Wisconsin Technology Council: Chicago-based international trade reps to attend Wisconsin Life Sciences & Venture Conference

Contact: Sally Muller, program director, or Tom Still, president

Wisconsin Technology Council (608-442-7557)

MADISON – Members of the Midwest’s leading association of foreign trade commissioners will attend the Wisconsin Life Sciences & Venture Conference, Nov. 16-17, in Madison.

The conference will be held at Madison’s Monona Terrace Community and Convention Center on Lake Monona. It is co-produced by the Wisconsin Technology Council and the UW-Madison Office of Corporate Relations. For registration or hotel information, go to www.wisconsintechnologycouncil.com and click on the conference icon.

Members of the 31-nation Chicago International Trade Commissioner Association will attend the annual conference to learn more about biomedical companies as well as research trends in Wisconsin and the Upper Midwest, according to CITCA President David Kouidri of the Consulate of Switzerland.

Registered for the conference so far are trade commissioners from Austria, Belgium, Canada, France, Great Britain, Hungary, Italy, Malaysia, Mexico, The Netherlands, Quebec and Switzerland.

“It is clear that the foreign governments, and their industrial interests, are looking at partnerships in the life sciences sector as one of the most promising areas of growth,” Kouidri said. “The sector carries characteristics that could create prosperous new economies, including highly specialized skill sets, higher paying jobs, and industrial clustering. The visit to Madison allows for further discussions and will give the trade commissioners the opportunity to learn about the vibrant life science community in the area.”

In April, 15 members of CITCA toured the Medical College of Wisconsin and visited two Milwaukee-area firms, Prodesse and TeraMedica. Both firms are former presenters at the Wisconsin Life Sciences & Venture Conference.

“We are pleased that trade commissioners from Chicago have taken an interest in Wisconsin as a center for life science business and research. We believe it will lead to investment and partnership possibilities for companies and research institutions, in Wisconsin as well as abroad,” said Tom Still, president of the Wisconsin Technology Council.

Eleven companies from Wisconsin will be joined as presenters at the conference by three from Michigan, two from Illinois and one each from Minnesota, Missouri, Washington and Pennsylvania.

Their products and services all fall under the market umbrella of “life sciences,” which includes medical as well as agricultural and environmental applications. Presenting companies have developed medical devices or processes to enhance those devices; drug research techniques; cancer diagnostics and therapies; clinical research information systems; nanotechnology applications; and other processes to speed or enrich drug discovery and disease diagnosis.

The companies range from the early development stages to clinical stage and the revenue-producing stage.

Company names will be released immediately prior to the conference.

Presenters will have 12 minutes each on Tuesday, Nov. 16, to tell their stories to prospective investors and others who will attend the conference, which has been held in Madison every year but one since 1984.

On the second day of the conference – Wednesday, Nov. 17 – emerging technologies from the UW-Madison campus will be on display. Throughout the conference, national-level speakers and panels will discuss the latest issues affecting drug development and regulation, market trends and Wisconsin’s investment potential. Also, receptions will be hosted by the law firm of Michael, Best and Friedrich and the “Building the New Wisconsin Economy” project. More details on those programs will follow.

For more information on the conference, including agendas, registration rates and sponsorship information, call 608-442-7557 or visit the web site at www.wisconsintechnologycouncil.com