The 2009 Forum of the BioRegion analyzed the current and future situation of the bio sector through dialogue among noteworthy representatives from the sector. Specifically, the program featured two panel discussions on the main difficulties facing entrepreneurs (The bioentrepreneur’s black book) and the outlook for the future of the BioRegion (The BioRegion in 2015: a stage for the future). The forum also featured international expert John Hodgson, director of Critical I Limited and editor of the journal Nature Biotechnology, who gave a conference on investment opportunities in the biotechnology sector.
At the closing of the event, presided over by former president of the Government of Catalonia José Montilla, two illustrious figures in the sector were named “Ambassadors to the BioRegion of Catalonia”: Mr. Màrius Rubiralta, former secretary general of Universities for the Ministry of Education, and Dr. Joan Massagué, head of the Cancer Biology and Genetics Program at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center (MSKCC) and deputy director of the Institute for Research in Biomedicine Barcelona (IRB).
BioEmprenedorXXI Award
The Forum of the BioRegion also included, for the first time, the BioEmprenedorXXI Awards ceremony. This initiative helps launch new technology-based companies in the life sciences sector through a series of actions designed to accelerate their growth, as well as a financial contribution.
The initiative is promoted by La Caixa, Barcelona Activa, Biocat, Genoma España and the Barcelona Chamber of Commerce and aims to give participants access to the tools and resources they need to create and consolidate their company. The course is geared towards university graduates, researchers, professors, PhD students and entrepreneurs.
Sagetis, a spin-off of the bioengineering department at the Chemical Institute of Sarrià School of Engineering that has developed products to repair bones and cartilage, was named the winner of this award, which comes with a €20,000 cash prize. The BioemprenedorXXI Awards also recognized Better Care (first runner-up) and VetGENOMICS (second runner-up), which received €10,000 and €5,000, respectively.
Basic information:
Date: 3rd of December, 2009
Time: 9:15 am - 7:00 pm
Venue: Casa Llotja de Mar · Passeig d'Isabel II, 1 · Barcelona (Spain)
2009 Biocat Forum Program
