Media Advisory -May 4, 2011
Ag-West Bio and SREDA seek out Saskatchewan ex-pats at key life science conferences this spring
Saskatoon, SK: Do you bleed green and white? Do you wear a hoodie or a bunnyhug? Love Gainer the Gopher? If you are from Saskatchewan and active in the life science sector outside of the province…we are looking for you!
Ag-West Bio and the Saskatoon Regional Economic Development Authority (SREDA) want to connect with Saskatchewan ex-pats at The World Congress on Industrial Biotechnology & Bioprocessing in Toronto (May 8-11) and at the BIO International Convention in Washington, DC (June 27-30).
These are two of the largest life science and biotechnology conferences in the world. These shows are attended by professionals from every major company and government involved in the industries.
Saskatchewan ex-pats who visit the Saskatchewan trade show booths at World Congress or BIO 2011 will receive a Saskatchewan Roughriders memento as a gift. Anyone who visits the booth can enter a draw for a Roughrider’s jersey; ex-pats who complete a short survey will double their opportunity to win!
“We know that a great number of highly-trained people who started out in Saskatchewan left the province over the years. Many of these people now occupy senior positions in life science companies around the world,” says Mike Cey, VP Corporate and Business Development for Ag-West Bio. “We are looking to connect with them as we believe Saskatchewan ex-pats would be great ambassadors to this province.”
The life-science sector in Saskatchewan has been growing dramatically over the past decade, with great strides in crop development, biofuels, bioremediation, plant-made pharmaceuticals, natural health products, genomics, bioinformatics biodiagnostics, and vaccines. Ag-West and SREDA believe it is important to connect with ex-pats to be sure they are up to date about the activities and opportunities here.
“Saskatoon and Region has one of the best bioscience clusters in the world. We want to make sure that our ex-pats are aware of this and come back to use these facilities. If they have not been back for a while, ex-pats might be pleasantly surprised to discover how active this region is in the bioscience sector,” says Don Hrytzak, Senior Director of SREDA.
World Congress: Organizations participating in the Ag-West Bio booth (# 115) are Enterprise Saskatchewan, National Research Council-Plant Biotechnology Institute (NRC-PBI), Agrisoma and POS-Biosciences. SREDA’s booth at World Congress is #113.
BIO 2011: Saskatchewan bioscience organizations are led by Ag-West Bio in the Canadian Café at (booth #3705). Participants include Enterprise Saskatchewan, Genome Prairie, Prairie Plant Systems, AdeTherapeutics, The University of
Saskatchewan’s Industry Liaison Office, Saskatchewan Trade and Export Partnership (STEP), Vaccine and Infectious
Disease Organization-International Vaccine Centre (VIDO-InterVac), the Canadian Light Source (CLS), Saskatoon Regional Economic Development Authority (SREDA), the National Research Council Plant Biotechnology Institute (NRC-PBI), and Ag-West Bio.
For more information about Saskatchewan participation in BIO 2011 or BIO World Congress, please contact: Brenda Scott Manager, Event Development, Ag-West Bio Tel: 306-668-2650
On location:
Mike Cey VP, Corporate & Business Development Ag-West Bio Cell: 306-371-0265
Don Hrytzak Senior Director, SREDA Cell: 306-222-7697
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Backgrounders:
Ag-West Bio is a leading catalyst for industry growth through the provision of seed capital, regulatory support, industry information and aiding strategic alliances. Ag-West Bio is membership-based. Our members represent agricultural biotechnology, bioproducts and bioprocesses, and natural health products and functional foods sectors. www.agwest.sk.ca
Saskatoon Regional Economic Development Authority (SREDA) -Started in 1992, the Saskatoon Regional Economic Development Authority (SREDA) Inc. was one of the first independent economic development agencies to be started in Canada. Today, it is one of the most successful. SREDA works with the City of Saskatoon, the Province of Saskatchewan, the surrounding communities and more than 200 private sector investors to build and grow the region’s economy. www.sreda.com
The World Congress on Industrial Biotechnology and Bioprocessing is the world’s largest industrial biotechnology event for business leaders, investors and policy makers in biofuels, biobased products, and renewable chemicals. Entering its eighth year, the event is expected to bring together more than 1,000 high-profile scientists, executives, government officials and investors for an exchange of ideas in Toronto. www.bio.org/worldcongress/
The BIO International Convention is the largest global event for the biotechnology industry and attracts the biggest names in biotech, offers key networking and partnering opportunities, and provides insights and inspiration on the major trends affecting the industry. www.convention.bio.org/about_bio_convention.aspx
