Mid-Atlantic Bio

Oct 26, 2009

D.C.-area biotechs set to pitch investors at Mid-Atlantic Bio
Washington Business Journal
By Vandana Sinha

Five local biotechs are among 24 companies making investor presentations to the region’s most well-known gathering for biotech professionals.

This year’s Mid-Atlantic Bio, the fifth time that the MdBio division of the Tech Council of Maryland, Mid-Atlantic Venture Association and Virginia Biotechnology Association have joined to organize a regional biotech conference, has recruited both early-stage and later-stage companies to pitch their business plans to attending investors.

The five local companies are based in Montgomery County: Celek Pharmaceuticals of Darnestown and Principio Inc. of Rockville, as well as OpGen Inc., DioGenix and Immunomic Therapeutics Inc., all of Gaithersburg.

Four companies are based in Columbia or Baltimore.

At this year’s convention, billionaire investor and biotech executive R.J. Kirk will be speaking regarding his recent comments that the country’s bioscience industry will take on a tighter, more successful approach to drug discovery, though he said that will likely come at a loss of as many as 600 unsuccessful companies. The chiefs of two of the largest local biotech players are also speakers this year — Tom Watkins, CEO of Human Genome Sciences Inc., and Tony Zook, president of MedImmune, a division of London-based AstraZeneca PLC.

Organizers said while registrations have risen this year compared to the past two years of the conference — they counted more than 800 attendees at last year’s event — the recession has made its mark in a lower amount of sponsorships so far.

“A lot of big service providers are reducing their marketing budgets, and we understand that,” said Mark Herzog, executive director of VaBio, adding that the groups still expect the conference to make money this year. “Luckily, that’s never been the driving force, the revenue at the end of the day. It’s important obviously, but the bioscience organizations had accepted wholeheartedly the fact that this is a service for the industry.”

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