BIO 2003 Takes Industry to New Heights

WASHINGTON, D.C. (June 25, 2003) - "With record attendance, international media coverage, a keynote speech by President Bush and an unprecedented number of U.S. and foreign government leaders, BIO 2003 closed today with a new level of recognition of the contributions biotech has made to human health and the U.S. economy," said Carl B. Feldbaum, president of the Biotechnology Industry Organization (BIO).

More than 16,000 attendees from 55 countries and 47 states took part in the four-day conference, which included more than 1,000 speakers discussing business development, science and regulatory affairs, global health, bioethics and patient advocacy. The exhibit hall featured more than 1,000 exhibits. And of the 55 countries represented at BIO 2003, seven countries were attending for the first time, including Armenia, the Dominican Republic, Ethiopia, Kazakhstan, Luxembourg, Malawi and Mauritius.

More than 500 journalists registered for the convention. For the first time, a BIO television studio inside the Washington, D.C. Convention Center broadcast convention highlights to hundreds of millions of viewers in 60 U.S. and Canadian markets.

"As President Bush said in his plenary address on Monday, the biotechnology industry is 'advancing knowledge and relieving suffering.' We are honored that the president recognizes the vital importance that biotechnology plays now, and we look forward to working with him and his administration to further our mutual objectives," Feldbaum said.

The Bush address marked the first time that a U.S. president has ever appeared before a BIO annual conference.

"This heightened public profile should help our industry better explain the benefits of our technology to the public and help spur the needed investment to continue the vital medical research our member companies are doing to help fight life-threatening diseases," Feldbaum said.

In addition to President Bush, several other high-ranking government leaders were present at BIO 2003, including Health and Human Services Secretary Tommy Thompson, Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Mark B. McClellan, Department of Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge, and Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-Tenn.). Additionally, nine U.S. state governors were in attendance at the conference seeking to attract biotech development to their states.

BIO 2004 will be held in San Francisco, June 6-9, 2004, at the San Francisco Convention Center.

BIO represents more than 1,000 biotechnology companies, academic institutions, state biotechnology centers and related organizations in all 50 U.S. states and 33 other nations. BIO members are involved in the research and development of health-care, agricultural, industrial and environmental biotechnology products.

###