> BIOSPAIN
Press Releases

ASEBIO and the Autonomous Government of Galicia seal their collaboration on BioSpain 2014

• - The central themes of the event will be marine and agri-food biotechnology, as well as the integration of biotechnology along with information and communications technology (ICT) into the field of health.
• - Important new features include a forum for training as well as employment; the opening of the scientific programme to a number of societies; the creation of a Latin American space and the launch of a mobile app to follow proceedings during the congress.
• - There will also be a greater emphasis on Biospain´s presence in the social networks, on investors not specialised in the biotech field, and on informal networking events (biotapas).

Madrid, 22 July 2013. The Spanish Bioindustry Association (ASEBIO) and the Autonomous government of Galicia, through the Galician Ministry of Health, and seven other bodies, have today sealed an agreement of collaboration in Santiago de Compostela for the organisation of the seventh edition of BioSpain, which will take place between the 1st and the 3rd of October 2014 in the Galician city.

The agreement has been signed by Regina Revilla Pedreira, President of ASEBIO, Rocío Mosquera Álvarez, Galician Minister for Health and President of the Galician Healthcare Service, Ángel Currás Fernández, Mayor of Santiago, Francisco Conde López, Galician Minister for Economy and Industry as well as President of the Galician Innovation Agency and the Galician Institute for Economic Promotion, Beatriz Mato Otero, Galician Minister for Work and Social Affairs, Rosa Quintana Carballo, Galician Minister for Rural Affairs and the Sea, Elena Barca Ramos, head of the Galician Tourism Agency, Juan Casares Long, Rector of the University of Santiago de Compostela and Salustiano Mato de la Iglesia, Rector of the University of Vigo.

The event has become the benchmark forum for European biotechnology, from an international perspective, and platform for the showcasing of Spanish biotechnology, given that the previous edition was the fifth biggest partnering event in the world in terms of business meetings, with 2775 recorded in 2012.

The celebration of BioSpain 2014 in Santiago de Compostela will contribute towards the growth and visibility of Galician biotechnology and that of the whole of the Iberian peninsula´s northwest in general.
 
The central themes of BioSpain 2014 will be blue, or marine, biotechnology because of the Galician economy´s close ties with the sea; agri-food biotechnology too, as a consequence of the significant weight of this activity in Galicia´s GDP, and finally, the integration of biotechnology and  ICT into the field of health.

Among the new features to be introduced are:

• - The setting up of a forum for training as well as employment
• - The opening of the scientific programme to various scientific societies
• - The establishment of the  Biolatam Showcase
• - The expansion of sponsored content
• - The introduction of a mobile app to follow proceedings during the congress

At the same time, there will be an increased emphasis on BioSpain´s presence in the most important social networking sites, it is expected that there will be a greater involvement from investment / financial sectors not specialised in biotechnology, and special attention will be given to informal networking activities alongside the traditional evening “biotapas”.

The biennial BioSpain 2014 event will be held in the Palacio de Congresos y Exposiciones de Galicia, located at the end of the Camino de Santiago. It has a total floor area of 15,000 square metres which includes an auditorium, meeting rooms, VIP rooms and press rooms, exhibition areas, a restaurant, a cafeteria, several car parking areas and access for people with limited mobility, installations which fulfill the necessary prerequisites to host an event like BioSpain.

BioSpain is structured around a trade fair, a partnering event, an investment forum, plenary sessions and conferences on a variety of subjects (parallel sessions), with national and international speakers as well as an employment and training forum.

The president of ASEBIO, Regina Revilla, stated that "the involvement of all these entities and bodies demonstrates the support that we have received from the public, academic, and private spheres in Galicia associated with the biotechnology sector. In 2011, Galicia became the autonomous community with the third highest concentration of biotech user companies, making up 8,41% of the total, that is to say, 255 businesses, a number which represents an increase of 107% in respect to the number of companies registered in 2010. Galicia is behind Catalonia, which hosts 17% and Andalucía, with 11%, and ahead of Madrid and Castilla y León. Furthermore, in 2012, it became the autonomous community with the third highest number of newly created biotechnology companies, with seven such new entities. Biotechnology client companies employ 6000 people in the whole community”.

The sixth edition of BioSpain, which took place in Bilbao in 2012, was attended  by 1850 professionals, both from Spain and from abroad, 32% more than during the 2010 edition. The commercial exhibition area, whose surface area had increased by 50%, accommodated over 29% more exhibitors than in 2010, totaling 217 stands. 78% of them were used by Spanish companies and the other 22% by international companies.

In total, 762 companies were present, of those, 210 came from abroad (28% of the total). Equally, the number of international companies who took part in the commercial exhibition (a total of 48) increased by 65,5%. Of the 210 international companies, the largest percentage were from the United Kingdom (6%), followed by France (4%), Germany (2%), the United States (2%), Belgium (2%), Switzerland (2%), Holland (1%), Portugal (1%), Italy (1%) and México (1%).

According to the results of the satisfaction survey carried out by the organisation, 77% of the attendants to BioSpain 2012 claimed to have identified real business opportunities at the fair.

In terms of the general value of the event, 93% valued it positively and 88% indicated that their expectations had been fulfilled, with the networking possibilities on offer being BioSpain´s most highly valued aspect in the past edition. In fact, 97% of attendants to the 2012 edition are considering their participation in the coming edition of BioSpain 2014.
Para más información:

Lucía Cecilia
Responsable de Comunicación de ASEBIO
Tfno. + 34 91 2109374/10
Fax. +34 91 2500063
Móvil: 663 117 293   
e-mail:


Para consultar los sitios de ASEBIO

https://www.facebook.com/asebio.biotecnologia
https://twitter.com/asebio
http://www.linkedin.com/groups?gid=4355630