Philadelphia (July 19, 2018) – The 15th annual BIO World Congress on Industrial Biotechnology concluded today at the Pennsylvania Convention Center in Philadelphia. The BIO World Congress continues to be the largest industrial biotechnology conference in the world, and this year’s event had a significant international presence with 44 percent of attendees coming from outside the United States. Additionally, more than 100 new companies were in attendance in Philadelphia.
Brent Erickson, executive vice president of BIO’s Industrial & Environmental Section, said, “Like previous years, the 2018 BIO World Congress featured robust programming for anyone working in industrial biotechnology. From intriguing plenary and breakout sessions to investment and partnering opportunities, this event provides industry executives, investors, policy makers and academics the best opportunity to collaborate to strengthen the biobased economy.”
The three days of BIO World Congress programming included over 70 programming sessions, featuring 28 breakout sessions across seven tracks, more than 20 poster presentations, 10 GreenTech Investor Sessions and four sponsored workshops. The conference also offered a new efficient element of the program featuring 60 company and technical presentations.
The conference also hosted large delegations from Australia, Thailand and Uruguay. The delegation from Queensland, Australia was led by the Minister for State Development, Manufacturing, Infrastructure and Planning, the Honourable Cameron Dick.
BIO One-on-One PartneringTM sponsored by Iowa, State Of continued to be a key value driver with nearly 2,000 partnering meetings taking place over the three days.
BIO and sponsor IowaBio presented the 2018 George Washington Carver Award for Innovation in Industrial Biotechnology and Agriculture to Dr. Sang Yup Lee, Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST). The annual award was established by BIO more than a decade ago to recognize significant contributions by individuals in the field of industrial biotechnology and its application in biological engineering, environmental science, biorefining, and biobased products.
BIO and sponsor The Rosalind Franklin Society presented the 2018 Rosalind Franklin Award for Leadership in Industrial Biotechnology and Agriculture to Krysta Harden, vice president of external affairs and chief sustainability officer at Corteva AgriscienceTM. The award is presented to an outstanding woman in the industrial biotechnology sector who has made significant contributions to the advancement of the biobased economy and biotech innovation. Harden is the fifth recipient of the annual award.
BIO also honored Dr. Larry Walker, Industrial Biotechnology Journal, with its third annual BIO Leadership and Legacy Award in Industrial Biotechnology and Agriculture.
Photos of the 2018 BIO World Congress are available on the official BIO Flickr account. Videos of the award presentations are available on BIO’s YouTube channel.
The 2019 BIO World Congress on Industrial Biotechnology will be held July 8-11, 2019 in Des Moines, Iowa. Call for sessions, speakers and presentations opens in the Fall of 2018.