Landmark biotechnology event
Biotechnology professionals will soon be gathering at Biotechnica 2007 in Hannover

A four-prong strategy has been put in place to help catapult Biotechnica, which has now become an annual event, into the leadership position on the biotechnology calendar.

On October 9th, a new era will begin for Biotechnica, which is Europe’s flagship biotechnology show. Biotechnica will be held this year for the 15th time, and opening day mark an important milestone. Following intensive market analysis, Deutsche Messe and the Exhibitor Advisory Committee have decided that the event will now be held every year in Hanover. "The impetus behind the move to an annual cycle came from within the industry," explained Stephan Philip Kühne who is a member of the Executive Board at Deutsche Messe. "Decision makers in the industry prefer a flagship show which is held every year rather than a series of smaller events." All future Biotechnica events will be based on a four-prong strategy: the exhibition, an expanded conference program, a partnering forum and the European Biotechnica Award. Deutsche Messe is expecting more than 900 companies from around 30 countries at the show. Exhibitors will showcase their latest innovation, products and trends on 13,000 square meters of exhibition space. In 2005, 850 suppliers (581 domestic and 268 international) presented their products and services to more than 12,000 trade visitors.

Conference events

One of the highlights of this year’s Biotechnica compared to previous shows will be a significantly expanded range of conference events. The Partnering Forum and Innovation Forum (company and product presentations by exhibitors) will be accompanied by a series of events for professionals in the Conference Center. The German Technology Days will follow in the footsteps of the BMBF Technology Days. The Merck Functional Food Forum, the Biomass Forum (which will focus on the economic role of plants) and the Vaccine Development Days are expected to attract considerable interest. Other topics include white biotechnology, regenerative medicine and nano biotechnology.

For the first time, Deutsche Messe working in collaboration with the US-based Technology Vision Group (TVG) will stage a partnering event which will focus on drug device combination therapy. The program of events including talks, panels of experts, company presentations and networking areas will provide a direct path for biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies, investors and research institutes to identify strategic partners and discuss joint projects.

The fourth major element in the
new strategy is the European Biotechnica Award which will be presented for the fifth time. The winner will receive the 2007 award during the Biotechnica opening ceremony on October 8th. The three finalists are Bavarian Nordic A/S and Genmab A/S of Denmark and the English Renovo Group. agk