A Good Policy for the Protection of Patents, the Key to a Successful Transfer of Technology

PAMPLONA, Spain, October 1, 2010 - "It is increasingly difficult to receive financing and the
financial crisis is weakening investment in R&D+i," said Conny Bogentoft,
Chief Scientific Officer at Karolinska Development AB, during the third and
last plenary session of the 5th International Meeting on Biotechnology,
BioSpain 2010, organised by the Spanish Association of Biocompanies (ASEBIO)
and the Government of Navarre through SODENA. This expert described the model
of the unit she runs, focused mainly on "building bridges between the
academic world and the pharmaceutical industry." Karolinska Development AB
has six projects in phase II, six in phase I and over 20 potential
first-in-class components. In this context, the expert pointed out the need
for a good patent protection policy.

Another of today's important round tables was the one entitled
"International Technology Commercialization." In it there was a debate
concerning the current model of collaboration between the public and private
sector in Europe and in the United States, and some of the actions being
carried out in both areas to bridge the gap between the financing and
development of products were explained.

"For a company it is important to know what universities and
public institutions are doing regarding new technologies," explained Jose
Maria Fernandez Sousa-Faro, President of ASEBIO, during the round table. The
CENIT project, an initiative by CDTI, was also highlighted as an example of
collaboration between the pubilc and private sector, in addition to the
initiative carried out by CIMA in Navarre.

Participating in the closing ceremony were Jose Maria Roig,
Regional Minister of Innovation, Business and Labour of the Government of
Navarre; Jose Maria Fernandez Sousa-Faro, President of ASEBIO, and Carmen
Vela, the new President of the Spanish Society of Biotechnology. In general,
the "overwhelming success" of BioSpain 2010 was praised, with attendance
figures that surpassed by far all initial expectations.

On the other hand, the "Your Biotech House" exhibition,
located in an outdoor tent in Baluarte Square, is offering visitors the
chance to discover that biotechnology is present in our everyday lives by
means of a domestic environment that is recognisable for the public. The
company Vita Aidelos, thanks to the sponsorship and collaboration of the
Genoma Espana Foundation, has organised a number of educational workshops
within the framework of this exhibition.

    More information:

    Lucia Cecilia Mercado
    lcecilia@asebio.com
    +34-91-210-93-74

More information: Lucia Cecilia Mercado, lcecilia at asebio.com +34-91-210-93-74