It is time for Latin America
In 2009, Robert Kilpatrick and I decided to bring the BioPartnering events to Latin America. The main objective was to create business opportunities for local life sciences companies and to expand horizons for international companies into the region.
The decision proved to be right. Latin America is experiencing robust economic growth in comparison with other regions that were strongly affected by the 2008 financial crisis. Policies in several Latin American economies that help control deficits and keep inflation low, combined with strong international demand for commodities like iron ore, tin and gold, are encouraging investment and fueling much of the growth. The region’s economy is now growing at the rate of 4-5 percent.
In terms of life sciences, we also note a strong development in the last couple of years. Recognized competence in research areas, such as genomics and stem cells, together with recent developments in the areas of food production and bioenergy are some of the factors that are calling attention to Latin America. The results are becoming clear: international companies are expanding their scouting programs into the region, local corporations are starting to invest in innovative projects, new and dedicated life sciences venture capital funds are being created, the number of start-ups companies is growing and universities are establishing technology transfer offices.
It is also clear that there is still much to be done to include Latin America countries as major players in the life sciences and biotechnology worldwide. There are many challenges, including regulatory issues, access to biodiversity and infrastructure, especially for biological product scale up and manufacturing.
The first BioPartnering Latin America was held in Rio de Janeiro in September 2010. With 15 sponsors and 35 supporters, we were able to join together over 200 executives from 20 countries. A great success for our first meeting! For 2011, we decided to move the event to São Paulo, the main business city in the continent and one of the biggest in the world.
By now, a strong group of companies, including six of the main international pharma, are sponsoring BPL 2011. Equally important, we will have the tech transfer offices of the main universities and research centers (for example the University of São Paulo which is the biggest university in Latin America) presenting their technologies and a group of prominent start ups in the region, coming from the Mercosul* and other countries.
*Mercosul: Argentina, Brazil, Chile and Uruguay
I look forward to seeing you in São Paulo this September!
Eduardo Soares
CEO & President, Biominas Brasil
Think Globally, Act Locally: BioPartnering Taps Global Innovation
The phrase “Think Globally, Act Locally”, was originated by the French-American microbiologist and humanist Rene Jules Dubos, as an adviser to the United Nations Conference on the Human Environment in 1972. In addressing the issue of ecological consciousness, he suggested that there needed to be the creation of a World Order in which “natural and social units maintain or recapture their identity, yet interplay with each other through a rich system of communications.” Over 35 years later, the world is at a turning-point, with global warming, rapid human population growth, food security issues, and the steady erosion of the earth’s ecosystem, all requiring novel sustainable economic solutions. There is no shortage of good ideas, and now is the time to make it easier for people to work together to solve problems which affect all life on earth. The photo of earth taken by Apollo 17 in December of 1972 makes us realize that there is no special first class cabin to which the privileged few may retreat. We sink or swim together, and together we can make a go at finding solutions. TVG is playing an active and dynamic role in helping solve these problems via our social network. Dynamic new businesses and industries will arise from this immediate need. TVG specializes in building and maintaining social 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; 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 create the bio-economy is by using social networks to tap global innovation - as Dubos pointed out, using a rich system of communications. 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 social network. On October 12th, 2009 TVG’s BioPartnering franchise goes global at the 17th Annual BioPartnering Europe (BPE) conference in London. The result will be the world’s first global partnering platform that allows life science companies, and the community of people supporting them, to make contact, to communicate and to collaborate on a global scale. Nothing like this has ever been seen before. BioPartnering is a specific form of networking, and TVG is the world leader in BioPartnering. Join us in London for BioPartnering Europe (BPE) and BioPartnering China (BPC), October 11-14 where you will meet representatives from Europe, China, India, Brazil, USA, Canada, and Australia who will answer your questions. That this innovation is coming from TVG, and its associates, is not surprising because TVG created the first biotech-pharma partnering conference in 1993 (BioPartnering Europe). This was followed in 1996 by TVG’s launch of the first life science social network which began as a partnering software tool to schedule face-to-face meetings at conferences. This product biopartnering.com - has been accepted by the life science industry as the “gold standard” by which all others are measured. Next week in London, TVG associates will be arriving from around the world to talk about the global expansion of the BioPartnering franchise in 2010. This includes events in a majority of the world’s most important markets for life science innovation. 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 business experience. Your calendar for 2010 will look like this: 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: BioPartnering Latin America (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil) October: BioPartnering Europe (Europe) November: 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 — global and local. TVG has a reputation for being the first and the best at everything we do because we have a simple formula. We always put the needs of our clients first, and we choose associates who do the same. Join with us in 2010 and be a part of a historic project. We say Think Globally, Act Locally. TVG’s BioPartnering franchise enables you to tap global innovation.
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 RESOURCES Rene Dubos: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ren√�_Dubos TVG Conference Network: http://www.techvision.com/network biopartnering.com Network: http://www.biopartnering.com
