BIO 2000 Breaks Records: Most Successful Biotech Conference Ever!
By far, this was the best attended and most successful international meeting and exhibition the biotechnology industry has ever held, said Carl Feldbaum, President of the Biotechnology Industry Organization (BIO) which sponsored the event. The number of attendees almost doubled from last year, and we saw a dramatic rise in overseas participants and exhibitors. I want to thank Mayor Menino and the City of Boston for all of their help and cooperation in making Bio 2000 such an overwhelming success.
Feldbaum said that Boston lived up to its reputation as a venue for informed dialogue and spirited debate. Boston has a long tradition of spirited public discourse about the issues of the day. As our industry continues its phenomenal growth, we are recommitting ourselves to a new level of public education about the benefits and challenges facing this industry. Feldbaum said.
Conference Facts:
- Almost doubling registration from 5,700 in 1999 to over 10,280 this year.
- A rise in international participants from 1,650 in 1999 to over 2,000 this year.
- An increase in the number of exhibit booths from 450 in 1999 to 770 in 2000.
- More than doubling the number of middle school, secondary and community college teachers in an industry sponsored teacher professional development program. 110 teachers, a third of whom were from outside New England, participated in the event at industry expense compared to 50 participants last year.
- The largest ever Technology Transfer Forum where 124 scientists from more than 25 academic institutions worldwide presented their research.
- A free on-site job fair where a record 65 companies interviewed almost 2,500 prospective employees.
- The industry’s largest international partnering forum ever where over 950 meetings were arranged for representatives from 33 major companies to discuss potential collaboration.
- The BIOGENEius competition recognizing the top biotech high school science projects from the New England region. The Massachusetts Biotechnology Council awarded 23 local students scholarships of $2,500 based on academic and extracurricular performance and leadership. In total, more than $75,000 in scholarships were awarded to high school students interested in biotechnology, the highest amount ever.
- Creation of the Robert Swanson Memorial Scholarship in memory of the co-founder of Genentech.
- A highly successful global roundtable which addressed issues and challenges confronting both industrialized and developing countries involved in commercial biotechnology efforts for meeting needs in human health, agriculture, environment and industrial processes.
- Visits by 10 individuals suffering from debilitating diseases or injuries like Christopher Reeve, who told their personal stories and are either benefiting currently from biotech drugs or are looking to this industry for new treatments to improve the quality of their lives.
- 238.5 hours of symposia and seminars.