Scotland shares bio-business secrets with global market

Scotland's biotechnology industry will once again come under the international spotlight when leading figures from the global sector gather in Dundee for the fifth annual BioDundee conference.

Representatives from the BioDundee partnership including leading life scientist Professor Dario Alessi from Dundee University, Dr John Chiplin, head of the Intermediary Technology Institute to support Scottish bioscience, Scottish Enterprise Tayside chief executive Shona Cormack and Dundee City Council economic development convener Cllr Joe Morrow met at the beginning of February to discuss the biotech showcase and annual international conference, which will take place in the City of Discovery on Thursday, March 17 and Friday, March 18.

BioDundee is a partnership between public, private and academic sectors including Scottish Enterprise Tayside, Dundee City Council and the local universities, which provides support for biotechnology in the city. The event is aimed at delegates from the biotechnology sector across the world, and the organisers are hopeful to attract an international audience of over 200 people.

Dundee is internationally recognised as a growing centre of excellence for life sciences and this event will give leading local industry figures the opportunity to show the world how groundbreaking work in the city is turning research into commerce.

The international conference on the Friday, which boasts an impressive array of international science superstars, will be preceded by a Dundee biotech showcase - on Thursday - which will highlight to visitors the strength in depth and diversity of the local industry. The showcase includes a 'masterclass' from Spiro Rombotis of Cyclacel and Dr Tom Shepherd of CXR Biosciences. The heads of the two local companies, recognised for their pioneering work, will reveal to an audience of students 'what they don't teach you in class'.

The conference is on the theme of 'From Bio-Technology to Bio-Business' and delegates will hear talks from an array of speakers on their own experiences in the sector. Merlin Biosciences founder Sir Chris Evans, entrepreneur Sheridan Snyder and Global Scot science ambassador Dr Martin Gore will share their wealth of knowledge on how lab research can be turned into thriving businesses.

Shona Cormack, chief executive of Scottish Enterprise Tayside, commented: 'Dundee has a well deserved international reputation in the field of life sciences. This is underpinned by a robust partnership between the private sector, public sector and the city's academic institutions, brought together as Bio-Dundee.

'Scottish Enterprise Tayside works with academic organisations to help turn research into commercial propositions and with life sciences companies to help them increase their impact on the Scottish economy. I warmly welcome the Bio-Dundee Conference. The theme clearly underlines the ambition to create more value for Scotland from the world class research that takes place in our universities and research institutions. The outstanding calibre of speakers this conference has attracted demonstrates that Dundee is clearly on the international life sciences map.'