In Tokyo, from May 8th to 10th, Asia’s largest bio event “BIOtech 2013 in Japan” took place showing a significant growth both in the scale and the quality. Not only the number of exhibitors increased by more than 20% from the previous show, there were many positive comments from participants such as “the attendees were more devoted to finding new partners and innovations”, “there are increased number of visitors from overseas” and “BIOtech Japan has truly become the must-attend event for the bio industry”.
Check the key figures below to see how successful the show was.
・603 exhibitors from 25 countries (UP from 490 exhibitors from 15 countries in 2012)
・10,362 visitors from around the world
・237 presentations
・4,845 attendees to the Keynote & Special Sessions
The Japanese bio industry gaining huge attention from the world:
Increased attendance by overseas exhibitors/visitors One of the many factors which lead BIOtech 2013 Japan to the huge success was that the Japanese bio industry is showing signs of recovery and further growth. Dr. Yamanaka’s creation of iPS cells not only generated the new market for iPS cell research and regenerative medicine, also became a cause for the government to enhance its support toward the bio/pharmaceutical-related research. Also fueled by newcomers from other industries, business and innovation in the Japanese bio industry is rejuvenated. Growing interests toward the Japanese market also resulted in an increased number of attendees from overseas. Due to the economic stagnation in Europe, more overseas biotech companies have chosen to exhibit at BIOtech 2013 Japan, setting their target to the Japanese market. Partly because of that, the number of overseas exhibitors almost doubled from the previous show. Also, increased numbers of overseas visitors were seen having active business talks at the show venue, attracted by the latest research achievements and advanced products/services presented at BIOtech 2013 Japan.
This year, BIOtech Japan has further established its position as an international event where the Japanese/Asian bio industry and those who are targeting it all get together, as THE STATE OF ILLINOIS (exhibitor) said: “This is THE must-attend event for those targeting the Japanese market. “
Highlights of the event [Partnering] [Exhibition] [Conference]
BIOtech Japan is the largest, most advanced and most comprehensive event in the Asian bio industry consisting of 3 pillars – Partnering, Exhibition and Conference. See the followings for the highlights in each
section.
(1) Partnering – Actively participated by the whole bio/pharmaceutical industry
Partnering at BIOtech 2013 Japan connected academics, biotech companies, pharmaceutical companies (including the world’s leading companies represented as sponsors), government officials and other investors with one another through online “Bio Partnering System” and meetings on-site.
It seemed that participants this year were even more motivated than in the previous years. It had been said that Japanese pharmaceutical industry had been exclusive and not actively involved in partnering/cooperation with external researchers/organizations, but the situation has changed. The number of appointments set through “Bio Partnering System” has almost doubled this year compared to the previous time, especially between academics and the industry sector. Active meetings were seen everywhere in the exhibitions halls, not only at the Partnering Meeting Room but also inside exhibitors’ booths, presentation booths of Academic Forum, etc.
Academics: 173 academic presenters with the latest research achievements
One of the strengths of Partnering at BIOtech Japan is the large number of participants from Japanese academics who have attractive bio/pharma-related platform technologies/seeds yet to be industrialized/commercialized. 173 academics from universities/research institutes all around Japan participated in “Bio Partnering System” and presented their latest research achievements at “Academic Forum” on-site. Their research themes covered various fields in life science and drug discovery/development, such as Cancer, Medical/Diagnostic Device, Regenerative Medicine / Tissue Engineering, Imaging, Immunity/Vaccine, and many others. Especially there was a notable increase in the number of research themes related to iPS cells and regenerative medicine this year. The followings are the top 5 popular presentations at Academic Forum.
1) Cancer Stem Cell Model Developed From iPS Cells
OKAYAMA UNIVERSITY, Dr. Masaharu Seno
2) A novel diagnostic technology that enables to detect changes and abnormalities in complex mixture KYOTO UNIVERSITY, Dr. Kaoru Koike
3) Portable on-chip ultra-high speed genome screening system for diagnostics
KANAGAWA ACADEMY OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY, Dr. Kenji Yasuda
4) Molecular imaging of stem cells in regenerative medicine in Parkinson's disease
RIKEN, Dr. Hirotaka Onoe
5) Characterization of bio-active substances acting on health and youth--Longevity Genes and Health—UNIVERSITY OF TSUKUBA, Dr. Kazuichi Sakamoto
Sponsors: Major pharmaceutical companies seeking for prominent technologies/seeds
Partnering at BIOtech 2013 Japan was also joined and supported by major pharmaceutical companies including Sponsors as below.
Pharma Company Sponsors (in alphabetical order)
AJINOMOTO PHARMACEUTICALS
ASTELLAS PHARMA ASTRAZENECA
CHUGAI PHARMACEUTICAL
DAIICHI SANKYO
DAINIPPON SUMITOMO PHARMA
ELI LILLY JAPAN
KAKEN PHARMACEUTICAL
KYORIN PHARMACEUTICAL
MEIJI SEIKA PHARMA
MITSUBISHI TANABE PHARMA
MSD
NOVARTIS PHARMA
TAKEDA PHARMACEUTICAL
Open innovation becoming more and more important for every pharmaceutical company, those sponsors chose BIOtech 2013 Japan as the best opportunity to discover prominent platform technologies/seeds and find partners. At their own meeting rooms, Partnering Meeting Room, Academic Forum or Exhibition, they had many meetings with academics and
biotech/pharmaceutical companies.
