How To Make The Most Of Attending Bio International 2013
By Rob Wright, Chief Editor, Life Science Leader
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By Rob Wright
In the January 2013 issue of Life Science Leader magazine, I listed My Top 10 Life Science Shows for 2013. One of those shows is BIO International 2013, which is only 10 weeks away (April 22-25, in Chicago). This leaves you plenty of time to make the most of this show — if you start planning today! Unfortunately, with events like DCAT Week ‘13, Pittcon, and PhRMA’s annual meeting taking place beforehand, the tendency may be to put off planning for a few days, which often turns into a few weeks. Before you know it you are hurrying to put together your schedule on the plane trip over, and probably missing some really cool tracks, or even some colocated events such as the Diversity, Inclusion, & Life Sciences Symposium. Don’t let this happen to you. You wouldn’t go to the grocery store without a list, or a board meeting without an agenda. So why would you show up at the biggest biotech event of the year featuring 125+ breakout sessions, 2,000+ exhibitors, and 16,000+ leaders from 65 countries without a well thought-out plan? So step one – register for BIO now. Step two - begin getting your travel arrangements and hotel accommodations in place. Step three – create your myBIO personal event planner. Step four – begin reviewing the tracks you find interesting, such as International Spotlights & Policy.
International Spotlight
The biotech industry is truly international in nature. And with 1/3 of attendees coming from outside of the U.S., so too is BIO International, which is celebrating its 20th anniversary this year. For this reason, when I begin planning for BIO, I seek to connect with folks I might not otherwise have the opportunity to meet, or get up to speed on international issues. At Life Science Leader, we have featured a number of stories around pharma and bio companies capitalizing on the emerging markets of BRIC (Brazil, Russia, India, and China) countries. Companies like Merck, Perkin Elmer, and others are positioning their organizations to capitalize on the growth opportunities these markets present. If you are a smaller company, jetting around the globe to learn more about these markets is simply impractical. Consider learning more about these countries via attending a session at BIO. For example, within the 11 International Spotlights & Policy tracks, there is one for each BRIC country – Brazil, Russia, India, and China. These countries view biotechnology innovation as an engine of economic growth. For example, the Chinese government has targeted biotechnology as a ‘strategic pillar’ industry – planning to spend 2 trillion Yuan (€213.3 billion; $308.5 billion) on science and technology in the next five years. Though the country is presently third regarding market size at $50 billion (1/6 the size of the United States), the fact that it recently surpassed the developed market of Japan should serve as a warning shot to both the EU and the U.S. Though these established markets remain a vital source of new discoveries and business opportunities, as highlighted in this article about UCB’s approach to winning in the U.S., the emerging markets are becoming increasingly attractive, especially as governments implement national strategies for biotechnology growth and development.
Emerging Market Government Incentives
In 2012, the U.S. National Institutes of Health biomedical research program budgeted $32 billion. If this remained constant over a similar five-year period, it would represent an investment of approximately half that of China’s $308.5 billion. Brazil, India, and Russia have also made the development of biotechnology an economic priority, allocating significant resources into its development. In recent years, Brazil has emerged as a prime investment location. According to a recent report by Burrill & Company, the country has had consistent economic growth, and an increasingly favorable business environment. In addition, the Brazilian government has set an improved legal framework for business models based on innovation and proprietary products. Lawmakers have crafted legislation that provides the sharing of intellectual property and other resources between public and private entities, thereby allowing direct support for R&D activities in private enterprises. In late 2010, the Brazilian National Medicines Agency (ANVISA), which is responsible for product registration, operation licenses, and import and export approvals, conducted a public consultation for the introduction of similar regulation to the manufacturing of APIs, introducing standard procedures similar to those of the U.S., EU, and Japan. Interested in learning more about opportunities for your company in the world’s sixth largest economy? Perhaps you should plan on attending one of the three Spotlight on the BRICs: Brazil sessions taking place on Monday April 22, 2013, from 1:30 PM – 5:15PM. Don’t put off ‘til tomorrow, but start planning for BIO today – so as to make the best use of your time at this big show.