WisBusiness: BIO 2011 in D.C showcases Wisconsin biotech industry

By Brian E. Clark

For WisBusiness.com

Tony Pharo plans to hit the ground running at BIO 2011, the huge biotech confab that starts in Washington, D.C. today.

Pharo, director of business development for Madison-based Scarab Genomics, says he’ll probably be in non-stop meetings until the event ends on June 30.

The conference is the world’s largest for the biotech sector, covering medical, agricultural and environmental biotechnology sectors with a theme of healing, fueling and feeding the world.

“Some days I won’t have time for lunch and the meetings will go into the night,” said Pharo, who has been to BIO gatherings for the past five years, including two for Epicentre, where he worked before joining Scarab.

He’s one of more than 50 Wisconsinites who will be attending the event, which is expected to draw 20,000 people from around the globe. The Badger state effort, which includes private companies, WARF, the UW-Madison and other organizations, is being coordinated by the Wisconsin Technology Council.

Pharo said his work for Epicentre at BIO meetings focused on bolstering the company’s distributor network. For Scarab, his goal will be to license its technology to pharmaceutical companies and contractors.

“This trade show draws together branches of the biotech industry from Asia, Europe, Latin America and elsewhere around the world,” he said. “It’s the only event of its kids that gives that kind of visibility.”

For Tom Schwei, general manager of DNASTAR, the annual BIO event is “the best place to connect with individuals representing a wide variety of life science companies who are looking to do business together.

“Most of these companies (of which more than 2,000 participate in scheduled partnering meetings) either are or could be customers of DNASTAR and our sequence analysis software. Many of them are looking for partners, not only to advance their specific drug candidates, but also to collaborate with from a platform technology perspective.

“That’s where DNASTAR can help,” he said. “For companies involved in DNA, RNA or protein sequence and structure analysis, DNASTAR is a natural fit to consider for collaboration regarding their platform and tools technologies. Our software is used by tens of thousands of life scientists in more than 70 countries.”

He said attending BIO gives his company the opportunity to talk with existing customers to learn if their needs are being met and to connect with prospective customers and other companies who may have technology for in-licensing or who may want to collaborate on joint projects.

“Finally, we are always interested in learning about current developments in various global markets,” he said. “Many countries send delegations specifically aimed at communicating that message and helping companies like DNASTAR evaluate how to be most successful in a given geographic market.

“All in all, the annual BIO meeting represents a great opportunity to connect with life scientists and business people from around the world to advance our mutual business objectives.”

Schwei lauded the tech council and other groups that are sponsoring the Wisconsin Pavilion at BIO 2011. He said DNASTAR will have a small exhibit as part of the Wisconsin Pavilion, which gives the firm an opportunity to show what it can do and generate contacts.

In addition, research centers such as the Marshfield Clinic will send representatives to the gathering.

Marsha Barwick, assistant director of the clinic’s Applied Sciences division, said she hopes to meet with companies and individuals that have an interest in collaborating on projects relating to life sciences “and interacting with our physicians and staff in ways that will continue to enhance human health care.”

“Through BIO 2011, Marshfield Clinic seeks collaborative opportunities to assess cutting-edge technologies for enhanced patient care through areas of genetics, biomedical informatics and clinical research,” she added.

Tom Still, head of the tech council, said highlights of BIO 2011 for Wisconsin will be the attendance of Gov. Scott Walker, as well as a global health luncheon on Monday.

The latter event will feature University of Wisconsin Regent and former ambassador to Norway Tom Loftus, Mark Green, an ambassador to Tanzania, and Tony Carroll, a former Peace Corps official.

Green and Loftus will discuss their experiences as ambassadors as well as subsequent roles in major health global organizations. Carroll, a former assistant general counsel for the Peace Corps, will talk about his work in sub-Saharan Africa through groups such as the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.

Still said this year’s pavilion will cover 800 square feet and include a 10-foot-by-10-foot meeting room which will be heavily booked throughout the end of the confab.

Still, who will be blogging about BIO 2011 for WisBusiness.com at http://bio.wisbusiness.com, has attended eight of the conferences.

“It’s a great opportunity once a year for Wisconsin to display its expertise in biotechnology and talk about its range of biotech products and services to a global audience,” he said.

“There is no bigger gathering in the world. It’s truly a global audience, attracting more than four dozen countries. It’s the kind of networking event that individuals and companies find to be very valuable,” he said.

Still said the Wisconsin pavilion on the BIO exhibition floor will include the UW-Madison Office of Corporate Relations, WARF, University Research Park, the Morgridge Institute for Research, the Waisman Clinical BioManufacturing Facility, the Zeeh Pharmaceutical Experiment Station, the Medical Device Technology Office, the Physical Sciences Lab and the WiCell Research Institute.

Beyond those specific participating entities, UW-Madison’s presence broadly includes representation from the College of Agricultural and Life Sciences, the School of Medicine and Public Health and the College of Engineering.

Still said UW-Madison alone attracts and spends $1 billion per year on research and development, about two-thirds of which is clustered in the life sciences.

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