CHICAGO - BIO attendees making their way here over the weekend ran into cold weather - temperatures dipped into the 30s, a chill blew in from Lake Michigan and gray waves slapped against the boardwalk alongside Lakeshore Drive.

By Monday, things had improved, and spring had descended on Chicago. "What a beautiful day," said one attendant, squinting into the sun as she emerged from the cavernous McCormick Place at the end of Monday's sessions.

Tuesday morning, registrants rubbed eyes and carried coffee, shaking off the effects of BIO's free night - which meant moving from one privately hosted reception to another.

"Did you go to [the Japan reception] last night?" one registrant asked another.

"I looked in," he answered, shaking his head. "It was one big crowd."

"Japan Night" was arguably the best-attended event Monday night. That might have been bad news for those looking to grab sake and sushi, but it's doubtful anyone from Japan is worried about having a standing-room-only reception.

The country is seemingly everywhere this year. It hosted two seminars during the International Program on Sunday - "Japan: More Than a Market" and "Japan: the Nutraceutical Phenomenon" - it sponsored the reception Monday night, and had a reception at its pavilion in the exhibit hall Tuesday.

It's Collaboration Japan Wants

Biotech is growing in Japan, as it seems to be doing everywhere, and 2004 figures show the overall market was about 1.7 trillion yen (US$15 billion). Pharmaceuticals accounted for about 31 percent of that spending, as did agro-foods, and chemicals accounted for 26 percent. The 1.7 trillion yen mark was reached by a jump in pharmaceutical sales, particularly antibody drugs. The overall biotech market has been projected to explode in the coming years, climbing to 25 trillion yen by 2010.

The number of biotech firms in Japan has taken off accordingly. In 1995, the country estimated it had 108 biotech companies; by the end of 2004, it had 464.

With that as a background, consider the Japan External Trade Organization (JETRO). In October 2002, it began seeking U.S. biotechnology interest, but unlike other country organizations focused purely on attracting foreign investment, JETRO's goal is truly "a collaborative effort," said Ralph Inforzato, director of business development at JETRO Chicago.

Years ago, JETRO realized that Japan's "big guys" - Takeda, Mitsubishi, Tanabe - wanted to in-license compounds from smaller biotech companies in the U.S. "Also, we had in Japan a lot of small biotechs that had no contacts" with U.S. biotech concerns, he said.

Thus, they hatched a plan to ferry biotech firms to Japan's biggest biotech event - BioJapan, held this year in Osaka in September - and have them sit down and talk business. Over the past three BioJapan meetings, JETRO has coaxed 280 biotech companies to Japan, and while it does not fund the trip, it facilitates the entire experience. It was hard sledding at first, but "eventually the deals got done," Inforzato said.

David Peterson, project manager at JETRO Chicago, told BioWorld Today that over those three missions, about 12 agreements have been sealed.

On this side of the Pacific, JETRO assembled its largest Japanese presence yet for BIO 2006 - 53 companies and entities. The organization, using its 39 offices in Japan, made a conscious effort to go get Japan's "cream of the crop" biotech firms and bring them to Chicago, Peterson said.

As the number of firms grows in Japan, the country is fast shaking its image as just a place to sell biotech drugs - it's a place to make them now, too. The U.S. is taking notice, but it can't all be done by phone and e-mail, Inforzato said.

To work with the Japanese, "you gotta go to Japan," he told BioWorld Today. The Japanese will not sign deals without a visit, but then again, those deals will not get signed simply by touching down at BioJapan - the goal of JETRO is to get people together and then aim for that all-important "second meeting." From there, it's up to the companies.

Perhaps the best example of the collaborative nature of JETRO's initiative happened Monday night at the Japan Night reception. From amid the ruckus of sake and music, from the jostling crowd, two men emerged, arm-in-arm. A representative from a Japanese firm and one from an American company, they approached Peterson.

"We're going to cure bone cancer," they told him.

The conference ends today.