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Biotech Industry Leaders and Exciting Start-ups to Forge Partnerships at First Ever BIO-Europe Spring Partnering Conference in Milan, March 5-7, 2007

Unique opportunity for international press to interact directly with world’s hottest biotech firms

San Diego, CA, and Munich, Germany, February 7, 2007:  On Monday, March 5, the first-ever BIO-Europe Spring will open its doors at the Milano Convention Center (MIC) in Italy. The three day conference (March 5-7) promises to be exciting  as deal- and decision makers from across the globe meet at the pre-eminent springtime partnering conference for the biotechnology industry. 

Like its conference counterpart, BIO-Europe, which is held in the Autumn, BIO-Europe Spring will be an important focal point for companies seeking to identify new business opportunities and strike deals to drive future business. The conference, organized by EBD Group, will feature many notable industry leaders such as Rob Wills, VP of Alliance Management at Johnson & Johnson; Judith Hills, VP of Corporate and Business Development for Licensing, Europe, Japan & Asia Pacific, at Bristol-Myers Squibb; and Roger Longman, Managing Partner of Windhover Information.  These and other speakers will cover a wide range of trends, issues and technologies that are shaping the industry’s future

The conference will also feature a proprietary online partnering system through which participants can set up individual meetings with potential partners—thus providing an unbeatable opportunity for direct engagement between individuals from all parts the biotechnology value chain.
 
EBD Group, the organizer of the BIO-Europe Spring and BIO-Europe partnering conferences, expects more than 1,000 attendees to attend the conference—which should become one of the world’s premier international partnering events for biotechnology and the life sciences. Since 1993, EBD Group’s conferences have provided annual partnering fora for networking, sharing research and innovations and striking deals. Today, the BIO-Europe conferences are the largest and most comprehensive international life science partnering events in the world. 

Highlights of the BIO-Europe Spring conference sessions include:

• Rethinking the Biotech-Pharma Partnering Model: Will the whole ever be worth more than the sum of its parts?
  
  
• Next Generation Companies: With increasing competition for late-stage assets, pharmaceutical companies are taking a greater interest in earlier stage biotech companies.  In keeping with this trend, some of the most exciting early-stage players of the biotech industry will make their pitches to the conference’s elite audience.
  
  
• Pink Biotech, The Convergence of White and Red Biotech: New enabling technologies are transforming the industry and cost-advantages linked to disruptive technologies are already a reality. BIO-Europe Spring will explore how the convergence of White and Red biotech will play a key role in helping both early and late-stage companies overcome industry challenges.
  
  
• Future of Mid-sized Pharma: Globalization is profoundly affecting the biotechnology industry-- and especially mid-sized pharma companies. This session explores the unique opportunities and challenges confronting mid-sized firms and discusses optimal ways to navigate the globalization trend. 
  

Partnering System Goes Live:
The web-based conference partnering system is now live and registered attendees can access it at www.ebdgroup.com/bioeuropespring/partnering.htm. As at all EBD Group conferences, BIO-Europe Spring leverages the organizer’s proprietary state-of-the-art web-based partnering software platform. The partnering system enables all participants to quickly query a comprehensive database in order to identify and engage with many potential partners during the conference. The partnering system also allows journalists to arrange meetings and interviews in advance of the conference. Two-hundred booths will be available for one-on-one meetings.  In addition, a quiet interview room in the BIO-Europe Europe press office can be booked on site. Delegates’ meeting schedules will be made available on personal log-in pages on the BIO-Europe Spring website in the days prior to the conference.

Notes to Editors:
The conference’s press office will actively disseminate evolving news, stories, and conference themes to journalists. Entry to BIO-Europe Spring is free to the media, as is full access to the partnering system, sessions, press conferences, workshops, and pre-arranged partnering meetings. Attending journalists will also receive a complimentary delegate pack, including the complete conference handbook. Visit the BIO-Europe Spring conference website at www.ebdgroup.com/bes/registration.htm for detailed information on this year’s conference and online registration. When you register online, please write into the comment field within the registration form that you are requesting a complimentary press registration. Please fax a copy of your press pass to complete your complimentary media registration to fax number +49 (89) 23 88 756 - 55.

About EBD Group
EBD Group is the leading partnering firm for the global biotechnology industry. Since 1993, firms in the life sciences have leveraged EBD Group’s partnering conferences, technology and services to identify business opportunities and develop strategic relationships that drive their business.
EBD Group’s conferences (run in collaboration with leading industry partners and international trade associations such as BIO and Eucomed) include BIO-Europe, the world’s largest stand-alone life science partnering conference; BIO-Europe Spring; the investor conference, BioEquity Europe (co-organized with BioCentury Publications); and the convergent medical technology partnering conference, BioDevice Partnering.  EBD’s novel, web-based, partnering software system is also used at numerous third-party events around the world. Outside of the conference format, EBD Group’s consultants can provide hands-on assistance for firms seeking to in- or out-license products and technologies.

EBD Group has offices in San Diego, Munich and London. For more information visit www.ebdgroup.com or www.bioeuropespring.com for conference related issues.

If you are interested in attending the conference, or require further information, please contact: