Bio conference success: it's all in the planning

A post-Bio 2002 debriefing session organised by AusBiotech and the BioMelbourne Network this week had one big message for future delegations - planning, planning, planning.

The debriefing brought together Bio 2002 attendees, including Don Brumley from Ernst and Young, Cerylid CEO Jackie Fairley, Michael Wilkinson from pharmaceutical construction firm Wilkore, and Dr Sandra Webb from Amrad.

Brumley said that in comparison to last year's Bio conference in San Diego, which was riding on the wave of the human genome project success, this year's downturn in biotechnology investment was evident at the conference.

"The finance industry goes in big curves, and biotechnology is seeing that now," he said.

Brumley said that the Bio conference was an excellent place to get a quick fix on the world market for biotechnology, as well as providing a knowledge update.

Fairley said that in her opinion, the most valuable outcomes of the Bio conference were making contacts for potential partnering opportunities. She said that while at the conference, she was having six to eight meetings a day.

But she warned that Bio was not a good conference for high-level negotiations, and that delegates shouldn't go with expectations of detailed business discussions, but instead focus on introductory meetings.

"I think it's something you really can't afford to miss, but you need to plan time to make the most of it," she said.

Amrad's Sandra Webb agreed with Fairley, saying that Amrad packed 22 partnering meetings into three days. She said that the opportunities for partnering were "fantastic", and now the company needed to focus on building the relationships formed at the meeting.

"Planning, planning and planning and good follow-up is what it's all about," Webb said.

Wilkinson, who was representing MiniFAB, an open source facility for microfabrication of polymers and plastics, said that the meeting showed the company that it had a unique concept in its facility. "No one else is doing what we are doing," he said.

During an open discussion after the presentations, Biotechnology Victoria's Alison Roy said that the Bio conferences were an excellent opportunity for promotion.

"The branding recognition is out there, people are talking about the Aussies," she said.

About 100 people attended the breakfast session in Melbourne.

BIO to sponsor AusBiotech conference

Also at the debriefing, AusBiotech executive director Tony Coulepis said that BIO, the US Biotechnology Industry Organisation, had become a major sponsor of the AusBiotech 2002 conference, to be held in Melbourne in August.

BIO is supporting the conference as a platinum sponsor, providing $22,000 to the conference, he said.

"BIO selectively supports events outside of the US and therefore BIO's involvement in AusBiotech 2002 to the growth and interest in Australian biotechnology and the developing relationship between AusBiotech and BIO," Coulepis said in a media statement.

"We believe that sponsoring AusBiotech 2002 will prove to be a big step in fostering industry partnerships between Australian and US companies, and between BIO and AusBiotech," said Caroline Ruggieri, BIO's manager of international relations, in a statement released by AusBiotech.