BIO VentureForum East Investor Conference Coming to Atlanta

WASHINGTON, D.C. (November 23, 2004) — The Biotechnology Industry Organization (BIO) will join BIOTECanada and 12 state biotech associations to present the BIO VentureForum East investor conference at the InterContinental Hotel in Atlanta, Ga., May 9–11. The event features more than 100 presenting biotech companies, nationally renowned plenary speakers, a series of workshops on biotech trends and strategies, and networking receptions.

“BIO VentureForum East will showcase the best privately held biotech companies on the East Coast, from Canada and New England to the Southeast,” said Morrie Ruffin, BIO’s vice president for business development and emerging companies. “Our association partners and an advisory board of leading venture capitalists will select the presenting firms, ensuring that the lineup reflects the industry’s regional and scientific diversity.”

“Bringing together capital and technology is essential for the successful growth of the biotechnology industry,” said Russell M. Medford, M.D., Ph.D., 2005 chair of the Georgia Biomedical Partnership and president and CEO of Atlanta-based AtheroGenics, Inc. “The BioVenture Forum East Conference provides a critical forum for growth by bringing together the most exciting private biotechnology companies and the leading life-science venture capitalists in the eastern United States and Canada. As a region of increasing importance in the robust growth of the biotechnology industry, we in Georgia and the Southeast are privileged to host this inaugural event.”

Registration and other information about BIO VentureForum East 2005 are posted on bio.org. BIO’s partners for the conference are the Biotechnology Association of Alabama, Connecticut United for Research Excellence Inc. (CURE), BIOTECanada, the Delaware BioScience Association, BioFlorida, the Georgia Biomedical Partnership Inc., the Maryland Bioscience Alliance (Technology Council of Maryland), the Massachusetts Biotechnology Council, the Biotechnology Council of New Jersey, the New York Biotechnology Association, the North Carolina Biosciences Organization, Pennsylvania Bio and the Virginia Biotechnology Association.

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.