Thrive, Middleton, Madison and Fitchburg attend BIO 2008

Contact: Jennifer Smith, Communications Specialist, Thrive
jsmith@thrivhere.org, 608-443-1961

Madison, Wisconsin—Thrive, the economic development enterprise for the eight‐county
Madison Region, has partnered with the cities of Middleton, Madison and Fitchburg to host a
display in the Wisconsin Pavilion at the BIO International Convention in San Diego Tuesday
through Friday, June 17-20.

Thrive’s collaboration with Madison, Middleton and Fitchburg represents a new regional strength
in growing and promoting our biotechnology sector.

Biotechnology Industry Organization (BIO) is a trade association that hosts the BIO International
Convention, the largest biosciences convention in the world. This year’s convention is hosting
over 20,000 attendees from 48 states and more than 70 countries worldwide. Wisconsin has
hosted a pavilion at the BIO Convention since 2001.

This year, Thrive, Fitchburg, Madison and Middleton join 55 businesses and organizations in the
pavilion, to showcase the bioscience industry in the Madison Region. Wisconsin’s 378 biotech
firms contribute over $8 billion to the state’s economy and account for more than 30,000 jobs in
Wisconsin, with over 150 companies in the Madison Region alone.

“The City of Fitchburg is excited about this chance to collaborate to promote the region’s
biotechnology cluster,” said Michael Zimmerman, Economic Development Coordinator with the
city. “We’ve seen tremendous growth and promise in our biotechnology companies in Fitchburg
alone over the past several years. Fitchburg is home to notable companies including Promega
Corporation, a 30-year-old biotechnology company with offices in 14 locations worldwide, whose
headquarters anchor the Fitchburg Center mixed – use development. The center also includes the
national headquarters for Bruker AXS and the BioPharmaceutical Technology Center Institute,”
noted Zimmerman. Along with mature companies like Thermo Fisher and Cardinal Health
Neurocare, the Fitchburg Technology Campus has been successful in attracting emerging
biotechnology companies like GenTel Biosciences, Platypus Technologies, and Imago Scientific
Instruments.

The strength of the bioscience sector in the Madison Region was also a deciding factor in the
decision to host the 2008 World Stem Cell Summit in Madison September 22‐23, organized by
the Genetics Policy Institute, University of Wisconsin‐Madison Stem Cell & Regenerative
Medicine Center and WiCell Research Institute.

“The City of Madison – Office of Business Resources (OBR) is pleased to be working with its local,
regional, state and UW partners to market Wisconsin biotechnology business opportunities at
this event,” said Michael Gay of the OBR. “This year, along with marketing local biotech
companies of national and international prominence, we are unveiling the inaugural year of the
Wisconsin BioAg Gateway campus in SE Madison.

The new campus will provide sites, facilities and unique resources to BioAgriculture related
entrepreneurs and scientists in need of controlled growth environments for research and
development as well as facilities for commercialization and manufacturing of ag‐related
products,” said Gay.

“There’s a reason the leading industry publication Fierce Biotech named the Madison Region one
of the world’s top 5 emerging biotech hot spots,” said Jennifer Alexander, President of Thrive.

“This convention and the Wisconsin pavilion offer us an unrivalled platform to highlight our
region’s great companies and the quality of life here that attracts top scientific and management
talent.”

About Thrive’s target sectors: Thrive represents the eight-county Madison Region (Columbia,
Dane, Dodge, Green, Iowa, Jefferson, Rock and Sauk counties) with the vision to grow the
region’s economy in ways that preserve and enhance the quality of life. Thrive’s target sectors
for development, based on our region’s assets, are agriculture, biotechnology and healthcare.

For more information on Thrive’s target sectors, see our website: http://www.thrivehere.org

For more information on Cheryl Gain, Director of Biotechnology Initiatives, see:
http://www.thrivehere.org/media

For more information on Thrive’s role in the bioscience sector:
http://www.thrivehere.org/biotechnology

Find Thrive, Middleton, Madison and Fitchburg in the Wisconsin Pavilion:

Where: Booth 1514, Wisconsin Pavilion, San Diego Convention Center, CA

When: Tuesday-Friday, June 17-20

See a full list of Wisconsin Exhibitors:
http://www.bio2008.org