TVG Blog: What's the deal

China Blog Series Part 1: One Billion Dollars — One Year Later

This is part 1 of a 4 part blog series featuring the growth, challenges and predictions for China’s emerging life science industry:

During his visit to China in November of 2009, Novartis Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Daniel Vasella made a stunning announcement: Novartis would commit USD 1 billion to expand and upgrade its Shanghai laboratory facilities to create the China Novartis Institute for BioMedical Research (CNIBR) in Shanghai. The facility joined NIBR institutes in Basel and Cambridge (Massachusetts) as Novartis’ third major international research facility. A number of multinational pharmaceutical companies have established R&D centers in China over the past several years, but many of these have essentially been low cost development outsourcing operating under company flags. In addition to being an order of magnitude larger than any past R&D commitment to China, Novartis indicated that the CNIBR would constitute the “third pillar” of the company’s global R&D efforts. Pharmaceutical research in China has come a long way over a comparatively short period of time — from early days of disorganization at the turn of the millennium to the rapid expansion of CRO/outsourcing services over the past five years and now the largest ever commitment to China R&D to date. Did the Novartis investment signal the next stage in the evolution of Chinese innovative pharmaceutical R&D? And, what will be the ongoing impact of this investment on the sector as a whole?

As recently as 2002, the China R&D landscape resembled “primordial soup” plenty of energy and potential, but little in the way of organization or scale. In these early days, hundreds of biotech companies struggled with mixed models — attempting to subsidize drug discovery (or even generic development) with services to other biotechs, universities, and pharmaceutical companies. Institutes competed with and were often indistinguishable from companies for outsourcing work and discovery capital. Quality was highly variable, even within the same laboratories at different times. Most biotech companies themselves did not know what other companies were in the same space. When asking multinational pharmaceutical firms about the R&D landscape in China, the common reply was an incredulous question, “there is R&D in China?”

Multinationals’ interactions with China’s R&D landscape at this time were directed out of headquarters, with only small earlier stage cooperation with institutes and companies. While clinical trial outsourcing had taken place for some time (and with a varying amount of sophistication), chemical synthesis outsourcing was rare, animal studies practically nonexistent, and molecular biology experiments at tiny scale.

The Past Decade
While the commercial organizations of most major MNC pharmas have been on the ground in China for some time, most R&D divisions did not take serious notice of China until the emergence of chemistry and clinical trial CROs offering viable low-cost drug development solutions in the early years after the beginning of the millennium. Overseas listings of Chinese R&D service providers, the arrival of foreign CROs in both WOFE and JV form, and the expansion of offerings along the drug development value chain to include biology and preclinical/animal services have all served to raise the profile of the sector and attract increasing shares of pharma R&D budgets.

Early R&D Investments: Outsourcing by another name
Beginning with Lilly’s partnership with ChemExplorer and the opening of their Zhangjiang facility in 2003, many early R&D facility investments by MNC pharmas in China were part of off-shoring drug development strategies with little expectation (or capability) of producing a made-in-China novel drug. Pfizer’s China Research and Development Center, which opened with much fanfare in Shanghai in October 2005 with a planned investment of USD 25 million, is another example of this early model. While the China Research and Development Center name may suggest broad drug R&D functions, the center’s main functions have largely been statistical and biometric support of global clinical trials as well as in-house GCP training.

- Dr. Jon Zifferblatt
Managing Director, General Biologic

About General Biologic
GBI is an information and professional services firm founded in China in 2002. With more than 30 professionals in Shanghai, our business is providing critical data and advice covering China’s pharmaceutical, biotechnology, and healthcare industries. Our goal is to create a transparent operating environment for our clients, and provide the insights into the competitive landscape they need in order to capitalize on the tremendous opportunities available in China. Our clients depend on the news, data, and analytics we provide to make informed decisions every day. GBI’s clients include most multinational pharmaceutical companies and a leading group of biotechnology companies, healthcare companies, investors, consultants, law firms and financial analysts. For more information, please visit http://www.gbipharma.com/.

A Shifting Paradigm?

I’ve just returned from Brazil, where I spoke at the BioPartnering Latin America conference about the value of alliances across industry and nonprofit groups in addressing global health needs. What struck me about this meeting—and those who attended—is the increasing acceleration of interest in and commitment to partnerships in the emerging market countries by large pharma and biotech companies.

