BIO-Europe 2008 VIPs Share Insights On Keeping Innovation Moving In Turbulent Financial Economy

ZURICH, Switzerland; CARLSBAD, Calif. and WASHINGTON --(Business Wire)-- The stage is set for BIO-Europe 2008, November 17-19 in Mannheim/Heidelberg, Germany, to be the largest and most productive stand-alone partnering event on record. On the minds of executives in the biotech industry is the current financial crisis and its effects on innovation and business. In anticipation of the conference, some of the most respected names in the industry, all featured speakers at BIO-Europe 2008, share their insights on how to keep the wheels of innovation turning in a world gripped by financial turbulence.

Bill Ringo, keynote panelist and Senior VP of Strategy and Business Development at Pfizer, comments that "The economic crisis doesn't change the need for increasing new product flow and access to new technologies. Therefore, partnering continues to be an extremely important component of our strategy."

According to BIO-Europe 2008 opening plenary panelist, Ted Torphy, CSO and Head of External Research & Early Development at Johnson & Johnson Pharmaceuticals: "Open innovation is coming to the pharmaceutical industry. The inexorable move toward partnering is being driven by economic forces within big pharma, the growing strength of innovation from external sources, and the worldwide commoditization of R&D expertise. These trends will fuel a surge in partnerships between the pharmaceutical industry, biotech and academia that will fundamentally and irreversibly change the model by which new drugs are discovered and developed."

Torphy's comments describe the industry's partnering ideology, which the partnering event, BIO-Europe, has helped facilitate for years. While many worry that a weakened economy will slow innovation Simon Moroney, keynote panelist at BIO-Europe 2008 and CEO of MorphoSys, sees things differently:

"The fundamental situation in the pharmaceutical industry has not changed. Big pharma needs innovative treatments to revive its pipelines and biotech is increasingly the source of these products. A challenging financial environment will only increase the need for mutually rewarding partnerships."

Fellow keynote panelist and AstraZeneca's VP of Deal Management, Strategic Planning and Business Development, Shaun Grady, provides a similar perspective of partnering for innovation during the economic downturn:

"The goal at AstraZeneca is to align all business development activities behind the delivery of clearly articulated strategic priorities, and the current economic climate hasn't changed the fundamental principles of what makes for a successful partnership. Where an opportunity fits a strategic need and offers the potential to create value, we expect to see partnering playing an increasingly important role across the entire value chain in shapes and forms well beyond in-licensing and acquisitions."

Opening plenary panelist Bernhard Kirschbaum, Executive VP, Research, and Member of the Executive Board at Merck Serono, says that his firm will adapt its approach to accommodate strategic deals:

"Partnering is an essential part of Merck Serono's strategy. It has been a critical driver of our success in the past and will continue to play a major role in our future. For us, the quality and the strategic fit of an opportunity always comes first. We have shown flexibility in deal structuring in the past to address the needs of partners and we are ready to adjust our approach to changes in the financial environment."

Now in its 14th year, BIO-Europe is the largest stand-alone partnering event in the world and the meeting place for leaders and innovators in the industry. Over 2,400 attendees are expected this year, representing over 1,250 biotech, pharma and professional service organizations. The conference is expected to generate more than 9,000 partnering meetings, and will showcase an international exhibition, 190 company presentations and a series of workshops and panels.

Notes to Editors:

Entry to BIO-Europe 2008 is free to the media, including full access to the partnering system, sessions, press conferences, workshops, and pre-arranged partnering meetings. Visit the BIO-Europe conference Web site at http://www.ebdgroup.com/bioeurope for detailed information on this year's conference and online registration. When you register online, please indicate in the comment field 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 BIO-Europe
BIO-Europe is the preeminent stand-alone partnering event for the biotechnology industry. Delegates from all parts of the biotechnology value-chain come to BIO-Europe to efficiently identify, engage and enter into the strategic relationships that drive their business successfully forward. The annual BIO-Europe partnering event draws over 2,400 industry attendees from almost 50 countries, representing more than 1,250 companies, for three days of high-level networking. BIO-Europe is organized by EBD Group with the support of the Biotechnology Industry Organization and European Biopharmaceutical Enterprises. For more information please visit http://www.ebdgroup.com/bioeurope

About EBD Group
EBD Group is the leading partnering firm for the global life science industry. Since 1993, biotech, pharma and medical device companies have leveraged EBD Group's partnering conferences, technology and services to identify business opportunities and develop strategic relationships essential to their success.

EBD Group's conferences are run with the support of leading corporations and international trade associations and include:

• BIO-Europe and BIO-Europe Spring®, the world's largest stand-alone life science partnering conferences, supported by the Biotechnology Industry Organization (BIO)
• BioPharm America(tm), EBD Group's North American partnering event
• EuroMedtech(tm), EBD Group's new partnering event for the innovative medical technology industry
• BioEquity Europe, the investor conference co-organized with BioCentury Publications and BIO

EBD Group's sophisticated Web-based partnering service, partneringONE(tm), is used as the partnering engine at numerous third-party events around the world. Outside of the conference format, EBD Group's consultants provide hands-on assistance for firms seeking to in- or out-license products and technologies.

EBD Group has offices in the USA and Europe.

For more information please visit www.ebdgroup.com

About BIO
BIO represents more than 1,200 biotechnology companies, academic institutions, state biotechnology centers and related organizations across the United States and in more than 30 other nations. BIO members are involved in the research and development of innovative healthcare, agricultural, industrial and environmental biotechnology products. BIO also produces the BIO International Convention, the world's largest gathering of the biotechnology industry, along with industry-leading investor and partnering meetings held around the world.

Copyright 2008 Business Wire All Rights Reserved.