Gov. Tim Pawlenty and BIO's Jim Greenwood to Speak at BIO Mid-
America VentureForum


Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty will join Jim Greenwood, president &
CEO of the Biotechnology Industry Organization (BIO), to address the
BIO Mid-America VentureForum at the Minneapolis Hilton on the
morning of Sept. 22. The forum, which runs Sept. 21-23, also
features luncheon keynote speeches from Leon O. Moulder, president
and CEO of Minneapolis-based MGI Pharma Inc., and Joshua Boger,
Ph.D., chairman, president and CEO of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc.,
of Cambridge, Mass.

Governor Pawlenty's commitment to biomedical research and
economic development led him to spearhead the creation of the
Minnesota Partnership for Biotechnology and Medical Genomics, a
unique enterprise linking expertise and resources from the Mayo
Clinic, the University of Minnesota and the state of Minnesota. His
other achievements since being elected governor in 2002 include
balancing the budget, overhauling education standards, welfare
reform, lawsuit reform, government efficiency initiatives, and
transportation improvement.

Insights on the national outlook for the biotechnology industry
will come
from Mr. Greenwood, who represented Pennsylvania's Eighth District
in Congress
before joining BIO in January. As a congressional leader on health
care
issues, he authored numerous bills signed into law, including
legislation to
promote pediatric labeling for pharmaceuticals, reform medical
device review
and approval, and expand research and establish innovative programs
to address
traumatic brain injury. Mr. Greenwood's top priority at BIO has been
improving the advocacy operation as the organization deals with
issues
encompassing the FDA, Medicare, intellectual property, and
agriculture and
energy policy.
The two luncheon keynote speakers, Mr. Moulder and Dr. Boger,
will offer
the perspective of successful biotech CEOs whose companies have
brought
innovative new therapies to patients. Other BIO Mid-America
speakers include
executives from top life sciences companies such as Johnson &
Johnson, Boston
Scientific and Genentech, and some of the nation's leading venture
capital
firms.

About BIO Mid-America VentureForum
Now in its third year, the BIO Mid-America VentureForum is the
Midwest's
largest annual event joining private biotech and medical device
companies in
need of funding with venture capitalists, angel investors, and
investment
bankers from across the United States and Canada. More than 60
private life
sciences companies will give business plan presentations during the
conference.
BIO Mid-America also features eight workshops and panel sessions,
including a Sept. 23 plenary session that will consider whether life
sciences
are at an inflection point in the Midwest. Other session topics
include
emerging markets, converging technologies, intellectual property,
reimbursement and the outlook for financing and partnering.
Complete information, as well as on-line registration, is
available at
bma.bio.org. Registration is complimentary for credentialed media.
In addition to BIO, the Mid-America VentureForum is co-sponsored
by
Medical Alley/MNBIO and eight state biotech associations: the
Colorado
BioScience Association, the Illinois Biotechnology Industry
Organization, the
Indiana Health Industry Forum, the Iowa Biotechnology Association,
MichBio
(Michigan), the Missouri Biotechnology Association, Omeris (Ohio),
and the
Wisconsin Biotechnology Association.

About BIO
The Biotechnology Industry Organization (BIO) represents more
than 1,100
biotechnology companies, academic institutions, state biotechnology
centers
and related organizations in all 50 U.S. states and 33 other
nations. BIO
members are involved in the research and development of health-care,
agricultural, industrial and environmental biotechnology products.
For more
information on BIO, visit our Web site at www.bio.org.



SOURCE Biotechnology Industry Organization
Web Site: www.bio.org bma.bio.org



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