BioWorld interviews James C. Greenwood, President and Chief Executive Officer of Bio. Greenwood shares the legislative goals of the Biotechnology Industry Organization at the 2011 Bio International Convention on June 30, 2011 in Washington, DC. [youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fmjdg9K3_XU[/youtube]...

WASHINGTON ? If there's any universal experience of the BIO International Conference, it has to be foot fatigue. You hear about it in snatches in the hallway. “My feet are aching.” “I have to get off my feet.” “My blisters have blisters.” At least two vendors in the exhibition hall were giving away Band-Aids in branded Band-Aid dispensers, much to the gratitude of attendees, who snatched them up eagerly. Even when making maximum use of shuttle buses and taxis, a big convention like BIO is all about pounding the pavement. Both city sidewalks and convention center floors are constructed from...

Today at the 2011 Bio International Convention, we had the opportunity to speak with Keith A. Katkin, President and Chief Executive Officer of Avanir Pharmaceuticals. Katkin discusses the recent FDA approval of Nuedexta for the treatment of pseudobulbar affect (PBA). [youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GApXXbmHWHs[/youtube]...

WASHINGTON ‑ There’s a sorta funny, kinda snotty article in The Washington Post’s style section today – “Know your conventioneer” – that bills itself as “a handy field guide to help you identify which flock your summer conventioneer belongs to.” The article quotes the head of the Washington Convention Center Authority: “They travel in clusters. And their badges give them away.” A graphic that is supposed to help District of Columbians identify us, the 300,000 conventioneers who will come to their town this year, asks qualifying questions like, “Are the conventioneers multi-gendered? If the answer is no, the answer is...

Nigel Gaymond, Chief Executive of the BioTech Industry, UK, discusses his opinions on the future of the British biotech sector at the 2011 BIO International Convention.  Do you agree? What are you thoughts on British biotech?  Let us know in the comments section. [youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Xa1sunGRbQ[/youtube]  ...

I confess. When it comes to the BIO International Convention, I’m a newbie. So please forgive me for thinking it was just another conference. I began to see the error of my thoughts as soon as I registered a month or so ago. That’s when I got my first offers for interviews. But even that didn’t prepare me for the flood of meeting requests and invites I’ve received in the past few weeks. And talk about buzz. Practically every phone call began with: “Are you going to BIO?” It was enough to convert even the most passionate Luddite. A tech-curious...

Editor’s note: This editorial about the Biotechnology Industry Organization conference, written by BioWorld’s publisher, originally appeared in a 2007 edition of BioWorld Perspectives, just before BIO in Boston. We asked him to update it for BIO 2011, which begins this weekend in Washington, D.C. He saw me approaching, and glanced down at the pink bar on my name badge and the word "Media." He pointed his finger at me. "You're a part of it!" he said, tauntingly. My conversation with this earnest young protester in San Francisco in 2004 remains one of my most enduring BIO memories. We talked for...

With #BIO2011 just four days away, attendees and speakers alike are cramming stacks of business cards in brief cases and debating whether or not to wear the good looking shoes or the comfortable ones. The BioWorld team will gather en masse to bring you full coverage of the industry’s biggest event. In advance we provide a little tongue-in-cheek advice for speakers and moderators honing talking points and PowerPoint slides. Please consider editing your comments to avoid these groan-inducing BioClichés: Achilles heel: When used in reference to a drug that’s intended to zap the cancer cell at its one unprotected weak...

Wondering what to read on the flight to and from D.C. for the BIO 2011 annual convention? Wonder no more – check out BioWorld’s fifth annual biotech summer reading list! We’ve polled industry bibliophiles to bring you this season’s hottest fiction and nonfiction offerings, some of which were actually written by your biotech brethren. Think all they can write are business plans and journal articles? Think again . . . Biotech Authors: the pen is mightier than the petri dish A little-known fact about John Hollway, vice president of business development at anti-infectives firm Achaogen Inc., is that he wrote...

Heading to D.C. next week for BIO 2011? So are we – and we’d love to catch up with you there. Don’t miss our panel: Starting Up Biotechs in the New Normal World. 10 AM Wednesday, June 29, 2011, Room 149AB. Lynn Yoffee, Managing Editor, BioWorld Today, will present the latest statistics on funding for biotech start-ups. Susan Molineaux, President and CEO, Calithera Biosciences Inc., will discuss how Calithera was able to raise $40 million in Series A funding from VCs in 2010. Walter Ogier, President and CEO, Acetylon Pharmaceuticals Inc., will discuss how Acetylon was able to initially raise...