Illinois anticipates biotech expo
Posted on March 9th, 2006
Tuesday, March 7, 2006
By Steve Tarter
of the Journal Star
PEORIA - The Olympics of Biotech, slated for Chicago from April 9-12, may be every bit as competitive as the sports spectacle, said one of the participants.
BIO 2006 is expected to draw more than 20,000 people and 2,500 biotech organizations. It's the first time the industry's largest gathering of researchers and investors has landed in the Midwest, said Rebecca Bollin, marketing manager for the Economic Development Council for Central Illinois.
Program subjects range from nanotechnology, stem cell research and cancer therapies to issues of finance and intellectual property.
Illinois is going all out for the many scientists and biotech companies expected to come to the event from all over the world, she said.
"A large part of that effort is improving the awareness of Illinois as a home for biotech industry," said Bollin, who is on the community relations committee for the conference.
"We're sending a lot of people from Peoria to the conference and we hope to bring some people from the conference down to Peoria to show them the assets we have," she said.
The PeoriaNEXT consortium of businesses and institutions that includes area hospitals, Caterpillar Inc., Bradley University and the Ag Lab will have a presence within the Illinois Pavilion during the conference, said Peter Johnsen, chairman of PeoriaNEXT and National Center for Agricultural Utilization Research.
The pavilion will showcase more than 40 Illinois companies and organizations.
"The conference has two parts. There's the research side and there's the business-to-business side," said Johnsen.
With biotech firms from all over the world competing with one another to do business, Illinois is in a good position to stake its claim as a high-tech hot spot, he said.
"It's a big deal for Illinois to land this conference. Boston and California are often looked at as the coastal hot spots for technology, but there's an awful lot going on here, as well," said Johnsen, who likened the confer-ence to a giant "speed-dating event."
"You have to be able to present yourself well and do it quickly. You try to find the things that interest you and move past the ones that don't," he said.
Strongly represented at BIO 2006 is the agricultural segment of biotech.
"Our farmers are increasing production to grow alternative fuels, reducing the use of pesticides and producing healthier products for consumers," said Chuck Hartke, Illinois' agriculture secretary.
"If our grandfathers had not accepted technological advancements in agriculture, we'd still be talking behind a plow," he said.
