 |
EuropaBio
participates in BioVision 2007
EuropaBio would like to
thank all members who participated in BioVision 2007.
In addition to providing visibility for EuropaBio, our
stand also served as a dissemination and communication
point for ongoing EU funded projects, including BiOiMACT,
Bioethics, Young and Innovative Companies
and Life Competence. We also held two press conferences
to launch our Green Biotech Manifesto and the BiOiMPACT
study and participated in a 3rd press conference on the
publication of It's MY Life. A number of members
spoke during the conference (see flyer which shows
EuropaBio Members speaking at BioVsion) and participated
in our Council and Board Meetings which were held at
BioVision. We welcome feedback about our stand and
participation; please contact Rebecca Weaver,
r.weaver@europabio.org
For more information, click
here.
It's MY Life
launched at BioVision
Launched at a press conference at BioVision,
this book by Simon Rozendaal traces the story of 12
patients and their energy and devotion to the research
of diseases and medical treatments. The publication is proof of the rapidly increasing, very
committed and very (pro-) active role of patient organisations
towards treatments.
For information on the book, contact
s.pingitzer@europabio.org.
EuropaBio launches the Green Biotech
Manifesto at BioVision
European biotech industry leaders announced the Green
Biotech Manifesto at BioVision on 13 March 2007.
The Green Biotech Manifesto is a European perspective
on green biotech and advocates five main policies to support
agricultural biotech in Europe.
For more information
click here.
EuropaBio's Secretary General speaks at YIC Seminar,
underlining the need to support Europe's young innovative
companies
The seminar, held in Stockholm
on February 28th, was an activity within the Specific Support
Action "Realisation of Young Innovative Company Status, YIC, for
biotech companies", supported by the European Commission. It
brought together senior European stakeholders to share
recent information and discuss further development regarding
different tax incentive systems which can serve to strengthen
the competitiveness of European high-tech industry. The focus of
this seminar was on the biotech industry. For more information,
please contact
Rebecca Weaver
at EuropaBio or
Per Vretblad
at the Sweden BioteknikForum.
"Policy should not be driven by panic" states Simon Barber,
speaking at a Friends of Europe dinner debate
On February 20th, Simon Barber participated in a Friends
of Europe dinner debate: "What should be the EU’s stance in
the global debate on GMOs?"
Europeans accept that industrial or medical biotechnology
can improve their lives, but they don’t necessarily accept
that green biotechnology can. “Europeans’ knowledge of GMOs
is very limited; according to a Eurobarometer poll, 50% of
Europeans think that if they eat GMO fruit this will modify
their bodies. But we have to face the fact that GMOs are
here to stay,” said Connie Hedegaard, Danish Minister for
the Environment. Click
here to view the report.
BiOimpact.org study
shows the benefits of
biotech healthcare innovation for patients and society
The new version of the study BiOiMPACT released
on the occasion of BioVision, the World Life Sciences Forum in
Lyon, shows new positive findings about the impact of
biotechnology on the treatment of a number of diseases that
heavily affect millions of patients: breast cancer,
cardio-vascular diseases, inflammatory bowel diseases and
chronic inflammatory joint diseases.
For more information
click here.
The Life Competence
database launched
at BioVision
An online database is now available for life science companies
to access expertise and and complementing R&D programmes. It is
also a tool for academic institutions for self-evaluation and
collaboration opportunities.
This project was funded by the EU with a project
consortium of Avedas, EuropaBio and the Karolinska Institutet.
For more information click
here.
1st EMEA
Workshop for Micro, Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises -
presentations published
All presentations held at this workshop
have been published on the EMEA website. To access the
reports, click
here.
Members interested in receiving a list of participants can
contact Rebecca Weaver,
r.weaver@europabio.org
Mid-term review of the
Biotechnology for Europe study
The study
involves an assessment of modern biotechnology and an evaluation of its consequences, opportunities and challenges for Europe in terms of economic, social and environmental aspects.
