Twelve years ago, a biotech conference in San Diego drew thousands of protesters, during a peak of activity challenging corporate patents on life and the cynical smokescreen of pro-poor policies and ‘feeding the world.’ Now, as global trade regimes have further concentrated and biotech has consolidated its role as a keystone industry not just in the food and big pharma sectors, but also in the energy sector, another biotech conference in the same city should invite even greater critique and resistance. The false promise of these technologies is simply taking too large a share of the dwindling economic pie to let it go unchallenged. — synbiowatch
Cross-posted from the San Diego Business Journal
San Diego will host the 2013 Pacific Rim Summit on Biotechnology and Bioenergy this December. The conference will focus on the growth of the industrial biotech and bioenergy sectors in North America and the Asia-Pacific region.
The Washington, D.C.-based Biotechnology Industry Organization, the world’s largest biotech trade organization, has teamed up with San Diego’s BIOCOM to put on the four-day conference, which will be held December 8-11 at the Westin Gaslamp Quarter in San Diego.
“California is home to a vibrant biotechnology industry, and we are excited to bring this conference to San Diego to highlight the industry’s growth,” said Brent Erickson, executive vice president of BIO’s Industrial & Environmental Section, in a statement.
He said the conference will highlight how important industrial and environmental biotechnology is for generating clean-tech jobs, making bio-based products, new transportation fuels and cleaner processes all aimed at building a bio-based economy.
“As an organization that supports science and innovation in the Southern California region, we couldn’t be happier to partner with BIO to host the Pacific Rim Summit in San Diego this year,” said Joseph Panetta, BIOCOM President and CEO, in a statement. “The conference aligns well with our initiatives as it covers the latest advances and research in industrial biotechnology as the industry continues its progress toward commercialization producing new employment opportunities and jump-starting economic development when they’re needed most.”
—SDBJ Staff Report