The attendance at this meeting was virtually a who’s who of Big Pharma—Merck, Astra Zeneca, Pfizer and many other big companies, as well as biotech companies like Genzyme—that are all looking for partnership opportunities. One of the companies’ goals is to have 25% of total sales come from emerging markets within five years (from 5% only a few years ago and 15% today).

What is clear is that Brazil specifically, and the emerging markets in general, represent far more than just a “market” or revenue opportunity. In addition to their growing economies, many of these countries offer patient populations for clinical trials (as the U.S./EU areas become saturated and harder to identify qualified and willing patients), infrastructure generally and manufacturing specifically, rising awareness and protection of intellectual property, and increased willingness to apply resources (read: money) toward not only purchasing, but also researching and developing new therapies, vaccines, and diagnostics.

This interest in emerging markets — as the developed world markets reach peak maturity and pipelines (for now) are not as productive as industry would like — is of course not new. And the enhanced capabilities in these countries are not as fully developed as both locals and big companies would prefer, but the trend is clear, and continuing.

From BIO Ventures for Global Health’s point of view, we see this momentum as very positive, in two respects. First, the rising clout of emerging markets speaks well for the increasingly close relationships of industry with partners in these countries. Second, and more importantly for our mission, these relationships can provide an increase in resources, opportunity, and awareness of neglected diseases in these countries. In relative terms, these are much larger problems than in the developed world and can become higher priorities in the developed world. In other words, as we grow closer, our partners problems become our problems.

At the Brazilian conference I attended, words like “innovation,” “world-class science and technology,” and “partnering” (as opposed to more one-sided relationships) were the words of the day. Sounds like a typical U.S., European, or Japanese partnering session. This can only be beneficial for the global health needs of patients in emerging countries and their neighbors as relationships grow, mutual needs are exchanged, and solutions pursued.

- Don Joseph
Chief Operating Officer, BIO Ventures for Global Health

About BIO Ventures for Global Health
BIO Ventures for Global Health is a non-profit organization whose mission is to save lives by accelerating the development of novel biotechnology-based drugs, vaccines, and diagnostics to address the unmet medical needs of the developing world. The organization spurs biotech industry involvement in global health product development by increasing biotech and global health partnerships, designing and advocating for compelling market-based incentives, and synthesizing and disseminating critical information and quantitative analysis. For more information, please visit http://www.bvgh.org.

Australian Biotech Companies are Attracting Attention on the World Stage

The biotech industry globally is showing resilience despite challenging conditions, especially in accessing capital, to continue their journey through research and development to creating global solutions. Australian biotech companies are increasingly attracting attention on the world stage.

Australia’s number of listed biotech companies has grown from 30 in 1999 to 112 a decade later. In comparison the US has within the realm of 330. The Australian biotechnology sector ranks sixth in the world and in the past months has seen some milestone announcements, such as Acrux’s AUD $366.7 million deal with Eli Lilly for the commercialisation of its Axiron treatment.

The global financial crisis has seen more Australian biotechnology companies looking toward alternative methods of financing to capitalise on global opportunities. Australian public companies are increasingly attracting international investment from US and European companies through creative methods of financing.

In the current economic climate, investors are looking for higher, alternative sources of income. Creative funding, including hybrid investments, royalty investments and debt equity investments, provide companies with flexible and less expensive sources of capital to fund their commercialisation or development efforts. Interest in traditional forms of capital is waning during these tough economic times. Smart biotechnology companies are revaluating their finance options and increasingly taking a more creative approach, with excellent results.

Creative global investors will outline new developments and innovative financing options from an international perspective at the year’s industry conference for Australia and Asia Pacific AusBiotech 2010. The conference attracts over 1400 delegates from across the world each year and is renowned for its agenda-setting programs, significant business analysis and world-class Business Matching Program.

Immediately preceding the conference, AusBiotech will host a showcase of local companies at the Australasian Life Science Investment Summit 2010 - providing a one-stop shop for investing in the region. The event provides a snapshot of 40 local biotechnology companies; featuring 20 late-stage companies and 20 of the most promising early-stage companies and giving investors one day of summit program followed by three days of conference program.