The
draft final report
was
discussed last week at a stakeholder's meeting. A
document from the Joint Research Centre, which will be
used to finalise the Mid-term review will be presented
on 20 April at a conference in Brussels. The draft
Mid-term review will be presented and discussed at the
same conference. More information
is available by clicking
here.
EuropaBio welcomes new member, Nature Works LLC
EuropaBio
is delighted to welcome
Nature Works LLC
as a new member of EuropaBio and the Industrial Biotech
Council.
http://www.natureworksllc.com
AfricaBio study on agricultural biotechnology
launched
at BioVision
In a study by AfricaBio, Professor
Diran Makinde
uses Africa as a basis to
describe the potential of biotech crops to benefit
developing countries. With the case study of agricultural
biotechnology in South Africa, Prof. Makinde emphasises the
socio-economic benefits of biotechnology. The study also
highlights Europe’s “go slow” approach to agricultural
biotechnology and its consequences for developing countries.
For more information click
here.
Report of the Press Conference on Advanced Therapies
on 27 February 2007
The press lunch with
representatives from all three institutions underlined the
intention of an early agreement and the possibility of an
adoption at a first reading. Dr Schwertfeger as Chairman of
the working Group in the Council, Dr. Mikolasik as
rapporteur, and Dr. Teerberger and Mr. Rossignol
representing the Commission gave their views on the current
negotiations and expectations prior to the trialogue
meeting. It was stated out that a consensus seems to be
possible, even discussions about more controversial topics
like borderline issues and hospital exemptions would be
developing in a good direction. Flaminia Macchia from
Eurordis, Gil Beyen from Tigenix and Wills Hughes-Wilson as
Chairman of the EuropaBio Advanced Therapies Working Group
gave their presentations and supported the idea of an early
adoption of the Regulation but made it very clear that
although it would be already quite late this should not
happen at any price. For more information, please contact
Stefanie Pingitzer on
s.pingitzer@europabio.org
Low level presence of GM in traded commodities:
food-feed chain industry coalition finalises position paper and
supporting data and plans next steps
GBE members and secretariat
took part in the two meetings of the industry coalition on low
level presence of GM material in traded commodities during the
month of February. At its last meeting on 27/02, the coalition
agreed on a joint position paper that details the issue faced by
the entire chain and gives supportive data to validate the
statements made. The paper will now be sent to the entire
college of Commissioners as well as to the key contacts in
Member States. Further to this action, all associations have
expressed interest to speak at a GBE proposed workshop at the
end of April on the topic of low level presence. The audience
for this workshop would be those same Commissioners
and Cabinets as well as Member States Representatives that will
have received the position paper during the month of March. The
guest speaker for the Workshop is now confirmed and is the
responsible Cabinet member of the Trade Commissioner. For more
information, please contact
Raffaella Colombo.
GBE takes part in Codex meeting on GM food labelling
GBE participated in
the CODEX meeting on GM labelling that took place 6/7 February
in Oslo to monitor and avoid a negative outcome of the GM
labelling discussion. This meeting followed a decision taken at
the last CCFL (CODEX Commitee on Food Labelling) meeting in
Ottawa 1-5 May 2006 to establish a working group on GM food
labelling to try to get out of the deadlock that this area has
been facing over the last ten years. The two-day discussion was
polarised with a group of countries against GM labelling
(USA/Argentina/Mexico/Canada) and a group in favour (EC, EU
Member States, Norway, Switzerland, Morocco). As the meeting was
coming to an end Norway put forward a recommendation on GM
labelling but after a heated discussion (the industry was
against this proposal) the working group simply decided to
communicate to CCFL a list of possible ways forward to be
discussed during the CCFL plenary meeting next 30th April in
Ottawa. For more information, please contact
Raffaella Colombo.
| March 2007 |
|
21-24 March:
World Congress on Industrial Biotechnology and Bioprocessing,
Orlando, Florida.
