B.C. SPONSORS ASIA-PACIFIC PANEL AT BIOPARTNERING SHOW

VICTORIA – B.C. is welcoming delegates from Japan, South Korea and China to BioPartnering North America 2009, a top international life sciences partnering conference, which runs Feb. 8–10 at the Westin Bayshore Resort, Ida Chong, Minister of Small Business, Technology and Economic Development said today.

“Our government recognizes the importance of promoting British Columbia’s leading-edge life sciences industry to investors,” said Chong, who is also Minister responsible for the Asia-Pacific Initiative. “Life Science companies and organizations from the Asia-Pacific are looking to forge new global partnerships; and our government wants to make British Columbia their destination of choice.”

The Province is sponsoring a panel discussion that will feature prominent business leaders and academics from the Asia Pacific who have built successful partnerships in life sciences and biopharmaceuticals. The panellists will cover topics including global opportunities, emerging technologies in Asia, the roles of academia and governments, technology transfer and commercialization strategies and challenges.

Panellists include Dr. Ruhong Jiang, founder and CEO of Applied Stemcell Inc. (China); Dr. Akifumi Matsuyama, Foundation for Biomedical Research and Innovation (Japan); and Christopher Boyer, Bio-Link executive director (Australia); and Mr. Paul H Kim and Dr. Joong-Myung Cho, representing CrystalGeonomics (Korea).

The panel will take place on Tuesday Feb. 10 at 2:45 p.m. Admission to BioPartnering North America 2009 will be free to the public after 2:00 p.m. on Feb. 10.

British Columbia is the seventh largest biotechnology centre in North America by number of companies, and the fastest growing in Canada. The sector employs approximately 2,700 people with annual revenues worth approximately $700 million. The Asia-Pacific is a world leader in many areas of life sciences, including stem cell research and personalized medicine.

Since 2001, British Columbia has invested over $1.7 billion in research and innovation, which has brought in another $1 billion in research funding from other sources.

Government is also funding 2,500 new graduate student spaces at the province’s four research-intensive universities by 2010, as well as providing $10 million for graduate student scholarships.

In addition to promoting innovation and technology, the Province’s participation at BioPartnering North America 2009 supports the Asia-Pacific Initiative, a long-term strategy to increase and diversify economic and cultural ties, and further establishes British Columbia as Canada’s Pacific Gateway. A multilingual website, www.CanadasPacificGateway.ca, has been launched, outlining the advantages and opportunities of investing in British Columbia.

-30-


Media contact:	Gordon Williams Communications Director 250 952-0152 250 413-7316 (cell)

For more information on government services or to subscribe to the Province’s news feeds using RSS, visit the Province’s website at www.gov.bc.ca.