Last year’s event was the largest of its kind in this part of the world, with more than 100 investors attending, representing 85 different companies; 32 of which were international participants. The summit attracted a wonderful mix of expertise from national and international investors, including angel investors, venture capitalists, fund managers, investment bankers and representatives of superannuation funds. Venture capital arms of the major pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies from Australia, the Asia Pacific region, North America and Europe also attended.

Australasian Life Science Investment Summit, 19 October 2010
Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
http://ausbiotech2010.com.au/alsis-home

AusBiotech 2010 National Conference, 20 - 22 October 2010
Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
http://ausbiotech2010.com.au/

I hope to see you in Australia in October!

Dr. Anna Lavelle
CEO, AusBiotech

About AusBiotech
AusBiotech is Australia’s biotechnology industry organisation, which represents over 3,000 members, covering the human health, agricultural, medical device, bioinformatics, environmental and industrial sectors in biotechnology.

Latin America is Now Becoming a Reality

The worldwide life science community has been witnessing the emergence of many new biobusiness hotspots and the fast movement towards a truly global biotechnology industry. In this scenario, technology, people and capital will continue to be key success factors alongside the ability to leverage strategic partnerships and alliances, without borders. Latin America is well placed to be a major player and partner in building global value in the biobusiness arena.

Life sciences in Latin America is now becoming a reality. After 20 years following and analyzing the market, especially in Brazil, what we see is a very positive scenario:

• Innovation - There is a rapidly growing community of start-ups founded by highly qualified scientists
• Financing - Start-ups are financed in the initial phases by governmental programs that have become available in the last few years
• Large Companies - Large pharma and others are now investing and partnering with innovative projects in the region

From abroad, we see — and support them in our consulting area — more and more large pharmaceutical, industrial and agro companies looking for projects and partners, and medium/small companies looking to capitalize on the opportunities in the region. All of these groups seem to be happy with what they find here: good science, a better regulatory environment and strong support from governments.

The Brazilian life science industry has experienced an unparalleled growth rate: 80 new companies were created in the past 5 years. This is not, however, an arbitrary phenomenon, but rather the confluence of government support and political will, a mature scientific community and a blooming venture capital industry. Although a bright future lies ahead, the country is already yielding good results and success cases.

In 2008, the Brazilian life science industry generated an estimated amount of US$ 400 million in revenue and US$ 55.5 million in profits. The country’s achievements in renewable fuels and agricultural biotechnology have attracted many investors and multinational companies, leading to an increasing number of acquisitions and partnering deals in the past couple of years. The global economic crisis has also had a positive impact, reducing the traditional focus on US-Europe towards emerging countries.

What’s happening today in Latin America, what are tomorrow’s opportunities? Join me and other life science leaders from Latin America and around the globe at the 1st Annual BioPartnering Latin America, 19-21 September, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

I’ll see you in Rio this September!

Eduardo Emrich Soares
President
Biominas Brasil

About Biominas Brasil
Biominas is a company dedicated to create and develop life science companies in Brazil. Established in 1990, Biominas is recognized as the most successful institution acting on the support of new life science ventures in Brazil.

We support companies during their entire lifecycle from inception to mature development, offering specialized services such as analysis of business opportunities, identification of potential strategic partners, capital raising and counseling on regulatory affairs and intellectual property. We seek international markets for local companies as well as advise companies in the Latin American market.

What can the Old Spice Guy do for Biotech?

One of the most successful social media campaigns to date has just made its run — and Old Spice is suddenly hip again. Those hilarious Old Spice Guy YouTube videos, corresponding Tweets, and 183 personal video responses posted on YouTube in a span of three days have vigorously turned the brand around.

The campaign fueled Old Spice brand awareness with new audiences and led to a shocking sales increase of 107% in the past month alone!

So, what has made this campaign so successful and what can biotech and pharma learn from it? Here are a few reasons why we think it worked so well:

Conversation
The real key to the Old Spice campaign was that it responded to its audience in a conversational (and entertaining way). The ads debuted on TV driving people to social channels - Twitter and YouTube, and then continued with video responses addressed to the most provocative or interesting questions from the audience to keep interest high. What is clear is that response is critical; it benefits from creative delivery, and ensures that your customers know they have been heard.

