Bio International Convention is expected to attract industry leaders from world’s top biopharma companies. The event is expected to offer one of the biggest platforms to share ideas, experiences, insights and best practices on biotech innovations that help to solve some of the biggest global challenges such as fighting disease and improving health, feeding growing populations and meeting the increased world demand for energy.

Highlights of the event
The event features keynote addresses and sessions from policymakers, scientists, CEOs and celebrities. Keynote luncheon and addresses by renowned people from all around the world are the highlights of the event. Regina Benjamin, US Surgeon General delivers a keynote address on the Diversity in Biotechnology Summit on May 3, 2010, which is also the opening day of the convention.

The convention also features the Bio Business Forum (One-on-One Partnering); hundreds of sessions covering biotech industry trends, policy issues and technological innovations; and the world’s largest biotechnology exhibition—the Bio Exhibition. The convention also includes various sessions on topics related to biotech and biopharma industries. A conference on biotech education, various sessions on translational research, academia, intellectual property rights, leadership summit, entrepreneurship in biotechnology and lot of other related issues, are also part of the convention.

Over 1,900 companies are expected to participate in the business forum and it has been reported that over 6,000 meetings have been already scheduled during the event, which in itself, is a record.

How it came about?
The genesis of the convention event dates back to 1987, when the Association of Biotechnology Companies hosted an international conference in Washington, US, which exceeded the expectations with a participation of 155 attendees. Since then, growth has been steady—attendance hit 1,400 in 1993, when Bio was formed with representatives from 68 countries the participation exceeded 22,000 in 2007.

In 2007, 2008, and 2009, Tradeshow Week (TSW) named the Bio International Convention as one of the Fastest 50, a list of the fastest-growing trade shows. TSW selected the Fastest 50 based on 50 percent total net square footage growth and 50 percent net growth between 2004 and 2008. In 2009, the Bio International Convention won the award for the fastest-growing convention owned by a not-for-profit trade association.