The Mid-Atlantic – Russia Business Council invites you to

                         The 8^th Semi-Annual Biotechnological

              Russian-American Innovation Technology Week (RANIT – BIO)

June 11 – 20, 2008

            Russian-American Innovation Technology Week (RANIT) brings together entrepreneurs, scientists, venture capitalists, and established corporations within the American and Russian technology industries. RANIT, organized by the Mid-Atlantic - Russia Business Council (MARBC), is the most significant semi-annual event devoted to Russian-American technology and business cooperation. Based on past success, RANIT is now held twice a year, and includes an increasing number of regional technology events, seminars, panel discussions, roundtable meetings, trade shows, conferences, and networking events.  The 8^th RANIT will highlight biotechnology and will conclude with participation in the world’s largest biotechnology exhibition, BIO 2008 in San Diego.  The Russian delegation that will take part in the 8^th RANIT-BIO will consist of representatives from the foremost Russian companies in biotechnology and related industries.

8^th RANIT-BIO will begin in Philadelphia and Washington on June 11-14, 2008

            Starting in Philadelphia, special events at RANIT-BIO will include a welcoming ceremony and conference in the Mayor’s Reception Room at Philadelphia City Hall.  Keynote speakers at the welcoming ceremony and conference will include presidents of American and Russian biotechnology associations as well as Mid-Atlantic state officials.  On June 12^th, a reception dedicated to the celebration of Russia’s Day will be held at the Russian Embassy in Washington D.C.  This will be preceded by a roundtable discussion with members of the Virginia and Maryland states biotechnology and venture associations.  Then upon returning to Philadelphia, the Russian delegation will also visit the International Incubator at the Science Center, participate in a seminar on venture capital funds specializing in biotechnology, and meet with members of biotechnology associations from Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Delaware.

                 A few recent developments have made biotechnology cooperation between Russia and the Mid-Atlantic states particularly attractive.  First, the Russian government has drafted a “National Program for the Development of Biotechnology in Russia until 2015,” which emphasizes the regional development of bioclusters.  Second, state governments in the Mid-Atlantic region have enacted favorable policies that have further enhanced the region’s standing as a leader in the field of biotechnology.  Further strengthening commercial ties between the U.S. Mid-Atlantic region and Russia, in 2008 Pennsylvania will become the first U.S. state to open a trade office in Russia.  Within this context the MARBC has made Russian-American scientific and technical cooperation in biotechnology one of its top priorities. MARBC has facilitated American participation in several of the most significant biotechnology conferences and events in Russia, including the “Biotech World” International Exhibition and the International Congress “Biotechnology: State of the Art and Prospects of Development,” which are held annually in the House of the Moscow Government.

The key and concluding event of the 8^th RANIT will be

BIO 2008

June 17 – 20, 2008

in San Diego 

  BIO is the world’s largest and most impressive exhibition and conference

for experts in the field of biotechnology

            The BIO 2007 exhibition and conference in Boston, Massachusetts included 1,900 expositions by companies, academic institutions, state centers of biotechnology, and other organizations from all 50 states and over 60 countries. As part of the exhibition, more than 200 plenary sessions were organized, in which more than 900 speakers shared their expertise.

            Mid-Atlantic - Russia Business Council (MARBC) has played an important role in previous years at BIO, serving as the official organizer of the Russian delegation to BIO 2005, BIO 2006 and BIO 2007, as part of MARBC’s undertaking to build a bridge between the Russian and American biotechnology communities.  The Russian business program at BIO 2005 was organized in the context of the Semi-Annual Russian-American Innovation Technology Week (RANIT), and included a Russian mini-pavilion and participation by members of the Russian delegation in various events of BIO 2005.  At BIO 2006 in Chicago, as well as at BIO 2007 in Boston, MARBC organized a Country Seminar on Russia featuring panel discussions and presentations from leading experts on doing business in Russia. 

http://www.bio2007.org/International/RussianVisitors.htm

http://www.bio2007.org/program/sessiondate.asp?sCrit=Russia&sField=sTitle&disp=show

http://www.bio2007.org/International/Russia_2007_Profile.htm

http://www.bio2007.org/International/delegation_organizers/contact_roster.html

            As in Philadelphia, Chicago and Boston, the MARBC will again serve as the official organizer of the Russian delegation to BIO 2008 in San Diego.  MARBC will present Russian biotechnology companies and organize an exposition on the achievements of Russian scientists and manufacturers in biotechnology and related industries.  Focusing upon “Russia’s Emerging Bio-economy: New Developments in Regional Bioclusters, Biofuels, and Bionanotechnology,” MARBC will present the Russian biotechnology industry in the International Marketplace during the conference’s International Day on June 18, 2008.

http://www.bio2008.org/subpage.aspx?pagename=cv08_attendee_intl_finddelorganizers

   For additional information about participation in the 8^th RANIT-BIO, please contact Val Kogan, Mid-Atlantic-Russia Business Council by phone: (215) 708-2628, email: val@ma-rbc.org, or visit the MARBC website at: http://www.ma-rbc.org.