2010 Biosecurity Conference to Feature Top Obama Administration Officials

WASHINGTON, D.C. (Tuesday, April 13, 2010) - The Biosecurity Conference will bring together senior-level government officials, scientists and security professionals to discuss President Obama’s strategy to support biotechnology’s enormous potential to improve the global quality of life while decreasing the risk of its potential misapplication. This event will be co-located with the 2010 BIO International Convention being held May 3-6 in Chicago, Ill.

Organized by the Partnership for Global Security and the University of Pennsylvania Institute for Strategic Threat Analysis and Response in cooperation with the Biotechnology Industry Organization (BIO), the Biosecurity Conference represents a unique opportunity to address biosecurity issues at the BIO International Convention.

“We’re looking forward to a very productive inaugural Biosecurity Conference,” said Jim Greenwood, president and CEO of the Biotechnology Industry Organization. “These high-level speakers have the expertise to address significant issues at the intersection of life science and global security — from food and agriculture safety to the prevention of biological weapons.”

Margaret Hamburg, Commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration, and Nicole Lurie, Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response of the Department of Health and Human Services, will lead the plenary session. Additional speakers include Gary Samore, White House Coordinator for WMD at the National Security Council and Tara O’Toole, Under Secretary of Homeland Security for Science and Technology.

Additional speakers include officials and executives from:

·         Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation;

·         J. Craig Venter Institute

·         Skoll Global Threats Fund

·         Merck;

·         Novartis;  

·         Vertex

·         Centers for Disease Control and Prevention;

·         U.S. Agency for International Development;        

·         U.S. Department of Agriculture;

·         U.S. Department of Defense;

·         Weapons of Mass Destruction Commission; and

·         American Association for the Advancement of Science

·         American Biological Safety Association;

·         Woodrow Wilson Center Project on Nanotechnology

 

Attendees can register for the Biosecurity Conference at http://convention.bio.org/apps/biosecurity/Biosecurity.aspx?id=2345.

 

Members of the news media can register at http://convention.bio.org/media/registration.aspx.

Upcoming BIO Events

BIO Intellectual Property Counsels Spring Conference and Committee Meeting
April 19-21, 2010
New Orleans, LA 

Partnering for Global Health
May 3, 2010
Chicago, IL
McCormick Place Convention Center

BIO International Convention
May 3-6, 2010
Chicago, IL
McCormick Place Convention Center

2010 BIO Human Resources Conference
May 4-7, 2010
Chicago, IL 

World Congress on Industrial Biotechnology and Bioprocessing
June 27-30, 2010
Washington, DC

BIO India
September 21 - 22, 2010
Hyderabad, India

 

BIO’s Livestock Biotechnology Summit
September 28-30, 2010,
Sioux Falls, SD

 About BIO

BIO represents more than 1,200 biotechnology companies, academic institutions, state biotechnology centers and related organizations across the United States and in more than 30 other nations. BIO members are involved in the research and development of innovative healthcare, agricultural, industrial and environmental biotechnology products. BIO also produces the BIO International Convention, the world’s largest gathering of the biotechnology industry, along with industry-leading investor and partnering meetings held around the world.

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