BioWales event news

BioPartnering at the largest UK BioScience event outside Lonon

PRESS RELEASE

BIOPARTNERING AT THE LARGEST UK BIOSCIENCE EVENT OUTSIDE LONDON

Delegates have until February 1 to sign up for the BioPartnering event at BioWales 2008 - an opportunity for companies and academics in the bioscience sector to network and identify new business opportunities.

Organised by the Welsh Assembly Government (WAG), BioWales is the largest bioscience event outside London, and it takes place this year on 12 and 13 March at the Vale Hotel Resort, near Cardiff, showcasing the Welsh bioscience sector to an international commercial and academic audience.

And running in parallel with a free exhibition and conference at BioWales is a BioPartnering event that offers great benefits for business. The Biopartnering event provides delegates with the opportunity to meet potential business partners from industry and academia across Europe in pre-arranged one-to-one meetings, promotes expertise, and discusses collaboration and the take-up of new technology.

The BioPartnering event is co-ordinated by the Wales Innovation Relay Centre through its European network, and organisers are looking to build on last year's total of 350 one-to-one meetings, which produced a number of successful collaborations. One such meeting led to the setting up of Surgical Inclusions Ltd in Cardiff, a new bioscience company based on a laproscopic ‘knitting' device that was established as a direct result of a brokerage meeting between the University Hospital of Wales and an organisation in Oxford who have invested in the project.

Dr. Sharon Thomas, Healthcare and Life Science Specialist with WAG said: "BioWales is the signature event for the bioscience sector in Wales, and a key element is the partnering which puts people together to promote ideas and technology, and create business opportunities."

Dr. Ian Weeks, Director of Technology at Molecular Light Technology Research in Cardiff is acutely aware of the benefits to business. He said: "We, as a company, get a great deal of value from the partnering event - we made some particularly useful contacts last year. BioWales is a perfect shop window, and it's encouraging for Wales to use this expanding event to project such a positive image of the sector to the wider world."

Delegates now have until February 1 to submit a technology profile to feature in the event catalogue. For more information, and to register for the BioPartnering event, please go to http://www.biowalesevent.com/

BioWales 2008 also features an impressive conference programme with a host of world-class speakers, including Dr. John Patterson of Astra Zeneca; Professor Stan Roberts of Manchester University; Ron Peterson of Boots Centre for Innovation; and Professor Ruth Duncan of Cardiff University. There is also an exhibition and networking opportunity to share ideas and build profile

The programme themes for the event reflect the major interests in Wales - pharmaceuticals, industrial biotechnology and medical devices, and new for 2008 is a panel discussion on trading with the UK, to be chaired by Harriett Fear of UKTI, with the benefit of the experiences of major US and Asian bio companies.

BioWales 2008 will attract bioscience industry professionals and academics from across Europe, seeking licensing and business development opportunities, taking the opportunity to learn about the latest trends and developments in the sector, or simply networking to make valuable connections. 

BioWales is a key focus of Wales Innovation Week, a significant week for Welsh innovation and technology, with the British Female Inventor and Innovator Showcase, Conference and Awards at City Hall, and the inaugural Innovation into Action event taking place at the National Cricket Centre, Sophia Gardens on March 11.