North Carolina Pavilion planned for BIO 2004: companies invited to join exhibit in San Francisco

FOLLOWING A SUCCESSFUL BIO 2003 exhibition this summer in Washington, D.C., the N.C. Department of Commerce and the North Carolina Biotechnology Center are planning another North Carolina Pavilion for next year's BIO 2004 meeting in San Francisco.

"We're really pleased by how well the event came together at BIO 2003 for our first North Carolina Pavilion," said Peter Cunningham, director of the Commerce Department's International Trade Division, which initiated the pavilion. "The feedback has been overwhelmingly very positive. The phrase I used to describe the project to my team was 'home run.' We want to build on that success for 2004."

More than 110 individuals representing 51 biotechnology companies, service and supply companies, universities and economic development organizations participated in the North Carolina Pavilion at the BIO 2003 conference at the Washington Convention Center June 22-25. They shared a 1,000-square-foot exhibit under the banner "North Carolina: The State of Minds."

"The participation by so many groups demonstrated the depth of resources for the industry in our state," said Scott Connell, vice president of Winston-Salem Business Inc. "We look forward to continuing our participation in San Francisco."

It was the first time the state brought a unified presence to the annual event, instead of having individual exhibits scattered throughout the vast exhibit hall. "All of us were proud to come together under one umbrella," said Richard Wiley, president of the N.C. Economic Developers Association.

Complementing the pavilion was a North Carolina reception held at the National Museum of Natural History and attended by former Gov. Jim Hunt, Commerce Department Secretary Jim Fain, Congressmen David Price and Bob Etheridge and industry executives.

The annual BIO conference and exhibition is sponsored by the Biotechnology Industry Organization, an international trade group, and is billed as the world's largest industry meeting. The 2003 event attracted more than 18,000 participants. BIO 2004 will be held at the Moscone Center in San Francisco June 6-9.

The Commerce Department is negotiating with BIO for a larger pavilion space and for a row of individual booths adjacent to the pavilion so North Carolina companies can have their own space but still be part of the North Carolina pavilion.

The department is hiring an international business development manager to coordinate the North Carolina Pavilion and reception. To participate in either event, contact Peter Cunningham, director of the International Trade Division, at 919-733-7193; email pcunningham@nccommerce.com

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