BIO 2010: Queensland fields strong delegation

By Staff Writers
Tuesday, 20 April, 2010

The Australian biotechnology industry is warming up for BIO 2010, to be held in Chicago from May 3-6, and Queensland is planning on being well represented at the world's largest biotech convention.

Queensland Premier, Anna Bligh, will be attending the show, as will the Shadow Treasurer and Shadow Minister for Employment and Economic Development, Tim Nicholls, to represent government and opposition interests.

The Premier will also attend the Queensland-Washington Alliance Pre-BIO Symposium held in Seattle, Washington, from April 27-28, to reinforce connections between the two states' biotechnology and health research sectors.

The program will feature experts in the area of infectious disease, vaccines, diagnostics and commercialisation of global health products from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Seattle BioMed, Infectious Disease Research Institute, Washington Vaccine Alliance, PATH, the University of Washington, Queensland University of Technology, James Cook University, Griffith University and the University of Queensland.

The Premier will then be heading to Vancouver, Canada, accompanied by the Trade Commissioner for the Americas, Peter Beattie, to renew the Statement of Intent with British Columbia to strengthen Queensland's collaborative alliance with the province and explore new opportunities within the life sciences sector.

Immediately prior to the BIO exhibition, on May 2 in Chicago, will be the Burrill Pan-Asia Life Sciences Meeting, which brings together delegates from China, India, South Korea, Malaysia, Singapore, Taiwan, Australia and New Zealand to discuss strategic partnerships. Premier Bligh will be on a panel at the meeting, which will be moderated by Commissioner Beattie.

At BIO there is expected to be over 100 delegates from Queensland, including several who will be presenting at the event.

Queensland will also have a significant presence at the BIO convention, with over 20 companies and institutions having presence at the Queensland Clinical Trials Network (QCTN) stand at booth 5720 or the Australia pavilion at booth 3748:

Australasian Clinical Trials Network
Australasian Life Sciences
BioAssayLink
BioPharmaceuticals Australia
Biotechnology & Medical Devices Industry Forum (BMDIF)
Brisbane Marketing
Burrill & Company/Queensland Strategic Partnership
Clinical Network Services (CNS)
Griffith Enterprise
ICMAN5
IMBcom
MediQ
Perkins Resources
TetraQ
Torrid Zone and Investment Forum
TRX10
TropLinks Inc.
Q-Pharm
Queensland Clinical Trials Network Inc. (QCTN)
Queensland Government – Department of Employment, Economic Development and Innovation (DEEDI)
QUT bluebox
ViciBio