Cross Media Integration
The initial TV spots were re-distributed through their YouTube channel garnering over 11M views and amplifying the original campaign. The Old Spice Facebook page received 747,000 likes and Twitter won 95,000 followers. Questions submitted through Twitter were then converted into 183 personal video responses from the Old Spice guy to each individual. It is crucial to be able to respond to your followers where they are and give plenty opportunity for them to find you across all media.

Audience Targeting
Know where your audiences are and what their behaviors are. This campaign spoke to women who strongly influence men’s purchase behavior. Who is influential in your market? How can you get your message in front of them? It may not always be whom you think!

The campaign’s success was based in establishing a direct and meaningful connection with the audience. Whether speaking to patients, investors or partners, it is crucial to have a real conversation and encourage engagement.

Barbara Lavery
President, Zoomedia

About Zoomedia
In 1994 Zoomedia first brought interactive media to the life science industry. Today, we are an industry leader - an industry insider with a deep understanding of what drives your business — and a full-service agency that can translate that understanding into effective communication and success for our clients. What makes us special? Our dedication to patients, our commitment to our clients, our powerful technology solutions, and our unmatched understanding of strategic online programs.

Biotech Innovation Will Find a Way

As our team prepares for our Annual BioPartnering Europe conference in October, I find myself knee-deep in European biotech industry reports, BioCluster maps, newsletters, industry journals, news and analysis. Every communication piece and organization takes a slightly different angle on summing up the current state and future viability of our industry, but I am finding a common thread in each.

Considerable Opportunity
All parties tend to agree that biotech innovation is key to future economic growth and sustainable living not only in Europe but around the globe. In an annual report on the state of the European biotech industry, EuropaBio puts it this way;

“No other industrial sector sits as comfortably as biotech at the intersection of enhancement of quality of life, knowledge, innovation, productivity and environmental protection. From new healthcare products that can address unmet medical needs and fight epidemics and rare diseases to industrial processes that use renewable feedstocks instead of crude oil, to drought-resistant crops that allow farmers in Africa to feed more people under ever-harsher climatic conditions, biotechnology can and will pay economic, social and environmental dividends.”

Unfortunately, the story doesn’t end here. Although the opportunities are promising there is opposition and it looks fierce.

Fierce Opposition
The EuropaBio annual report goes on to explain how in response to troubled economic times, the industry’s challenge will be to innovate and grow at a time when the demand to cut costs is overwhelming. How do you cut back and grow at the same time?

Suggested Reading:

• Reframers Unleash Innovation in Their Companies
• Leadership in the Age of Scarcity
• How To Ignite Creative Leadership In Your Organization

Hurry up and slow down! This is the situation our industry finds itself in. At our C21 BioVentures conference in May, I had the opportunity to sit in on the keynote presentation offered by industry pioneer Fred Frank. Fred offered an accurate but sobering diagnosis of our industry in his keynote address titled “En Fin: The Middle Scene of the Long Biotech Drama is Here” (click here to download the audio). The most innovative people in our industry are being laid off by the thousands and some of the most promising companies don’t have enough cash to carry them through the end of the year. If we allow it, all of this “bad news” can really get us stuck.

Worth Fighting For?
When we as individuals and organizations get pressed beyond our normal level of comfort it forces us to acknowledge the threat and give it a response. We commonly refer to our human reaction to these overwhelming situations as “fight or flight”. What will it be for you? I say we fight! No, don’t fight each other. Let’s fight for a sustainable economy, the health of our respective organizations, the livelihood of our families, friends and neighbors. If nothing else, fight for the sake of living rather than surrendering to worry, fear and blame.

One of my favorite quotes is from the movie Jurassic Park. In the movie Jeff Goldblum plays the quirky role of Dr. Ian Malcolm, a mathematician and chaos theorist. Dr. Malcolm is questioning the the park staff on whether or not the strategy and boundaries they have in place can control the reproduction of dinosaurs on the island:

Henry Wu:
“You’re implying that a group composed entirely of female animals will breed?”

Dr. Ian Malcolm:
“No. I’m simply saying that life, uh, finds a way.”

