BIO 2010: Pulse from the floor

It's day three of BIO 2010, this year held in Chicago, which has managed to put on some splendidly warm spring weather, echoing the sentiment from the floor that the biotechnology industry has weathered the harsh winter of the global financial crisis and sunny climes are just over the horizon. (It's almost like weather metaphors were made for the biotech industry...)

The consensus from the BIO exhibition's expansive floor - although not quite as expansive as in previous years - is that spirits are unquestionably higher than they were in 2009, when the conference was held in Atlanta, Georgia.

Then, there was the double whammy of the GFC accompanied by the spectre of swine flu, which combined to take much of the spring out of the delegates' collective steps.

This year, however, there's an unmistakable optimism, if of a cautious nature amongst the 15,000 odd attendees from 60 countries.

The meetings are running thick and fast, and while few details are publicly revealable, it's clear that deals are being done.

The Australian and QCTN pavilions have been well trafficked, especially during yesterday's wine tasting - shared between the neighbouring Australian and New Zealand pavilions - where delegates rubbed shoulders and clinked plastic cups with Australian politicians, scientists and biotech execs.

While there's still another day of BIO to go, most of the hard work will be wrapped up by this evening's gala reception, to be held at the Museum of Science and Industry - which should prove an interesting juxtaposition of 20th century paragons of technology, formed of steel and silicon, with the 21st century's offerings made from proteins and genes.

Biotech may have been hit hard in the last 18 months, but if this BIO is anything to go by it's well and truly on the rebound.