Best-selling Author Jim Collins Headlines Stellar Lineup of National Presenters For The 2007 BioWest Conference and Expo, Now Open For Registration

Denver, CO — Registration is now open for the Rocky Mountain Region’s Premier Bioscience Conference and Expo, BioWest 2007 – http://www.BioWestConference.com. More than 900 leaders will convene December 6 & 7 for the fifth annual BioWest event, held this year at the Grand Hyatt, Denver.

The announcement is made by Denise Brown, Executive Director of the Colorado BioScience Association (CBSA), who says this year’s headline presenter on the morning of December 6 is Jim Collins, noted author and management scholar. Collins’ most recent work, GOOD TO GREAT: Why Some Companies Make the Leap … And Others Don’t, attained long-running positions on The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal and BusinessWeek best seller lists, selling 2.5 million hardcover copies since publication. Collins will spend two hours with the audience presenting his ideas and thoughts and interacting with the participants for a unique extended business education session (http://www.jimcollins.com).

“Colorado’s regional BioWest Conference and Expo provides an absolutely perfect forum for bringing continued national attention to our burgeoning bioscience industry and the innovative companies located here,” says Tom Clark, Executive Vice President, Metro Denver Economic Development Corporation. Additional national speakers confirmed for BioWest 2007 include:

* December 6 Founder’s Breakfast: Chris Nolet, Partner & Leader, Pacific Northwest Area, Life Sciences Industry Group Ernst & Young.

* December 7 Breakfast Address: Stephen Ubl, President and Chief Executive Officer of AdvaMed, the Advanced Medical Technology Association

* December 7 CBSA Awards Luncheon Keynote: Ivor Royston, M.D., founder of the legendary Hybritech and Managing Member at the San Diego-based Forward Ventures

The BioWest Conference and Expo is the Rocky Mountain region’s preferred venue for visiting with researchers about their newest discoveries and meeting founders of the area’s most innovative and promising bioscience start-up companies. The annual Venture Showcase, scheduled for the morning of December 7, will bring together six start-up companies to make their “pitch” to a panel of national venture capitalists. The $10,000 Faegre & Benson Venture Showcase Award will again be presented to the company with the best presentation.

Earlier stage technologies will be showcased at the Technology Transfer Poster Reception on the evening of December 6. Researchers from the region’s top institutions will be on hand with scientific poster presentations to discuss their bioscience discoveries. BioWest 2007 will also provide participants with a 30,000 foot overview of the national biotechnology and medical device issues and trends.

In addition to formal presentations, productive networking among attendees will occur at this year’s BioWest Expo, featuring 50 bioscience suppliers whose exhibits will fill the hallways with services and products to help the region’s companies succeed and grow.

Last but not least, the grand finale to the BioWest Conference and Expo is the December 7 CBSA Annual Awards Luncheon where the bioscience industry celebrates the “Best of the Best” and recognizes industry leaders and supporters. Dr. Royston, keynote speaker for the luncheon, led the concept of partnering medical discovery with industry when he co-founded Hybritech, San Diego's first biotechnology company, in 1978. Today, a good majority of San Diego biotechnology companies can trace their roots back to Hybritech. Dr. Royston is currently Managing Member of San Diego-based Forward Ventures (http://www.forwardventures.com).

About Colorado BioScience Association

CBSA is a not-for-profit corporation providing services and support for Colorado's growing biosciences industry. With more than 380 members, CBSA actively works to promote the growth of the industry by working for a better business environment, grow the state's biotech workforce, fight for policies that support a strong bioscience industry in the state and speak with a single voice on behalf of the industry.  For more information, visit http://www.cobioscience.com.

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Contacts:

Christine Shapard, Deputy Director, Colorado BioScience Association http://www.cobioscience.com – 303-592-4089 or cshapard@cobioscience.com

Maggie Chamberlin Holben, APR, Absolutely Public Relations http://www.absolutelypr.com – 303-984-9801, maggie@absolutelypr.com