Top 20 Pharma Firms to Hunt for Deals at BIO-Europe 2009
ZURICH & VIENNA-(Business Wire)-September 22, 2009 - In order to seek out new partnering opportunities, the top 20 big pharma companies will be in attendance on November 2–4 in Vienna, Austria for BIO-Europe 2009, the largest dedicated partnering conference in Europe. Teams of scouts from the likes of Abbott, Amgen, Astellas Pharma, AstraZeneca, Baxter, Bayer HealthCare/Bayer Schering Pharma, Boehringer Ingelheim, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Eli Lilly and Company, Genentech, GlaxoSmithKline, Johnson & Johnson, Merck & Co., Inc., Merck Serono, Novartis, Pfizer, Roche, Sanofi Aventis, Takeda Pharmaceutical Co., Teva Pharmaceutical Industries will attend the conference to examine industry issues, learn new business approaches, and most importantly, network with biotechs and other organizations toward successful business deals.
For biotech companies a favorable dynamic today is that big pharma is totally engaged and more knowledgeable of biologics. The opportunistic hook-ups of the early 1980s have given way to strategic alliances and acquisitions. Nearly all pharmaceutical companies now have in-house biotech programs or bioventure units to seek out and finance promising start-ups. About 75 percent of liquidity events for privately held biotechs in the last 10 years were through acquisition by larger firms, not IPOs.
“The speed of change within large pharma is tremendous compared to the middle part of last decade,” said William Ringo, Pfizer’s Senior VP for worldwide business development, strategy and innovation in the recent issue of partneringNEWS (http://www.ebdgroup.com/partneringnews/?q=node/220). “Consider our Wyeth acquisition: One of the key reasons for doing that was to move more into biotherapeutics. It’s an important place for us to be, because of patent protection, the possibility of biosimilars, and balancing our portfolio. I think large pharma got infatuated with small molecules because of the high profit margins, low manufacturing costs, and huge upside. We now have more research centers, we clearly recognize the importance of partnering with biotech companies.”
From a venture capital perspective, the lack of an IPO exit means that the companies most likely to get funded today are those that embrace an early partnering strategy from the outset. A company built to be acquired after achieving proof of concept—typically a successful phase 2 trial of its lead drug candidate—can be much smaller than one that aspires to taking its compound through approval, launch and marketing. That means venture investors can put up proportionately less cash, and see a return sooner.
This year’s event will continue its 15-year legacy of providing quality partnering meetings and informative sessions. With over 2,500 delegates expected for BIO-Europe, industry leaders know where partnering deals begin.
Notes to Editors:
Entry to BIO-Europe 2009 is free to members of the press, including full access to the partnering system, sessions, press conferences, workshops, and pre-arranged partnering meetings. Visit the BIO-Europe conference website at http://www.ebdgroup.com/bioeurope for detailed information on this year’s conference and online registration. When you register online, please indicate in the comment field that you are requesting a complimentary press registration: http://ebdgroup.com/bioeurope/press_reg.htm.
About BIO-Europe
BIO-Europe is the preeminent stand-alone partnering event for the biotechnology industry. Delegates from all parts of the biotechnology value-chain come to BIO-Europe to efficiently identify, engage and enter into the strategic relationships that drive their business successfully forward. The annual BIO-Europe partnering event draws over 2,500 industry attendees from almost 50 countries, representing more than 1,350 companies for three days of high level networking. BIO-Europe is organized by EBD Group with the support of the Biotechnology Industry Organization. For more information please visit http://www.ebdgroup.com/bioeurope.
About EBD Group
EBD Group is the leading partnering firm for the global life science industry. Since 1993, biotech, pharma and medical device companies have leveraged EBD Group’s partnering conferences, technology and services to identify business opportunities and develop strategic relationships essential to their success.
EBD Group’s conferences are run with the support of leading corporations and international trade associations, and include:
- BIO-Europe and BIO-Europe Spring®, Europe’s largest life science partnering conferences, supported by the Biotechnology Industry Organization (BIO)
- BioPharm America™, the fastest growing partnering event in North America
- EuroMedtech™, EBD Group’s new partnering event for the innovative medical technology industry
- BioEquity Europe, the investor conference co-organized with BioCentury Publications and BIO
- ChinaBio® Partnering Forum, the first dedicated biotech/pharma partnering conference in China, co-produced with ChinaBio® LLC
- Biotech Showcase™, a unique forum in San Francisco for presenting to investors and business development executives, co-produced with Demy-Colton Life Science Advisors
EBD Group’s sophisticated web-based partnering service, partneringONE®, is used as the partnering engine at numerous third-party events around the world. Outside of the conference format, EBD Group’s consultants provide hands-on assistance for firms seeking to in- or out-license products and technologies.
EBD Group has offices in the USA and Europe.
For more information visit www.ebdgroup.com.
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