What I love about this dialogue is Dr. Malcolm’s nonchalant approach and nerve to questions the norm. It takes a bit of reckless hope to stand in the face of what seems to be immovable. Less than 500 years ago many believed the earth to be flat. Only 40 years ago the World Wide Web was only a concept on paper. Over the past 5 years the scientific community has made breakthroughs that were thought impossible only a short time ago. I don’t need to convince you that our industry is founded upon the radical assumption that things may not be as they seem. A global financial crisis, broken business paradigms, enormous risk and rising costs seem to be a barrier for breeding new life. Innovation is under assault but hope is not lost. Assault is the impetus for innovation. Threat is motivation for change. If you look behind the mask of fierce opposition you can find incredible opportunity dressed in clever disguise.

Want more?
Here are some real world inspirational examples and ideas from the Harvard Business Review blog:

• Reframers Unleash Innovation in Their Companies
• Leadership in the Age of Scarcity
• How To Ignite Creative Leadership In Your Organization

Affordable Innovation and India’s Rise as a Biotech Giant: The AstraZeneca-Jubilant Case Study

I was recently at the 10th anniversary Bangalore INDIA Bio (BIB) conference and Exhibition in Bangalore, India. TVG launched its BioPartnering India conference as part of the BIB conference which attracted over 700 delegates and the exhibition was visited by over 6000 people. There is a lot of energy and enthusiasm and commitment for the biotech industry in India. To give you some idea of the scale of preparations that are being made for the growth of the biotech sector in India, each year the country produces over one million engineering graduates, and it is foreseen that India will harness this skill to develop products which span biotech (BT), information technology (IT), and devices. This awesome statistic was presented by Prof. Samir Kumar Brahmachari, Director General of the Counsel of Scientific Industrial Research (CSIR), who reports to the Indian Prime Minister and guides government biotech policy. Prof. Brahmachari in conversation, reported to me that India is committed to a rapid expansion of the biotech industry as a mechanism to lift millions of people out of poverty and transform India into a knowledge-based economy. The number one priority for the Indian government and many Indian families is education.

With this as a background, I was fortunate to chair a panel which explored the research collaboration between AstraZeneca and Jubilant Organosys Ltd. The collaboration is referred to as “JAZ”. My panelists Dr. Sri Mosur, CEO & President of Jubilant and Dr. Jit Patel, Director SPBD Neuroscience for AstraZeneca. The JAZ collaboration has been operating since being announced on May 5, 2009. The panelists spoke about the who, what, how, and why of their research collaboration, with detailed analysis and invaluable insights on the risks and rewards experienced thus far. JAZ focuses on delivering novel drug candidates into AZ’s pre-clinical pipeline. Under the shared risk-reward collaboration, which will initially focus on the neuroscience area, Jubilant aims to deliver a steady stream of discovery programs to AstraZeneca. Dr. Patel, Dr. Mosur and I all believe that India is fast becoming a biotech giant, and that more deals between Indian life science companies and big pharma will be formed. The JAZ deal illustrates the benefits of India as a center of “affordable innovation”.

Dr. Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw, Chairman & Managing Director Founder, of Bangalore-based Biocon spoke as Chairperson of the Vision Group on Biotechnology for the State of Karnataka. She remarked that the crucial pieces of infrastructure are being put in place in the Bangalore area which will make India an increasingly important destination for pharma and other life science enterprises. She has a vision of the future of India as a technology leader, as part of a global innovation value chain. The English language unifies educated Indians, and a vibrant democratic system enables society to process the huge technological waves that are sweeping India, an ancient culture that is rapidly modernizing, without losing its central value system.

How this all plays out for life science companies, in India and abroad, is crucial. They ask the practical question: “what is affordable innovation and how can it benefit my company?” Affordable innovation simply means cost advantage, innovation, and partnership skills. India has been a little slower than its Asian competitors to develop a world class biotech infrastructure, however it is rapidly gaining momentum and there is a clear commitment being made by the government and the private sector to nurture home-based talent, to bring back members of the Indian diaspora, and to build partnerships between India and foreign companies. Major infrastructure projects are being constructed including new airports major roads, and science parks combined with residential units, comparable with similar features in China for example. I expect to see India featured in the industry news more frequently (see related news below) as the investments that have been made in the Indian biotech sector pay dividends.

