The biotech industry is setting its sights on Hannover, where exhibitors and visitors from all over the world will convene this autumn at BIOTECHNICA 2010 from 5 to 7 October. "BIOTECHNICA will showcase an array of innovations from the cutting-edge fields of biotechnology and life sciences," reports Stephan Ph. Kühne, Board member of Deutsche Messe AG. A plethora of small, highly specialized firms will exhibit in Hannover alongside numerous companies and industry leaders, including Eppendorf, Qiagen, Sartorius and Thermo Fisher Scientific. "Exhibitors are confident that coming to Hannover will further boost sales, and they want to use BIOTECHNICA for that purpose," adds Kühne. The trade fair will be complemented by an extensive conference program involving more than 500 international speakers from science, industry and politics.

Chris Viehbacher, sanofi-aventis CEO, will open the event on 4 October alongside Jörg Bode, Lower Saxony's Minister of Industry, Labour and Transport, and Dr. Maharaj Kishan Bhan, Secretary of the Department of Biotechnology within the Indian Ministry of Science and Technology. John Dalli, European Commissioner for Health and Consumer Policy, is also expected to be in Hannover for BIOTECHNICA. What's more, as part of the opening celebration, the EUROPEAN BIOTECHNICA AWARD will be presented for the eighth time by Deutsche Messe AG. The award is worth 75,000 euros and is aimed at European biotech and life science companies that boast both innovative strength and market success.

The trade fair focuses on biotech applications in the fields of medicine, pharmaceuticals, food, agriculture, industry and environmental protection, plus bioengineering, lab equipment and services. "The bandwidth of products at this year's BIOTECHNICA is important for the biotech industry," says Viola Bronsema, Executive Secretary of the Federation of the German Biotechnology Industry. The combination of exhibition, partnering and high-calibre conference program presents an excellent opportunity to showcase products and services, discuss cooperations and business models, and catch up with the latest scientific know-how. "Anyone looking for the cutting-edge trends, innovations and ideas will find all these and more at BIOTECHNICA," stresses Board member Kühne. The event will have a stronger focus on bioinformatics, R&D technology and lab and process technology. It will also be closely oriented to the pharmaceuticals industry, and as such will underpin dialogue with the biotech sector. For the first time, there will be a special show billed as "Pharmatech".

A flexible concept ensures BIOTECHNICA's success
BIOTECHNICA is a firm date among many big-name exhibitors, and the place where they meet customers and partners from all over the world, exchange know-how and obtain a broad overview of the industry's latest trends. A high level of flexibility is the key to BIOTECHNICA's successful concept: "As market demands change, so the event continually evolves to reflect this," explains Kühne. "As a result of our proximity to the industry, we can pick up on vibrations and integrate them into the existing trade fair concept in a manner appropriate to the target group. We act as the industry's trend seismograph."

Extensive conference program complements the expo
The exhibition and conferences will be interlinked even more closely this year. Indeed, the conference topics reflect the focal points of the exhibition and are accompanied by measures such as special shows in the halls. Preventive and regenerative medicine will play a key role. For the first time, the 5th World Congress on Preventive and Regenerative Medicine (WCPRM) will be held during BIOTECHNICA, with more than 800 scientists and clinical experts from around the world expected to attend.

A further premiere will be a conference and special exhibition entitled "Molecular Diagnostics Europe", organized by BIOTECHNICA in partnership with the Cambridge Healthtech Institute (CHI) in America. It will focus on new methods and tools in this field.

The key topic of Bioinformatics will be expanded to include a comprehensive series of lectures and an accompanying exhibition dealing with applied bioinformatics methods. The "PEGS Europe" conference will examine new techniques and methods of protein expression and purification and antibody development. Additional core subjects will be food markets of the future and food production, molecular food analysis, stem cells, biobanks, forensics and finance options for biotech companies. "BIOTECHNICA Partnering" promises to open doors to new business areas and the right partners, while the "jobvector career day" will shed light on job prospects in the life sciences industry.