This year’s edition of the top biotechnology partnering congress in Europe, BIO-Europe Spring, held in Barcelona through tomorrow, has become the most successful in the history of the congress: 1,061 companies, 1,800 attendees and 9,000 one-to-one meetings are proof of the expectations raised among all international stakeholders in the sector. Carola Schropp, president of EBD Group, explained that “these figures represent a 15% increase from last year’s congress in Milan” and they “show the draw that partnering has, which allows participants at BIO-Europe Barcelona to establish on average 10 meetings per delegate and 16 per company.”
Vice-president of the Government of Catalonia highlights event’s results
The inaugural event was held yesterday morning, presided over by the vice-president of the Government of Catalonia, Josep-Lluís Carod-Rovira, and the president of the Biocat Executive Committee, Manel Balcells, who were accompanied by Carola Schropp and John Craighead, director of Investor Relations and Business Development with the Biotechnology Industry Organization (BIO).
The President of EBD Group pointed out the important response to the congress and thanked the local organizing committee, headed by Biocat and the Government of Catalonia, for making this possible. She also thanked Josep-Lluís Carod-Rovira and Manel Balcells for their work in fostering this emerging sector.
Both Carod-Rovira and Balcells noted the enormous honor that holding this congress in Barcelona represents for the BioRegion, “it recognizes all the work both private and public bodies in Catalonia have done to make biotechnology one of the key elements of the economy for the future”, according to the Vice-president of the Government of Catalonia. Manel Balcells pointed out that “Catalan biotech companies have a lot to offer international stakeholders in the sector” and that “the organizers have been very successful in achieving such a marked increase in the number of companies participating in the congress compared to last year, despite the recession.” For Balcells, “the success of BIO-Europe in Barcelona is due to a number of factors: a committed regional committee, a large number of companies operating in the region, a capital city like Barcelona that attracts international stakeholders and the existence of an organization like Biocat that coordinates and dynamizes the sector.”
Most of those attending BIO-Europe, from 43 countries, arrived in Barcelona on Sunday afternoon and attended a reception at the Casa Llotja de Mar, where Xavier Testar, representing the Barcelona City Council, and Manel Balcells welcomed them.
The only downside was that the congress was affected by the snowstorm that hit Catalonia yesterday, cancelling the reception at the National Art Museum of Catalonia (MNAC). The agenda continued as normal today and there will be a reception starting at 7 pm at the Maritime Museum’s Sala Marquès de Comillas.
BIO-Europe Spring will end tomorrow at 4:30 pm, with record-breaking participation and satisfaction of attendees and organizers.
Dates: from 8th to 11th March 2010
Place: Barcelona International Convention Center (CCIB) • Rambla Prim, 1–17 • Barcelona (spain)
One-to-one partnering meetings