Related news:
Novartis, Sanofi Pursue `Cash Machine’ in Indian Countryside (bloomberg)
Boom spurs India’s biotech industry to hatch expansion plans (FierceBiotech)
Abbott Makes Play for Bigger Piece of India’s Pharma Market (The Wall Street Journal)
Big Pharma Eyes India (Seeking Alpha)


Dr. Robert Lee Kilpatrick — Biotech Gadfly
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Gadfly - a term for people who upset the status quo by posing upsetting or novel questions, while at the same time being accepted as a description of honorable work or a civic duty.
(Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia)

Making the Most of Your 15 Minutes of Fame

Having watched and helped develop biotech company presentations for many years, I can recommend some basic rules of play that can help make your presentation the one that stands out. Every company has a different story to tell but mostly the presentations are in the same format, in the same room, and to the same people. So how can you be the one who stands out in the crowd?

Enthusiasm - if you don’t believe in your company why would anyone else? Be confident enough in your presentation to be able to present naturally and deal with any unforeseen technical issues.

I watched a CEO present to a packed room of potential investors in New York. The projector started smoking at slide 3 and blew up at slide 5 - the CEO stepped forward as the projector was wheeled off stage right and continued unfazed.

A memorable performance - this CEO knew his pitch so well and was so focused on delivering to his audience that even a flaming projector didn’t stop him!

Why you? - What is the value? What is the opportunity? What’s different from the last 10 presentations and the next 10 that follow?

We’ve all been in the room when two out of three people are focused on their blackberries, the catering staff are setting up next door, and the presenter is talking to himself as he failed to grab the audience’s attention at the beginning. You’ve got 15 minutes! Make sure to engage the room as soon as you start and keep them engaged long enough to want to know more. Remember you don’t have to tell them everything; you have to tell them just enough for them to want to talk in more detail later.

With thousands of biotech companies out there, and just as many corporate presentations, here’s how to differentiate your enterprise in an increasingly crowded marketplace.

Download Article

Who is in the room? - Make sure you speak directly to your audience. The 15 data slides you have may be fascinating during a scientific meeting but will not be compelling in a 15-minute investor presentation. Show up outside the room early and take note of who is arriving to hear you present. Bring your entourage and make sure that they are “on message” and can engage before and after on the key points of your presentation.

Stop making changes the night before! - Every CEO I know loves to stay up until 2:00 a.m. the night before making changes to the presentation. Don’t throw yourself off - editing is fine but don’t make any major changes to the order or content the night before or you will trip yourself up the day of your pitch. Instead, lock down the content and spend the night before working on your delivery - how are you going to articulate the company’s value and present yourself as the winner who can execute on the potential. The slides are your back up but the people in the room should be listening to you.

Put on a quality show - There is no excuse for illegible slides, out-of-date content, ugly graphics or God forbid typos! Brand the company, develop succinct content, create meaningful graphics and add some personality…

Good luck out there!

Barbara Lavery
President, Zoomedia

BioPartnering on the Copacabana Beach

During the last week of March, I conducted a site inspection for the newest TVG Global Platform destination, BioPartnering Latin America (BPL). After 15+ hours of airtime, I landed in beautiful Rio de Janeiro on Tuesday morning. The weather was sunny and beautiful as I traveled from the airport to the amazing Sofitel Hotel located on Copacabana Beach. Upon arrival, I was greeted by friendly staff who escorted me to my ocean view room. Later that afternoon, I met with Mr. Eduardo Emrich Soares, Biominas President & CEO, to discuss the progress of BPL. The meeting resulted in a better understanding of our newest Collaborators and Sponsors and their contributions to the BPL program. The remaining two days consisted of logistical meetings with the hotel staff and Ms. Angelica Patarroyo, Biominas Communication & Marketing Coordinator for BPL. I did manage to take a couple of hours and see parts of Rio de Janeiro. First, we visited Sugarloaf Mountain, which is located 1,299 feet (396 meters) above the harbor at the mouth of Guanabara Bay on a peninsula that sticks out into the Atlantic Ocean. The second site was the Maracan stadium, the largest stadium in South America, currently seating over 90,000 spectators. It has mainly been used for football (soccer) matches between the major football (soccer) clubs in Rio de Janeiro. This stadium will be the centerpiece of the 2016 Summer Olympics and Paralympics and will host the FIFA World Cup in 2014. Upon departing on Thursday evening, I reflected on the immense progress we have made towards BPL 2010, since we began planning this event over 18 months ago. BioPartnering Latin America will showcase the entire region from Mexico to Chile, Brazil, and Argentina. The focus of BPL 2010 will be human, animal and plant health, highlighting a fast growing sector of innovative Latin America companies and presenting significant partnering opportunities. BPL will be held on September 19-21, 2010, in Rio, just across from the Copacabana Beach. I look forward to seeing you there!

