New year, new city

Published: 13-Jan-2011

This year informEx USA moves to Charlotte, NC for the first time. Jennifer Jessop, Global Brand Director ­– Informex, UBM Live, talks about this and other changes

This year informEx USA moves to Charlotte, NC for the first time. Jennifer Jessop, Global Brand Director ­– Informex, UBM Live, talks about this and other changes.

For regular informEx USA participants used to glamorous venues such as San Francisco, New Orleans and Las Vegas, the choice of Charlotte in North Carolina for the 2011 exhibition (7–10 February) may have come as a surprise. But the decision was made for very sound reasons, explains Jennifer Jessop (JJ), Global Brand Director – Informex, UBM Live.

‘We like to have a range of different venues and locations and going forward our aim is to rotate the event between West Coast, East Coast and Mid-United States,’ she says. ‘Charlotte is a great combination of all the things we look for in a location for our event: it has a wonderful convention centre, terrific hotels, and world-class dining and entertainment options.

‘With the economy still recovering, we were also looking for a venue that would reduce some of the costs of attending or exhibiting. Labour rates are lower here than in many other places while hotel prices are reasonable. Accessibility is also key: it’s easy and quick to travel to Charlotte from both the East Coast and Europe.’

One of the most important factors in the decision was the accessibility of a local chemical marketplace. North Carolina is the fourth largest chemical producer in the US, and in the Charlotte area alone there are 759 bioscience companies.

The choice has clearly proved popular with exhibitors and prospective attendees. Both registrants and exhibitor numbers are ahead of last year – by December the attendee registration number was up 18% on the same time in 2010. Almost 400 exhibitors are confirmed, including major players such as Albemarle, BASF, Evonik, Lonza, SAFC and Solvay.

Informex has expanded its programme of networking events for 2011 and, for the first time, will feature an educational conference programme. Running on the Wednesday and Thursday mornings of the show, the conference will comprise three tracks on each day, covering speciality, pharma and general chemistry/

chemical business. On the Wednesday, pharma topics will include: Strategies for Cross-Functional Supplier Integration; The Evolution of Outsourcing: How Drug Developers are Leveraging Partners to Drive Increased Productivity; and a ‘Near cGMP’ Panel.

Wednesday’s speciality sessions will include a microreactor panel and New Technologies Manufacturing Costs, while the general sessions will include presentations from the Profiles in Sustainability Winners and ACS sessions on Green Chemistry – Real World Applications.

Thursday’s pharma sessions will look at Strategic Supplier Relationship Management in the Early-Stage Pharmaceutical Development Cycle; Safebridge high potency certification; The Challenge of Particle Size in APIs on an Industrial Scale – Milling, Micronizing and More; and the Status of the Pharma Fine Chemical Industry.

Speciality sessions will include: The Pivotal Role of Commercial Process in Successful Specialty Chemical Companies; and Tolling: Using Contract Manufacturing for Project/Product Development. Thursday’s general sessions will cover: ‘Embracing Risk-mapp Guidelines; Does Intellectual Property Really Protect Your Product/Process; and Overcoming the Challenges of Large Asset Transactions in Life Sciences.

Also new for 2011 is the Chemistry Innovations Poster Pavilion, designed to allow companies to display their latest innovations, new products, technologies and services to influential industry decision-makers. ‘Open to both exhibitors and non-exhibitors, we envisage that the Poster Pavilion will attract notice from attendees in diverse sectors ranging from discovery stage innovations to new technology platforms,’ says JJ.

One of the highlights of the 2011 show will be the return of the Gala Dinner, which has caused a great deal of excitement, according to JJ, with almost 400 places already reserved. The evening will be a spectacular, formal event, which will focus on Charlotte circa 1910.

‘The turn of the century was the height of grandeur for Charlotte and we will be incorporating a racecars and robber barons theme for the dinner topped off by a special performance by the Cirque du Soleil,’ she says.

The global economic downturn that saw much activity put on hold in 2009 eased last year. At informEx USA there was certainly a much stronger sense of optimism and confidence throughout the event, with exhibitors reporting big increases in walk-up traffic, deals made and projects pursued. And despite the continuing major challenges facing the pharma ingredients and fine chemicals sectors – not least the looming ‘patent cliff’ – JJ expects the upswing to continue in 2011.

As well as an increasing number of mergers and acquisitions, partnerships with CMOs and outsourcing to, or the acquisition of, biotech companies to sustain growth, firms will also be looking to emerging markets for business development in areas such as Latin America, Eastern Europe and Turkey as well as the traditional areas of India and China, she predicts.

JJ compares working on a large event like Informex to attending summer camp as a child. ‘Everyone is thrown together in a structured situation and immediately makes the best of it. You find old friends, make new ones, and are pleasantly surprised by all of the impromptu connections you make.’

All things considered, she believes the event in Charlotte has the potential to be the biggest Informex yet.

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