Spain Launches the Spanish Biotech Platform

MADRID, May 11, 2011 - Madrid, the capital of Spain, has been chosen for the presentation of the
Spanish Biotech Platform, an initiative launched by the Spanish Bioindustry
Association (ASEBIO), in partnership with the Spanish Society of
Biotechnology (SEBIOT) and the Fundacion Genoma Espana (Spanish Genome
Foundation), which has received funding from the Ministry of Science and
Innovation's National R+D+I Plan 2008-2011. The objective is to develop
stable, efficient and multilateral communication channels between the various
actors of the science, technology and enterprise system, in order to
encourage biotechnology innovation and technology transfer and their
translation into society.

Jose Maria Fernandez Sousa-Faro, the chairman of ASEBIO and a member of
the Spanish Biotech Platform management team, stated his hope "that this
initiative will help the sector to grow in our country and that the
technology will be implemented in many more companies than those that
currently use it".

This initiative has been launched with the following objectives: to
create a stable structure with a representative management board; to provide
the platform with appropriate technology infrastructure and human resources;
to publicize the existence of the project; to create a representative
critical mass, and to promote collaborative projects. Involvement in this
initiative is free and open to both public and private entities, as well as
to any people involved in the biotech market on an individual basis. The
areas of activity of the platform are coordinated by the Technical
Secretariat, which is part of ASEBIO, and cover three broad groups: Red or
Health Biotechnology, White or Industrial Biotechnology and Green or
Agri-Food Biotechnology, which will be represented by working groups.

Among the actions to be implemented, the following are noteworthy: the
launch of a dedicated website (www.mercadosbiotecnologicos.com); the
development and implementation of a strategic agenda by the Management Board;
the establishment of the three working groups (health, industrial and
agri-food); the creation of an internet TV service; the formation of the
first public-private partnership projects; the opening of blogs and forums on
the new website and the design of a daily newsletter with news headlines from
the sector. The next meetings of the Platform will be a Biofuels Conference
on May 19; a seminar day for research groups of the National Centre for
Biotechnology and biotechnology companies on May 23 and collaboration in the
APIB-2011 Conference to be held between June 14 and 17.

    Lucia Cecilia
    Communication Manager
    Spanish Biotech Platform
    Tfno: +34-91-210-93-74
    lcecilia@asebio.com

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