ASEBIO Requests the Alignment of Spain With the European Union's Future Strategy of Bioeconomy

PAMPLONA, Spain, September 29, 2010 - The figures regarding BioSpain 2010 have beaten all previous
records, to the extent that it has become the most important event in
biotechnology in southern Europe. "Investment in Biotechnology and in R&D+i
is crucial in order to prevent our best researchers from moving abroad",
warned Jose Maria Fernandez Sousa, president of ASEBIO (Spanish
Association.of Biocompanies), during the press conference held to present
BioSpain 2010. "Navarre is greatly encouraging these two aspects and proof of
this is the enormous interest it has shown in the organisation of this
event". In addition, this autonomous government is creating a fund of 500
million euros to invest in this field which has a very promising future.

The most prominent feature of BioSpain 2010 is that of its
internationalisation, so necessary for these kinds of companies. In this
edition there are a total of 160 companies in 132 stands. Likewise, it is
expected that there will be over 2,000 business meetings between
approximately 600 companies and organisations, of which 150 are from outside
Spain. "Brussels is aware of the importance of biotechnology for Europe's
future, which is why it has announced a bioeconomy strategy that has yet to
be defined by the European Union", explained Fernandez Sousa. In this
context, it is estimated that the biotechnology sector will represent 2.7% of
GDP in OECD countries, which is why ASEBIO considers that it would be good
for Spain to implement the same strategy.

At the Investor's Forum 30 biotechnology projects have been
selected, which will be explained during the congress. The president of
ASEBIO recommended that our companies make themselves known internationally
in order to attract funding from outside Spain. To achieve this, it is
essential that Spanish biotechnology companies participate in the most
important international fairs.

Tumour stem cells

The first plenary conference was given by Carlos Cordon-Cardo,
from the University of Columbia, who spoke about tumour stem cells. "If we do
not understand the origin of cancer, we will not be able to understand its
final chapters", he said. According to the lecture, "the most effective
strategy is that of identifying these cells in tumours and metastases to then
attack them", he explained. In this regard, the identification of these stem
cells "could have important clinical applications concerning the prognosis of
the disease".

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

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