Spring partnering
conference. The conference was held in Madrid, Spain on April 7-9. In
only its second year, BIO-Europe Spring has become the second largest
dedicated partnering event in the biotechnology industry. More
complete coverage of the event can be found at
www.ebdgroup.com/partneringnews/.
The conference drew 1,400 delegates from over 850 companies from
38 countries around the world. These delegates engaged in some 5,800
one-to-one partnering meetings featuring over 1,600 projects. In
addition, there were 16 workshops and panel sessions, and 145 focused
presentations by biotech companies seeking financing, licensing
opportunities or partners for advancing their product development.
The conference featured a comprehensive program of panels and
workshops where many leading industry figures shared insights and
views on bio-pharma deal making.
During the plenary session on new R&D and Licensing Strategies
both Dr. Greg Wiederrecht, Vice President for External Scientific
Affairs, Worldwide Licensing and External Research at Merck & Co. and
Jules Musing, Vice President for Licensing and Business Development at
Johnson & Johnson, reported that their companies are actively seeking
partners to take on programs previously developed internally. This
news from the two big pharma companies promises to take deal-making to
a new level.
Conference delegates also packed the session on biosimilars, also
known as follow-on biologics (FOBs). After years of contentious
debate, the industry view is that expedited approval pathways for FOBs
will soon be established in both Europe and the United States. Even
some of the most steadfast opponents of FOBs have come to the
realization that their arguments of "Just Say No!" or "The science
isn´t here yet!" are no longer tenable. The panelists concluded that
the market perception of the benefits of an FOB will prove critical
even in cases where biosimilars are in fact "bio-superior" to the
original compound. The session was moderated by Dr. Ludger Wess
Managing Partner at akampion and featured Steve Usdin, Senior Editor
from BioCentury Publications who has covered the policy battles in
Washington. He was joined on the podium by Dr. Thomas Brennecke, Head
Business Development from BioGeneriX AG and Cecil Nick, Principal
Consultant with PAREXEL Consulting.
Carola Schropp, President, EBD Group, said: "BIO-Europe Spring
2008 has exceeded expectations for a large and dynamic partnering
event. Conference delegates from around the world sat down together
and conducted productive meetings. Successful partnering is about
creating and maintaining relationships."
"BIO-Europe Spring, like all EBD Group conferences, strives to
support the ´human element´ of partnering - the face-to-face contact
with potential partners to discuss licensing, financing and other
collaborative programs. The success of BIO-Europe Spring sets the
stage for our next event, BioPharm America(TM) in Atlanta, Georgia
September 9-10, 2008."
Delegate comments:
Elias Papatheodorou, Chief Executive Officer, Novosom, said: "I
have a lot of meetings here. This is a very good venue to become known
in the bio-pharma industry. And because it is a highly focused event
it is a great opportunity to update and refresh many contacts. There
is a critical mass here, yet it is not overwhelming, and provides an
environment for meaningful discussions."
Dr. Maj-Britt Kaltoft, Vice President for In-Licensing and
Business Development at Nycomed, stated: "I had 80 meeting requests
and there were only three that I could dismiss outright. The good news
is that I was looking at 77 potential opportunities, and the only
downside is that it takes time to consider and respond to that many
people. I selected 20 and set up meetings with the partnering
software, which works very well - it is fast and provides an overview
of all the scheduling."
John Hodgson, a founder and executive with Critical I, a
consulting firm specializing in the European life sciences, said: "At
this meeting you have people who are getting on with their business.
They are focused, they know specifically what product or service they
want to take forward and they are using the partnering software to
scan and meet."
About BIO-Europe Spring 2008
The BIO-Europe Spring(R) event brings together international
decision-makers from all sectors of the biotechnology industry, and
features the successful combination of one-to-one meetings, company
presentations, panel discussions and a lively exhibition.
Positioned as the springtime counterpart to EBD Group´s flagship
conference, BIO-Europe, the BIO-Europe Spring event continues the
tradition of providing life science companies with high caliber
partnering opportunities. The event enables biotechnology companies to
identify, meet and network with companies across the life sciences
value-chain from large biotech and pharma companies to financiers and
innovative start-ups.
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) include BIO-Europe, the world´s largest stand-alone life
science partnering conference (organized with the support of the
Biotechnology Industry Organization, BIO); BIO-Europe Spring(R);
BioPharm America(TM) (EBD´s new North American partnering event) and
BioEquity Europe (co-organized with BioCentury Publications and BIO).
EBD´s sophisticated, web-based, partnering service partneringONE(TM)
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 the USA and Europe.
For more information visit www.ebdgroup.com.
