Mid-Atlantic Bio

Oct 29, 2009

BioWatch: Industry gears up for mid-Atlantic conference
Business Gazette

Bioscience leaders converge on Washington next week

To its organizers, it’s “The Epicenter of Bioscience, Capital, and Policy.” More formally, it’s known as the 2009 Mid-Atlantic Bio Conference, to be held Wednesday through next Friday at the Washington Convention Center.

Some two dozen bioscience companies from around the region are slated to make presentations to venture capitalists at the fifth annual conference, whose sponsors include the Tech Council of Maryland, the Mid-Atlantic Venture Association and the Virginia Biotechnology Association.

Among the presenting companies are Arginetix, Gliknik and Profectus BioSciences, all of Baltimore; Cylex of Columbia; OpGen, DioGenix and Immunomic Therapeutics, all of Gaithersburg; Celek Pharmaceuticals of Darnestown; and Principio of Rockville.

The companies were chosen through an industry review process, with input from more than 40 investment institutions and industry professionals, according to a statement from organizers.

The conference will also feature talks by H. Thomas Watkins, CEO of Human Genome Sciences of Rockville and chairman of the Maryland Life Sciences Advisory Board; Tony Zook, president of AstraZeneca’s MedImmune in Gaithersburg; Sen. Benjamin L. Cardin (D) of Pikseville; Rep. Anna G. Eshoo (D) of Calif., a leading proponent of a 12-year data exclusivity period for biosimilars; and Howard Dean, a physician and former governor of Vermont.

“This is a critical year for the bioscience industry in Maryland as the economy improves,” said Richard A. Zakour, executive director of Tech Council of Maryland’s MdBio division, in an e-mail. “It is important for the industry to be prepared.”

Information on the conference is available at www.midatlanticbio.org and 866-482-7691.