Biotech Leaders Return from Successful Mission to Italy

British Columbia-Canada Place

The goal of the mission was to showcase BC’s R&D infrastructure capacity, life science company opportunities, and opportunities for venture capital, private equity and corporate pharma investment to European biotechnology companies and investors.

"European biotechnology clusters are looking for collaborations and partnerships with Canada just as we are looking for the same on the other side of the Atlantic", said BC Biotech Executive Director Karimah Es Sabar. "Without presenting our capabilities and the activities of our biotech community in British Columbia to these interested clusters, European pharma, and investors, we will not realize the full potential of collaborative opportunities."

Minister of Economic Development Colin Hansen spoke to the British Columbia government's interest in creating global partnerships.

"In British Columbia, we have focused our efforts on building strong, globally-competitive companies that bring value to investors", Minister Hansen told the audience from Italy, Switzerland, Germany and the UK.  "With the revitalization of world economies underway, it is an exciting time to consider British Columbia as a place to conduct business."

After the program and networking lunch, members of the delegation had one-on-one meetings with several Italian biotech companies.  The following day, the BC delegation visited the San Raffaele Biomedical Science Park in Milan.  Read more about the San Raffaele Biomedical Science Park in biolinks' Global Focus section.

BC Biotech would like to thank Dr. Sam Abraham, Mr. Don Avison, Mr. Yad Garcha, Mr. Jim Heppell, Mr. Harry Jaako, Mr. Gordon McCauley, Mr. David Matthews, Mr. Andrew Rae, Dr. Bob Sindelar, and Mr. Todd Tessier for devoting their time and participating in the mission. 

BC Biotech would also express our appreciation to Sandra Marchesi, Trade Commissioner at the Canadian Consulate in Milan for her outstanding contribution on the ground in Torino.

Minister of Economic Development Colin Hansen Offically Opens British Columbia-Canada Place

Members of the BC Biotech Delegation pose in front of the carved doors at British Columbia-Canada Place. L-R: Dr. Sam Abraham, Mr. Andrew Rae, Mr. Jim Heppell, Dr. Bob Sindelar, Mr. Yad Garcha, Mr. Gordon MacCauley, Ms. Karimah Es Sabar, Mr. Harry Jaako, Mr. Don Avison.

A Delegate Checks in for "British Columbia Biotechnology – Bringing Value to International Partners"

Over 20 Italian biotech companies attended the "British Columbia Biotechnology – Bringing Value to International Partners" program.

BioPartnering North America Begins This Weekend

BC Biotech in partnership with Technology Vision Group LLC (TVG), BioAlberta and BIOTECanada looks forward to hosting the global biotech and pharma community when the 4^th Annual BioPartnering North America conference begins this weekend.

With well over 900 delegates from Europe, the US and Asia expected to attend, and pharma presence up over 50%, the 4^th annual BPN conference is proving to be as popular as ever, attracting key decision makers from the biotechnology, pharmaceutical and financial industries and providing the perfect platform for biotech companies seeking potential partners and business opportunities.

This year BPN will feature top level discussion and perspectives from big pharma on the state of the biotech industry today, as well as the evolving relationship between pharma and biotech companies.

BPN’s program will also focus on the increasing importance of India and Japan where new centers of biotech/pharma excellence and large scale markets have emerged in recent years.

The final program can be viewed at http://www.techvision.com/bpn/program/ 

As in past years, Technology Vision Group (TVG) and BC Biotech have a limited number of complimentary passes available for BC Biotech members to take advantage of this opportunity and attend the conference on Tuesday afternoon after 1:30 pm.  If you would like to attend on Tuesday afternoon, please contact Raman Bhullar at 604-602-5228 or rbhullar@bcbiotech.ca.

On Wednesday, February 8^th from 8:30am-2:00pm, BC Biotech will also be hosting invited industry leaders from around the world to hear their British Columbia peers tell their respective stories on how they have been able to develop successful biotech companies here in BC, and how both the research and business climates have evolved here to being highly conducive to developing and supporting world-class biotech companies.

Save the Date: 8th Annual BC Biotechnology Awards Scheduled for May 4, 2006

Please join your peers in celebrating the 8th Annual BC Biotechnology Awards on May 4, 2006. This year's event will be held at the Westin Bayshore Resort & Marina. Winners will be announced the week of March 20, 2006.  Nominations and ticket sales will be online soon. 

BC Biotech Partners with Nature to Showcase British Columbia's Strengths in Research

Naturejobs, the career arm of the journal Nature, is pleased to present a spotlight on the British Columbia. Appearing in the February 23^rd issue of Nature, the spotlight will focus on British Columbia's commitment to excellence in the biological sciences.  For more information on how your organization can take part in this special issue, please click here.

Record Attendance at Student Biotech Network's Career Fair

BC Biotech was pleased to participate at the Student Biotech Network's 2nd Annual Biotech Career Fair on January 18th at the Fairmont Waterfront Hotel.  Over 450 students attended to learn that careers in research, sales, technology transfer, finance and law are all options for those interested in the biotech industry.

Mentoring is an important feature of SBN events, and 70 mentors employed in British Columbia's biotech sector volunteered their time to answer questions from students and provide careers guidance.  The event also included a networking reception among exhibitors from the industry.

For a complete event summary with photos, please see:

AceTech Reception Connects Local CEOs - 14th Whistler Symposium Coming in March

AceTech's mission is to assist CEOs in building a network of peer support locally. In its 14^th year, their premier event, AceTech Symposium at Whistler will be held from March 1-3, 2006.

Over 100 CEOs from biotech, medical devices and technology representing British Columbia, Ontario and the U.S. are coming to Whistler to learn from other CEOs and world-class leaders. In addition to thought-provoking sessions such as "Surgery While Skiing: Managing and Crisis" by the Ex-CEO of Napster, the conference also includes strategic-level, sector-based roundtable discussions, networking receptions, dinners and a VIP sports program.

Biotech executives will not want to miss "Restructuring: Leading an Organization to Survive Significant Setbacks" by David Main, Past CEO of Inex Pharmaceuticals.

For more information and to register, visit The 14^th Annual AceTech Symposium at Whistler website.