(2) Exhibition: The number and variety of exhibitors increased significantly
Not only the number of exhibitors increased significantly from the previous years, there were some substantial changes also in the lineup of exhibitors.
Firstly, almost all the global leaders exhibited here, some of them such as AFFYMETRIX JAPAN, AGILENT TECHNOLOGIES JAPAN, SONY, SUMITOMO 3M and WORLD COURIER coming back after a few years of break, in addition to those who have been exhibiting at BIOtech Japan for years such as BOEHRINGER INGELHEIM PHARMA, DSM, EPPENDORF, EUROPEAN PATENT OFFICE, MSD, PATHEON, SANDOZ, SANOFI, THE STATE OF ILLINOIS and so on. Gathering these global leaders at one place, BIOtech 2013 Japan has further enhanced its value as the hub of the Asian bio industry.
Secondly, there was increased number of overseas exhibitors, especially from Europe. As mentioned before, growing numbers of overseas companies have been starting to look outside their home market to survive the severe market condition. Partly due to that situation, BIOtech 2013 Japan was chosen by more companies who are setting their target to the world’s second largest pharmaceutical market, Japan. There were many positive feedbacks also from first-time exhibitors, saying they could get a foothold in the Japanese market finding agents and powerful users.
Thirdly, the show was joined by many newcomers from other industries and venture/start-up companies, especially at the NEW “Table-top exhibiting area”. Show Management launched the area this year, aiming to boost the growth of the industry by offering business opportunities mainly to newcomers and venture/start-up companies. Preparing special packaged exhibiting plan with exclusive price advantage, it opened the door to companies who had never exhibited at a global event like BIOtech Japan. Many newcomers gained a large attention, showcasing products using technologies from their area of specialty such as aerospace parts, in-vehicle components, semiconductors, ink-jet technology, jewellery processing,
and so on.
(3) Conference (Keynote & Special Sessions): Asia’s leading conference with 4,845 attendees Keynote Session and 10 lines of Special Sessions attracted 4,845 attendees in total. Keynote Session covered the current hot topics, “stem cells” and “orphan drugs”, in addition to the outlook and opportunities in the global life science industry.
Frontline of Stem Cell Research and Strategies f or Success in the Pharmaceutical Industry
<> Normal and Neoplastic Stem Cells
Irving Weissman, Professor, Pathology, Developmental Biology Director, Institute for Stem Cell Biology & Regenerative Medicine, Stanford University
<> The Global Outlook f or Life Sciences: Trends and Opportunities in the New Healthcare Eco System
Reenita Das, Senior Vice President, Global Healthcare & Life Sciences, Frost & Sullivan
<> Challenges to Rare Diseases -Diseases Physicians are Unaware of-
Yoshikazu Nakamura, President, Genzyme Japan / Regional President, Genzyme Japan-Asia Pacific
>>> More details: www.bio-t.jp/en/seminar/k/
Special Sessions also attracted a large number of attendees, inviting authorities in each field gaining huge attention in the industry. From the top 5 popular sessions below, you can grab what the industry is most interested in now.
<
1) iPS/ES Cell Research Frontｌine -Entering a New Phase-
(Yoshiki Sawa, Osaka University Graduate School of Medicine / Hiro Nakauchi, The University of Tokyo)
2) Roadmap to Drug Discovery Targeting Cancer Stem Cells
(Koichi Akashi, Kyushu University / Hisafumi Okabe, Chugai Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd.)
3) Challenges of Regenerative Medicine: 3-D Tissue Engineering
(Masato Sato, Tokai University School of Medicine / Tatsuya Shimizu, Tokyo Women's Medical University)
4) Personalized Medicine -Future Perspective and Endorsement-
(Emilio Merlo Pich, F. Hoffmann-La Roche Ltd. / Yasushi Yatabe, Aichi Cancer Center Hospital / Toshio Miyata, Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare)
5) "All Japan" Integrated Promotion and Collaboration toward Drug Discovery Innovation
(Toshio Goto, RIKEN / Noboru Yumoto, National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology
(AIST) / Yoichi Kurebayashi, National Institute of Biomedical Innovation (NIBIO))
>>> Full Program: www.bio-t.jp/en/seminar/
Next show in May 2014
BIOtech 2014 in Japan will take place from May 14 to 16, 2014 at Tokyo Big Sight, becoming larger, more international and more significant business platform.
More information: www.bio-t.jp/en/
Contact us:
BIOtech in Japan Show Management, Reed Exhibitions Japan Ltd. TEL: +81-3-3349-8518
>>> Press Contact: For coverage / media partnership
Attn: Kyoko Nagakusa (Ms.), International PR
mailto:bio-pr@reedexpo.co.jp
>>> Exhibiting Inquiries
Attn: Chisato Miyawaki (Ms.)
mailto:biotech@reedexpo.co.jp
>>> Visitor Registration (receive the latest information on the next show)
www.bio-t.jp/en/inv/