EuropaBio members receive a discount on registration.
For information regarding registration, please contact
Camille Burel,
c.burel@europabio.org,
For more information, please
click
here.
26-28 March: DIA (Drug Information Association) EuroMeeting, Vienna
Major EU conference for
pharmaceutical and biotech industry. For more
information, please click
here.
29-30
March: London Edge Initiative: Life Science
The London Edge
Initiative: Life Sciences showcases UK and international
quoted and pre-IPO companies in the healthcare sector to a
select audience of institutional investors, coupled with a
practical and relevant seminar for companies on how to make
the most of their quotation.
Both UK and international companies are welcomed and
places are
free.
To
register or for enquiries please contact: Tel: Mary Clark or
Halina Kukula on +44 (0) 20 7307 5340; Email:
londonedge.lse@capitalmsl.com
Fax: +44
(0) 20 7307 5331 |
April 2007 |
25-27
April: Life Science Companies: Managing a Turbulent Future
There is a need to
understand the interactions of diverse elements to better judge the impacts of
management and policy decisions-making in the biotech
industry. Bringing together
approximately 20 senior managers and policy makers who need
a thorough understanding
of this complex range of strategic issues, the course will
focus on a cross-functional, strategic management
perspective and will be led by industry, regulatory and
academic experts.
For more information, please click
here. |
May 2007 |
|
6-9
May: BIO International Convention, Boston
For more information and to register, please
click
here.
24 May 2007: BIA
Seminar on clinical development of novel biological products
The programme can be found by clicking
here. EuropaBio members receive the same rate as BIA
members:
£399
rising to £499 after 30th March. For more information,
please contact Lydia Harrison,
lharrison@bioindustry.org
30 May
– 1 June 2007: European BioPerspectives 2007, Cologne /
Germany
The third conference in this
format will again unite 18 major biosciences societies and
biotech organisations in presenting an outstanding
scientific lecture programme. Leading experts from academia
and industry will address a broad range of topics from
bioinformatics, biomolecular engineering, the –omics
disciplines, molecular medicine, systems & synthetic
biology, and nanobiotechnology to the latest developments in
bioprocessing and industrial biotechnology. For more information, please
click
here.
|
June 2007 |
|
4-6 June:
International Conference Renewable Resources and Biorefineries, Ghent
Researchers, industrialists and policymakers from around
the world will gather in Ghent for the fird Renewable
resources and Biorefineries conference to discuss the future
of renewable resources and biorefineries. For more
information, please click
here.
13-15 June 2007:
New frontiers in the quality of medicines, Strasbourg
This meeting will explore international co-operation and
synergy in quality standards; the perspectives for
co-operation and partnership with regulatory agencies, the
PDG Pharmacopoeias and industry; and an action plan for the
future with recommendations from industry.
For more information, please
click
here.
17-19 June:
Genomics in Business 2007, Amsterdam
Genomics in Business 2007 is an international conference
that explores the business potential of genomics
applications in the agro-food biotechnology industry.
Members of EuropaBio may receive a discount of € 200 off the
prevailing registration fee. To receive the discount,
complete the online registration form
and check the box
indicating that your company is a member of EuropaBio.For
more information, please click
here.
18 June 2007: BioFinance Europe, London
A pan-European conference on alternative finance
options for bioscience companies. Organised by
the BioIndustry Association (BIA), this event will bring
senior US and European financiers together with CEOs
from some of the most innovative bioscience companies in
Europe to explore alternatives to traditional VC and
equity financing.
For more information, please
click
here.
|
September 2007 |
|
16-19
September 2007: Symbiosis, 13th European Congress on
Biotechnology, Barcelona
For more information,
please click
here
|
October 2007 |
9-11
October 2007: Biotechnica, 15th International Trade Fair,
Hanover
The event will provides an opportunity to make personal
business contacts and offers visitors an overview of the
life sciences and biotechnology. For more information,
please
click
here. |
|
|
|
    |