The World Gathers in Vancouver

Over the next month, the global spotlight will shine on Vancouver in the lead up to the 2010 Olympic Winter Games, but just prior to that, we look forward to having the attention of the biotech world turned to us to mark BioPartnering North America’s (BPN) eighth year. BPN is proudly produced by TVG and Life Sciences British Columbia (LSBC), and since its inception in 2003, we have worked together to lead the effort to build BPN into the largest stand-alone biotech partnering event in North America, and one of the leading biotech partnering conferences in the world — an accomplishment that LifeSciences BC takes great pride in. LifeSciences BC works actively to raise the local, national and international profile of the innovative companies and research institutions that make up British Columbia’s leading-edge life sciences industry. These efforts have indirectly led to major international exposure, significant investments and partnering deals that have produced some of the world’s most prominent biotechnology pioneers including QLT Inc., Angiotech Pharmaceuticals and OncoGenex Technologies. BioPartnering North America serves not only to highlight British Columbia’s home-grown excellence in innovation, but to showcase all of the emerging opportunities throughout the international life science community and, from that awareness, to forge new relationships in a fashion consistent with British Columbia’s culture of achieving synergy through shared diversity and perspectives. Face-to-face partnering meetings are the hallmark of the conference, but BPN also features close to 100 company presentations as well as a number of leadership sessions, industry workshops and exceptional networking opportunities with top life science industry players globally. Like the Olympic Games themselves, BPN will bring together the world’s best to showcase skills and strengths, capitalize on opportunities, and overcome shared challenges — all in the spirit of participation, co-operation and competition. On behalf of LifeSciences BC, we look forward to welcoming the world to Vancouver. Brendan Payne Biomedical Sector Manager LifeSciences British Columbia http://www.lifesciencesbc.ca

18 Years of BioPartnering and Innovation - Happy Birthday TVG!

On January 7th, 1992, TVG opened for business and started planning for the first BioPartnering conference in London to encourage partnering between US and European life science companies. Today, as we celebrate TVG’s 18th birthday, BioPartnering, which was merely a concept before 1992, is a truly global activity and the catalyst for growth and innovation in our industry. We have witnessed tremendous change in our industry over these 18 years and we know that what we have experienced to date is only a shadow of the innovation and growth that we will realize over the next two decades.

In contrast to this incredible change, our mission at TVG remains the same. Since our inception, our goal has been to build and expand networks for the life science industry, which are dedicated to developing novel solutions in the areas of human, animal and plant health; food; energy; materials; and various industrial processes which will contribute to a new sustainable global economy in the 21st century. This is termed the “bio-economy” — an economy based on the use of living systems. In contrast, the petroleum-based economy is based on extracting non-renewable energy from the earth. The most effective way to grow and develop the companies that will usher in the bio-economy is by using networks to tap global innovation. TVG has been doing this for nearly 20 years and now a critical mass of players has arisen around the world, creating a need for a new kind of network.

The TVG partnering network is built upon biopartnering.com — a powerful web-based platform that allows TVG clients to maximize networking opportunities before, during, and after events. biopartnering.com showcases the companies and people driving life science innovation around the world and connects you to them.

In just a few weeks at BioPartnering North America (24-26 January, Vancouver, BC, Canada), TVG will launch the first Global BioPartnering Platform powered by biopartnering.com. This new network allows life science companies to access global innovation, raise new sources of capital, and tap into skilled workforces around the world. We have focused on six of the most important markets for life science companies, including USA, Canada, Europe, India, China, and Latin America. For several years, TVG has been laying the foundation for this expansion, and together with industry leaders, we are able to offer our clients a seamless partnering experience through biopartnering.com.

