Biotech conference hopes to lure firms to Georgia
ATLANTA - Years of lobbying to persuade an international convention of biotech companies to hold its convention in Atlanta this month only pays off if state economic development leaders can entice one or two of the firms to move to Georgia.
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About 15,000 people from 60-plus countries - most of them top executives - will descend on the Georgia World Congress Center on May 18-21 for the Biotechnology Industry Organization's international convention.
State officials outlined their strategy Thursday for trying win over some BIO companies while their leaders are in Atlanta.
They'll hold a welcoming reception in Centennial Olympic Park, exclusive receptions with Gov. Sonny Perdue for selected VIPs and a drawing for a Kia as a way to highlight the Korean automaker's decision to build a factory in Georgia.
Considering that the biotech industry offers good-paying jobs, factories that don't pollute and growth potential greater than most fields, hosting the convention seems to be a huge opportunity to Ken Stewart, Georgia's commissioner of economic development.
"The single most significant business meeting in the world is coming here," Stewart said Thursday. "We've got the eyes of the world's bioscience industry looking on us here. ... Our goal is to position Georgia as the premiere location for a bioscience company."
Biotech already accounts for 62,000 jobs and $16 billion a year in spending in Georgia, according to a study the University of Georgia released this month. Most of it is centered along what Stewart calls the "Innovation Crescent" that bends from Augusta through Athens to Atlanta - all cities with major research universities.
In advance of the convention, the state Department of Economic Development has hosted two tours for biotech executives and another for journalists to universities and companies in those cities.
"We're showcasing the entire state," Stewart said.
What the state won't be bragging about is its ranking for venture capital. California and Massachusetts have a major-league head start in that department, said Charlie Craig, president of Georgia BIO, the 300-member trade association for the Biotechnology Industry Organization in the state.
"Access to capital is not very great (in Georgia)," Craig said. "Right now, it's not very readily available anywhere."
Nevertheless, Georgia biotech companies will benefit from the connections they'll make at the convention - an opportunity to network that could lead to profitable deals, he said.
"There is no other meeting in the world where our companies here in Georgia would have as much contact with such outstanding companies as during this convention," Craig said.
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