The seventh annual Biomed Israel Conference, sponsored by the Israel Life Sciences Industries (ILSI) took place in Tel Aviv on May 27-29, 2008. The conference brings together research and industry in the fields of biotechnology, biopharmaceuticals and medical devices and fosters opportunities for collaborations between Israeli and foreign investors, manufacturers, research and start-up companies. Israel is a world leader in this field, generating $5 billion in 2007 in biotechnical-related trade.
Barry Greene, CEO of leading US biotech company Alnylam, was a keynote speaker at the conference. In an interview with ISRAEL21c, Greene said that he considers Israel to be a leading center of biotechnology innovation.
Greene was not the only high-powered industry leader to attend the conference. Also present was a delegation of leading Ohio biotech executives that included Tom Sudow, vice president of the Cleveland Clinic; John Lewis, vice president of BioOhio, the main membership organization for over 230 biotech companies in Ohio; and Michael Goldberg of The Bridge Fund, which has spearheaded investments with several Israeli companies.
"The State of Ohio is investing $1.6 billion in new clusters of technology, including biomedical - the largest investment by any state in the US," Sudow said. "This is a unique opportunity for Israeli companies to partner up with us and enjoy the benefits of this investment."
"We are very excited about cardiovascular research companies in Israel," he said. "As a result of these meetings, we are now in the final stages to partner up with five local biomedical companies who will be able to expand their reach in the US."
Vying with the Ohioans was a delegation of 30 execs from Maryland led by Governor Martin O'Malley, who is hoping to encourage more foreign direct investment in Maryland by Israeli companies. His mission is already showing signs of success. BiolineRx, an Israeli company developing a new drug for schizophrenia, announced at the conference that it would be opening a business development office in Maryland.
At a meeting with Governor O'Malley on Wednesday, Teva Pharmaceuticals Industries Ltd. affirmed that it planned to keep its current operations in Rockville, Maryland, including approximately 80 scientists and professionals working in a state-of-the-art biotech facility. In addition to Teva, nearly 30 Israeli companies maintain offices in Maryland.
Israeli-American collaborations can benefit both countries, explained Eric Richman, a VP of PharmAthene in an interview with ISRAEL21c.
"Part of the technology for a vaccine that we are developing as a medical countermeasure to bioterrorism was developed at the Hebrew University. The drug was adopted by the US military; now we are meeting with Israeli military officials about making it available in Israel," he said.
The two-day conference was opened by President Shimon Peres, who called on the government to make biotechnology a national funding priority.
In addition to Greene, other prominent American industry speakers included Dr. H. Weisman of Johnson & Johnson, and Dr. Stephen Oesterle of Medtronic, who both spoke about the convergence in the healthcare field of technologies from the areas of medical devices, bio-pharmaceuticals, IT, communications and imaging.
Mara Aspinall of Genzyme Genetics discussed the challenges of personalized medicine, and Dr. G. R. Schwartz of Bristol-Myers Squibb reviewed new horizons in cancer research and treatment.
Dhanajay Patankar, chairman of Biocon, from Bangalore, spoke about opportunities for Israeli companies in India's emerging biotechnology market.
This year's event was the best-attended ever, with about 6,000 participants (20 percent more than last year) representing 42 countries from Europe, North America, Africa and the Far East. The Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs was one of the sponsors of the event, participating in the steering committee and helping with promotion of the conference through Israeli missions abroad.
The conference offered 70 highly-promising Israeli start-ups and early-stage companies an opportunity to make presentations, and was accompanied by an exhibition area in which 150 industry service providers (two-thirds of them Israeli) showcased their wares.
Two parallel events were held during the week: The second International Stem Cell Meeting, and ISRACAS 2008, the 11th Israel symposium on computer-aided surgery, medical robotics and medical imaging.
The keynote speaker at the stem cell meeting was Sir. Prof. Ian Wilmut, leader of the Queen's Medical Research Institute, Edinburgh, UK.