Bioscience Conference Raises Maryland's Global Profile

Bioscience conference raises Maryland’s global profile

Friday, Oct. 28, 2005

by Kevin J. Shay
Staff Writer

Soon after Digene Corp. started distributing products overseas, it worked with another company, which took a percentage cut. Now the Gaithersburg biotechnology company directly markets to other nations its DNA and RNA testing systems, which monitor and diagnose women’s cancer and infectious diseases.

Digene’s overseas revenue has grown to about 23 percent of its total sales, with the bulk in Europe, said Charles M. Fleischman, president and CFO. ‘‘It gives us more control and gives you the most likelihood of successfully commercializing your product,” he said.

Fleischman was one of the speakers at an international bioscience conference this week at the Montgomery County Conference Center in North Bethesda. The Creative Global Connections in Bioscience conference, coordinated by state and county officials, was the second one to include the 10 nations represented in the Districts of Creativity consortium, which formed last year in Belgium as an international alliance for the biotechnology industry.

Maryland is the United States’ only representative in the consortium, which also includes members from Germany, Spain, Belgium, India, Italy, France, Canada, Scotland and China. The two-day event was the second in a series of annual conferences, with the first last year in Belgium.

The Maryland conference helped raise the state’s international profile in the growing worldwide biotech community and showcase the state’s abundant resources in the industry, said Jennie Hunter-Cevera, president of the University of Maryland Biotechnology Institute. Maryland has more than 350 bioscience companies and 200 federal and academic research institutions, according to the state Department of Business and Economic Development.

‘‘Everyone was in awe that Maryland has this vision for biotechnology,” said Hunter-Cevera, a panelist at the conference who also attended the Belgium event last year. ‘‘It was fascinating to see how different countries approached the bioscience industry. There were common threads in models. But there were differences based on culture and the ways they do business.”

For instance, Belgium’s government provides more support than many other nations, while India is following an information technology-based model, Hunter-Cevera said. While the industry remains competitive globally, the meetings help pinpoint areas where representatives can cooperate and learn from each other, she said.

The keynote speaker was Robert C. Gallo, director of the Institute of Human Virology at UMBI, who discussed his cutting-edge research on HIV and AIDS.

Close to 150 people, representing 10 nations, attended the conference, said Susan Frick Payne, director of international and intergovernmental relations for the Maryland Secretary of State’s Office.

Many of the Maryland biotech representatives at the conference later attended the mid-Atlantic BIO conference for industry and investors at the Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center in Washington, D.C., on Wednesday and Thursday.

The meeting replaces the annual Virginia Biotech Association and the Tech Council of Maryland conferences, said C. Robert Eaton, president of MdBio.

‘‘The Mid-Atlantic Venture Association has helped bring together leaders from life sciences companies and venture capital funds from both sides of the Potomac River,” Eaton said. ‘‘This is the first of its kind for a remarkable number of high-quality companies and world class research universities to share new knowledge and opportunities.” Eaton said the conference, which organizers plan to hold annually, will strengthen bioscience industries in the entire region.

Staff Writers Steve Berberich and Steve Monroe contributed to this report.

*Photos taken by UMBI officials

(From left to right) 1st photo Ms. Mary D. Kane, Maryland Secretary of State; Mr. René Salas, Mid-Atlantic Area Leader, Ernst & Young Biotechnology; Dr. Paul Antony, Chief Medical Officer at the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America; Mrs. Fientje Moerman, Vice Minister-President, Government of Flanders; 2nd photo Dr. Larry Mahan, Director, Biosciences Group, Maryland Department of Business and Economic Development; Dr. Norbert Hoeptner, Commissioner for European Affairs, Ministry of Economic Affairs, Baden-Württemberg; Dr. Jennie Hunter-Cevera, President, University of Maryland Biotechnology Institute; Mr. Kevin Lai, Center Director, New York, Economic Development Board of Singapore; Dr. Ann Van Gysel, Director, Internal Relations and Communications, Flanders Interuniversity Institute for Biotechnology; Mr. Cherian Philip, Honorary Director, US Chapter, Association of Biotechnology Led Enterprises; Dr. Tomoya Ogawa, Director, Riken Yokohama Institute.

(From left to right) 1st photo Dr. Jennie Hunter-Cevera, President, University of Maryland Biotechnology Institute; Dr. John Holaday, Chairman, HarVest Bank; Dr. Tomoya Ogawa, Director, Riken Yokohama Institute; 2nd photo Charles Fleischman, President and Chief Financial Officer, Digene Corporation; Dr. Stephen L. Hoffman, Chief Executive and Scientific Officer, Sanaria, Inc.; Dr. David J. Kyle, President and CEO, Advanced BioNutrition Corp.; Bernadette Musselwhite, Business Development Manager, Montgomery County Department of Economic Development.

(1st photo seated left to right) His Excellency Franciskus van Daele, Belgian Ambassador to the United States; Shigefumi Matsuzawa, Governor of Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan; Mary D. Kane, Secretary of State of Maryland; Fientje Moerman, Vice Minister-President of Flanders, Belgium; Aris Melissaratos, Secretary of Maryland's Department of Business and Economic Development; (Standing left to right) Joan Cornet-Prat, Commissioner of the Ministry of Health for the Catalan Biocluster, Spain; Dr. William "Brit" Kirwan, Chancellor of the University System of Maryland; Dr. Tomoya Ogawa, Director of the Riken Yokohama Institute, Japan; Juergen Oswald, Head of Division of International Economic Relations with Europe and North American, Government of Baden-Wurttemberg, Germany; Patrick Hervy, Chairman and CEO, XLHealth Corporation, Dr. Jennie Hunter-Cevera, President, University of Maryland Biotechnology Institute; 2nd photo Dr. Wei-Wu He, General Partner, Emerging Technology Partners, LLC; Dr. Yossi Tal, Senior Scientist, Center for Marine Biology, University of Maryland Biotechnology Institute; Dr. Claude Nash, Vice President for Business Development; University of Maryland Biotechnology Institute; Takatsugu Amano, Global Business Director, M2 Enterprises.