Boston 12^th-13^th May
Washington DC 14^th-15^th May

The first Greek Biosciences Mission to the USA took place in Boston and the wider Washington DC area on May 11-15, 2009. The aim of the mission was to present the dynamically emerging Greek biosciences field and the new opportunities that are being created for partnerships and collaborations, business development and investment. The Greek Biosciences Mission was supported by the Greek Ministry of Foreign Affairs and it was organized by the technology transfer organization PRAXI / HELP-FORWARD Network, the Hellenic BioCluster (HBio), the Greek Trade Offices in New York and Washington DC and the General Consulate of Boston. The Greek delegation comprised of 15 members, including representatives of 8 innovative bioscience companies (Anavex, Biomedcode, Bionature, Biovista, CBL Patras, Cambridge Biomagnetics, Embio and Medicon) and 2 renowned Greek Research Institutes, (the Biological Sciences Research Center Alexander Fleming and the Biomedical Research Foundation of the Academy of Athens). The delegation group represented a dynamic part of the Greek biosciences sector with activities mainly focusing on pharmaceuticals, diagnostics and genetics. The group was accompanied by two technology transfer consultants from PRAXI / HELP-FORWARD Network and two representatives from the Invest in Greece Agency.

The Greek Biosciences Mission agenda included 2 days in the Boston area (May 12-13) and 2 days in the metropolitan area of Washington DC (May 14-15). The main activities organized during those 4 days included 1) Two business events with Greek company/institutes presentations, 2) Two partnering events with prearranged bilateral meetings between Greek and American organizations, 3) Several site visits to American biotech companies, research centers and biotechnology organizations, 4) Two evening receptions and other networking opportunities.

The first business event, a working breakfast presentation, was organized in Cambridge MA, on May 12. During the working breakfast, representatives from the Greek companies and research centers presented the opportunities that arise for the emerging Greek medical biotechnology sector, to an audience of more than 110 attendees, including business executives from large American corporations, renowned academics from MIT, Harvard, Tufts and Northeastern Universities and other biotech professionals. Similarly, during the networking business lunch organized in Washington DC on May 14, the Greek delegates presented their organizations' activities to more than 70 company executives, business angels, academics and researchers, federal ministry managers, public health officials, as well as local business development officers.

The business presentation events in Boston and Washington DC were followed by partnering events, which brought together Greek and US companies in a large number of prearranged bilateral meetings. The bilateral meetings were organized after careful identification of specific technological complementarities between Greek and US companies active in the same fields, and they aimed to investigate synergies and opportunities for business and research collaborations. A total of 105 bilateral meetings took place between Greek and USA companies/Research Institutes during the business partnering events in Boston and Washington DC. Several USA organizations took part in the bilateral meetings, among which some well known USA corporations such as BiogenIdec, Wyeth, Genzyme, Millenium, Vertex, Affinity Life Sciences, Amplimmune, Mersana, Biolabs Enzyme Technology, Medical and Biological Laboratories, Kard Scientific, and investment companies such as Ventac Partners, Bioventures Investors, NeoMed and others.

The discussions for potential Greek-US collaborations included licensing negotiations for the development of novel drugs, negotiations for the provision of specialized research services (e.g. preclinical trials), research collaborations for joint product development, partnerships for the promotion of novel Greek products in the US market, as well as the promotion of novel US products to the Greek market. The partnering events set the ground for several potential Greek-American collaborative agreements in the biosciences field. At least 2 collaborations have already been agreed between Greek and US companies as a result of the partnering events.

The successful business events of the Greek Biosciences Mission were accompanied by a number of site visits to several prestigious Research Institutes, large biotech companies, and biotechnology organizations. On May 12, the Greek delegation toured the Center for Drug Discovery in Northeastern University. The delegates were informed about the Center's activities by a presentation from the director of the Center, Prof Alexandros Makriyiannis. The presentation was followed by discussions and an afternoon networking reception, organized by Prof Makriyiannis and the Center's benefactor, George Behrakis.

On May 13, the Greek delegation visited the Massachusetts Biotechnology Council (MBC) in Boston, one of the largest biotechnology associations in the world, with more than 600 member organizations, and more than 300 biotech companies. The Greek delegates met with executives from the MBC and Genzyme Corporation and discussed opportunities presented to Greek companies that wish to expand their activities to the US. On the afternoon of the same day, the delegation visited the Novartis Institutes for Biomedical Research and the well-known Broad Institute (an MIT-Harvard University research initiative), where the Greek group had the opportunity to get informed on the latest developments in drug discovery and genomic research from leading US researchers.

On May 15, in Washington DC, the Greek delegation visited the main campus of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the world's largest bio-medical research institute; the Greek delegates were informed by Dr Lenka Levintova (program manager of the "Small Business Innovation Research Program") about the funding opportunities for collaborative projects between US and other companies internationally. The NIH visit was followed by a visit at the Shady Grove Innovation Centre, a company incubator of the Maryland Montgomery County. The Greek delegates were informed about the competitive business support services and facilities, which can be offered by the Shady Grove Incubator to early-stage high tech companies. The Shady Grove Incubator already hosts a large number of high tech companies, including several biotech companies from the US, the UK, France, the Netherlands, Israel etc. The last site visit of the mission was in the laboratories of the J. Craig Venter Ιnstitute. The delegation was guided through the Centre's laboratories by the head of the Synthetic Biology & Bio-Energy Group and the head of the Genome Sequencing Group, and was informed about the research efforts towards the creation of synthetic life and other pioneering biotechnology applications in the field of genetics.

Finally, the Greek Biosciences mission activities in Boston and Washington DC were framed by networking receptions on the evenings of May 12 and 14, hosted by Consul General of Boston Mr. K. Orphanides and Ambassador of Greece Alexandros P. Mallias, respectively.

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Press coverage
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- Praxi Help-Forward / HBio
- Anavex
- Biomedcode
- Biovista
- Bionature
- CBL Patras
- Cambridge Biomagnetics
- Embio
- Medicon
- Alexander Fleming Research Institute
- Biomedical Research Foundation of the Academy of Athens

- Anavex
- Bionature
- Biovista
- Cambridge Biomagnetics
- Alexander Fleming Research Institute
- Biomedical Research Foundation of the Academy of Athens