EBD Group and Demy-Colton Life Science Advisors, the producers of BiotechShowcase, and Astia announced a strategic collaboration designed to ensure that women-led biotech companies gain the investor and industry relationships needed to successfully grow their businesses.

Astia is a global network of over 700 experts whose goal is to ensure the success of women in high-growth start-ups, primarily in high tech, clean tech and life science sectors. Co-produced by EBD Group and Demy-Colton Life Science Advisors, the Biotech Showcase is a forum providing private and public companies with an opportunity to present to an audience of investors and biopharmaceutical business development executives.

The Biotech Showcase has quickly established itself as a premier venue for companies to present their innovations to potential private and institutional investors and business development teams from pharmaceutical and large biotech firms. Being featured at the Biotech Showcase has the potential to catapult a company several steps forward toward achieving its business goals, and this is why Astia views it as “the forum” for the Astia companies to be showcased.

Astia’s Silicon Valley Doing it Right programme provides unprecedented access to funding, markets and expertise resulting in an exceptional success rate for its clients. Since 2003, more than 60 per cent of the companies who were presented at the Astia Investor Forums have achieved funding or an exit within one year. During this same period, 12 companies have exited, including two IPS, both in the biotech space.

Astia is a global non-profit organisation that provides innovative programmes to exceptional women-led start-ups. Headquartered in San Francisco, Astia delivers programmes for entrepreneurs in Silicon Valley, New York, London and, from 2010, India. Astia is well-positioned to work with start-ups around the world as they access capital, grow their businesses, and develop the leadership of the founding team. The Astia model of engaging a community of experts to the benefit of the select start-ups it serves has resulted in an exceptional success rate; since 2003, 60 per cent of companies that have participated in the Astia Investor Forums have secured funding or an exit within one year of presenting.

EBD Group is the leading partnering firm for the global life science industry. Since 1993, biotech, pharma and medical device companies have leveraged EBD Group’s partnering conferences, technology and services to identify business opportunities and develop strategic relationships essential to their success. EBD Group’s conferences are run with the support of leading corporations and international trade associations, and include:

* Bio-Europe and Bio-Europe Spring, Europe’s largest life science partnering conferences, supported by the Biotechnology Industry Organisation (Bio)

* ChinaBio Partnering Forum, the first dedicated biotech/pharma partnering conference in China, co-produced with ChinaBio LLC

* BioPharm America, the fastest growing partnering event in North America

* Biotech Showcase, a unique forum in San Francisco for life science companies to present to investors and business development executives, co-produced with Demy-Colton Life Science Advisors

* EuroMedtech, EBD Group’s partnering event for the innovative medical technology industry

* BioEquity Europe, the investor conference co-organised with BioCentury Publications and Bio

EBD Group’s sophisticated web-based partnering service, partnering One, is used as the partnering engine at numerous third-party events around the world. Outside of the conference format, EBD Group’s consultants provide hands-on assistance for firms seeking to in- or out-license products and technologies.

EBD Group has offices in the USA and Europe.

Demy-Colton is a consulting company focused exclusively on facilitating the growth of the life science industry. Sara Jane Demy, the principal of Demy-Colton, is a leader at designing and developing high-value added programmes and services to address the business needs of the biotechnology industry. Deep domain knowledge and 20 years experience will be applied to launching new industry programmes and counselling local and regional organisations that wish to increase the level of support and services they provide their biotechnology constituents. Demy-Colton programmes include:

* Biotech Showcase, co-developed with EBD Group, is a unique forum in San Francisco for life science companies to present to investors and business development executives

* The Life Sciences Summit, developed with the Centre for Biotechnology is a translational science meeting with collaborations as the objective

* Partnering for Cures developed with FasterCures is the first meeting to bring together medical philanthropists with medical research foundations and the biopharmaceutical industry

* Biocom CalAsia and Investor Conference (programme development)

Demy-Colton Life Science Advisors has also developed Collaborate, a partnering system suitable for small partnering conferences.



Source: Reuters Coverage