Biotechnica 2010: Presentation of Innovative Biotech Small and Medium-sized Enterprises

files/tlf_content/nachrichten/Foto_Biotechnica_2010.pngHanover will once again be the capital of biotechnology from 5 to 7 October, when Biotechnica is open for business. The new main topics and expanded contents of the trade fair were presented at a press conference in Hanover at the end of September. As a member of the press conference panel, Viola Bronsema, Managing Director of BIO Deutschland, informed journalists about the current state of the biotech sector in Germany and Europe and explained the most important fields of action for politics to improve the parameters for innovative small and medium-sized enterprises.

BIO Deutschland’s general assembly will be held before the official opening on the evening of 4 October. The board, the chairpersons of the working groups and the spokespersons of the Working Group of the BioRegions, among others, will report on the major activities of the last twelve months and on current plans in Hall 3a of the Convention Centre on the Hanover trade fair grounds. Afterwards, the Biotechnica opening event will take place. The Economics Minister of Lower Saxony, Jörg Bode; Toralf Haag, a board member of the Lonza Group; Peter Heinrich, Chairman of the Board of BIO Deutschland; and Maharaj Kishan Bhan, Government Secretary for Biotechnology at the Indian Ministry of Science and Technology will officially open the trade fair during a formal ceremony. The opening event will be rounded off by the presentation of the European Biotechnica Awards, which have been supported by BIO Deutschland for three years, and will be followed by a reception.

For the first time this year, BIO Deutschland will be involved in an information stand on the topic of “Biotechnology – Sustainability, Entrepreneurship, Progress” along with the DBU (German Federal Environmental Foundation), ChemBioTec and the three Biotechnica award finalists. The stand (Hall 9, C35) will serve as an information point for delegations, groups of school pupils and students, media representatives and the general public. The focus of the stand will be on the contribution made by biotechnology to researching and developing medications with fewer side effects, to clean CO2–reduced production processes and optimised agricultural products, as well as to healthier foodstuffs. However, the aim of the stand is also to convey the image of innovative biotech companies and its importance for the creation of sustainable, highly qualified jobs, and their role in safeguarding competitive economic power. The three Biotechnica Award finalists – Addex Pharmaceuticals from Switzerland, Apeiron Biologics from Austria, and Galapagos from Belgium – will be represented at the stand as examples.

The trade fair (500 companies from 23 countries) will be complemented by an extensive conference programme with international lecturers from science, economics and politics. These include John Dalli, EU Commissioner for Health and Consumer Policy; the US professor, William Haseltine, the founder of regenerative medicine; the neurosurgeon, Professor Amir Samii from Hanover; and the pioneer of trachea transplantation, Professor Paolo Macchiarini from Florence. The British researcher on aging, Professor Aubrey de Grey, will also present his theories on reversing the processes of aging.

The focus of the files/tlf_content/nachrichten/Foto_Biotechnica_2010_2.pngconference programme will be on preventative and regenerative medicine, molecular diagnostics, bioinformatics, protein expression and biotechnology in food production and food analysis.

The new specialised symposium, Biotechnological Innovation in Food, will discuss what modern biotechnology can provide in the manufacture, processing and monitoring of food. The event will deal with the application of new biotechnological methods in the production of food. With information on current developments in legislation, it is aimed at decision makers from all fields of food production who would like to pursue new paths and to make their product portfolio competitive by making use of innovative products. In addition, the specialised symposium will offer companies active in biotechnology insight into the food market and its limitations and opportunities. Experts will provide an overview and discuss the possibilities of the application fields, consumer acceptance and market potential. (BIO Deutschland members are entitled to a reduction of 10% of the fee. Further information is available at www.biotechnica.de or tel. +49-(0)511-893 1349.)

The Fifth World Congress on Preventative and Regenerative Medicine (WCPRM), which will be held for the first time during Biotechnica, is a further highlight. In addition to this conference, the international congress, bone tec, will deal with the regeneration of bones, cartilage, tendons and ligaments using biotechnological methods. The conference and special exhibition, Molecular Diagnostics Europe, is another highlight. The agenda includes automatic test systems for rapid and unambiguous diagnosis, particularly in cases or cancer or contagious diseases.

The previous focus topic of bioinformatics will be expanded. Bio-IT World Europe will provide a comprehensive lecture programme with an accompanying exhibition on innovative IT solutions for bioresearch.

The conference and special exhibition, PEGS Europe, will deal with new proteins against cancer and chronic diseases. This event will focus on new technologies and options for the expression and cleaning of proteins, as well as on the development of therapeutic antibodies.

Other topics include biobanks, forensics and funding options for life science companies. BIOTECHNICA Partnering will help with access to new business fields and the right partners. The career platform, jobvector career day, will offer new career opportunities in the life science sector.

For further information, please see www.biotechnica.de.

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