6th European Biotechnology Crossroads becomes second most important biotech event in Europe
Success highlights Lille as centre of biotechnology activity

Lille, October 25, 2002 - Organizers of the two-day European Biotechnology Crossroads today announced final attendance figures for the event:

* 3,208 attendees from 27 countries
* 35 per cent of visitors from outside France
* 308 exhibitors
* 180 business convention attendees

These figures are a measure of the Crossroads' success and not only exceed expectations, but show a threefold improvement on last year's numbers, say the organizers, Package.

"The success of the Crossroads places it among the top European events in its sector, and shows Lille to be a flourishing centre of biotechnology activity," said Etienne Vervaecke, coordinator of the sixth Crossroads and Director of Eurasanté, the body that oversees the Lille Nord-Pas de Calais biotech cluster.

"Attendees and exhibitors have given us very positive feedback with regards to contacts forged during the Crossroads," said Thomas Garmier, logistics coordinator for the event at Package. "This shows that the Crossroads was a success not just in quantitative terms, but has also proved, for all concerned, a qualitative success and an effective tool for business development."

The European Biotechnology Crossroads is one of the few biotechnology events to bring together a show, conferences, a business convention and a number of events.

* The exhibition hall assembled 308 exhibitors from more than 20 countries.

* Over 140 biotech specialist speakers representing twenty countries led conference sessions focusing on the characteristics of, opportunities in and prospects for the biotechnology sector during the two-day event.

* The business convention enabled 180 businesses to meet potential partners and to prepare the ground for future business activity.

* France Biotech, the French biotechnology association, unveiled a study of the French biotechnology sector. This study was led by France Biotech, FTEI (French technology business innovation agency), the FFBI (French federation of bio-incubators), and completed by Deloitte & Touche, and supported by CDC-PME (Caisse des Dépôts et Consignations, a French investment fund). France Biotech also announced its ethical charter at the symposium, committing the association and its members to new levels of responsibility.

* The start-up event brought together 62 biotechnology start-ups, under the wing of the Aventis foundation, for a discussion on networking as a strategic development tool.

* Four French biotech businesses were given awards for international development activities over the course of the year - Innate Pharma, GENOME express, Proteus and GenFit. The awards took place at a ceremony during the gala evening on October 15.

The next Biotechnology Crossroads event will take place in Nantes, France, on September 25-26, 2003, and will be organized by ATLANPOLE (organization covering the Nantes St Nazaire region, supporting the development of hi-tech industries), La Technopole (regional institution for the development of high-tech industries), and the CEEI (European Centre for Business and Innovation), and will highlight the increasing economic activity in biotech in a region dubbing itself the France Atlantique (the Loire estuary, Brittany and Poitou Charentes).

About the European Biotechnology Crossroads:
The European Biotechnology Crossroads is an annual event that aims at becoming the main event of the year for European biotech. The sixth annual conference took place at the Grand Palais, Lille, on October 15 and 16, 2002. It brought together different strands of the French biotech as well as a significant number of key players in European biotech.

The European Biotechnology Crossroads comprises:
* A programme of international-class scientific presentations over two days with more than 140 speakers from 20 different countries
* The biggest annual professional European biotech show (more than 308 international exhibitors in 2002 representing more than 20 countries).
* A business convention bringing together more than 180 European investors and businesses

The European Biotechnology Crossroads is supported by sponsors including:
Amgen, ANVAR, Banque Populaire, Caisse des dépôts et consignations, Club ALFA, Crédit du Nord, Ernst and Young, EuropaBio, Aventis Foundation- Institute of France, France Biotech, LFB (French enterprise for biotech research), Jouan, Schering and Tecan.

About Eurasanté:
Eurasanté is the agency for the economic development of biotech-healthcare activity in the Nord-Pas de Calais region. The Eurasanté business and research Park brings together 75 businesses from the biotech and biomedical sectors, seven hospitals, three colleges, 50 research laboratories and more than 3,500 biotech-healthcare professionals. www.eurasante.com 


For further information:
Andrew Lloyd/Keren Perrott
Andrew Lloyd & Associates
+44 1273 675 100

allo@ala.com / keren@ala.com 

Etienne Vervaecke
Eurasanté
+33 3 28 55 90 60

evervaecke@eurasante.com 

Thomas Garmier
Package Organization
+33 4 72 77 45 50

t.garmier@package.fr 
-- 
Keren Perrott

ANDREW LLOYD & ASSOCIATES

Brighton Business Centre
95 Ditchling Road
Brighton BN1 4ST
United Kingdom
Tel: +44-1273 675100
Fax: +44-1273 675400

55 rue Boissonade
75014 Paris
France
Tel: +33-1 56 54 07 00
Fax: +33-1 56 54 07 01

email:

keren@ala.com  

http://www.ala.com