Your 2010 Global BioPartnering Calendar:
January 24-26: BioPartnering North America (Vancouver, BC, Canada)
May 25-27: C21 BioVentures (Napa, California, USA)
June 2-4 : BioPartnering India at BangaloreBio 2010 (Bangalore, India)
September 19-21: BioPartnering Latin America (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil)
October 10-12: BioPartnering Europe at QEII Conference Centre (Europe)
October 31- November 2: BioPartnering China (Shanghai, China)

In each of these markets, TVG is working with leading organizations who will act effectively on the ground, working closely with key government agencies, public and private companies, science parks, bio-clusters and biotech associations, and the many leading service companies that support the life science industry — globally and locally.

TVG has a reputation for being the first and the best at what we do because we have a simple formula. We always put the needs of our clients first, and we choose partners who do the same. We have built an unrivalled global network to support our clients as they grow their businesses. Join with us in 2010 and be a part of an ever-expanding network of individuals and organizations who are working together to deliver the innovative solutions necessary in this expanding global bio-economy.

biopartnering.com: Company Profile 101

The company profile is a research tool that helps delegates research and find companies to do business with. A company profile will leverage your presence at the conference and acts as an effective marketing tool. Your company’s success and competitiveness depends, in part, on easy access to information, insight and resources about your company. Uploading a profile and keeping it up-to-date will help you accomplish this. It is important for you to make your identity known so that potential partners have a chance to prospect and research your products or services.

Profile Pointers:

1. Don’t cut and paste your entire website

• You can include a link to your website; those that wish to learn more can click on the link. Pasting your entire website into the profile or having an out of date profile will turn off your readers.
• Help the reader grasp the key points. Briefly describe what your company/organization does using clear and concise phrases. Also, break up your paragraphs into easy to follow sections.

2. Identify your partnering goals and conference participation details

• Use your biopartnering.com company profile to clearly identify what you company wants to achieve by attending the conference.
• Write for the audience you wish to reach: be specific. If you are attending a conference geared toward investors, write about why you are seeking investment or what you are looking to invest in. If your company is looking for products in oncology, describe which areas of oncology or products you want to discuss during your meetings.
• If you are presenting, exhibiting, or participating in a discussion panel (i.e. workshop), include the times of your participation and briefly cover what you will discuss/exhibit.
• Use the pre-conference preparation as a marketing tool to get more delegates interested and to raise awareness before you arrive at the event.

3. Point out your competitive advantages

• All profiles are searchable; ensure that you are utilizing the keywords that distinguish your company.
• Emphasize the pros of your company; especially those factors that give you a competitive edge.
• Explain your company’s industry experience and don’t forget to include a list of your key alliances

4. Distinguish yourself —make it easier for other delegates to find you

• In your personal profile discuss your role in your company and your experience
• Include a personal photo so that other delegates can easily recognize you onsite.
• If applicable, add websites that showcase your affiliations (i.e. social networks you participate in).

Video Blog: Global BioPartnering Platform

On October 12, 2009, TVG LLC, launched the world’s first Global BioPartnering Platform in London. This new network allows life science companies to access global innovation, raise new sources of capital, and tap into skilled workforces around the world. We have focused on six of the most important markets for life science companies, including USA/Canada, Europe, India, China, and Latin America. The Global BioPartnering Platform video is available to view below: The TVG partners presenting in the video are: Soren Harbel, LifeSciences British Columbia (LSBC) / Medicon Valley Paul Grayson, Fate Therapeutics Jagdish Patankar, MM ACTIV / Bangalore Bio Eduardo Soares, Biominas Foundation Jens Sundbye, European Federation of Biotechnology (EFB) Darren Ji, PharmaLegacy / BayHelix This video is also available to view on TVG’s YouTube channel: http://www.youtube.com/user/TVGnetworks

Dr. Robert Lee Kilpatrick - Biotech Gadfly

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Gadfly - a term for people who upset the status quo by posing upsetting or novel questions, while at the same time being accepted as a description of honorable work or a civic duty. - From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia