What will happen on BioForum 2014? - quick glimpse over the event programme

Many people known and respected due to their activity in the life science sector will be BioForum speakers, but certainly the biggest star will be a Nobel Prize laureate, Prof. Ada Yonath from the Weizmann Institute of Science in Israel. She will lead the opening of the event, during which she will also deliver her lecture. Prof. Yonath is the winner of the Nobel Prize in chemistry. She received this prestigious award in 2009 in recognition of her work related to the research on the structure and function of the ribosome.

Other interesting people who will speak during BioForum 2014, are representatives of the Brazilian foundation Bio‑Rio and Brasil Biotechnology project. Speakers from across the Atlantic will be: Katia Aguilar (President of the Bio- Rio foundation) and Norberto Prestes (Project Manager of Brasil Biotechnology project). According to the Brazilians, Poland is an interesting partner in the field of biotechnology because of the ties that Polish companies maintain with many entities from other parts of Europe. Speakers will present the main trends in the global biotechnology and pharmacy, as well as opportunities for collaboration between people involved in bio-business from South America and CEE.

During BioForum, the topic of financing research projects will also be mentioned. The speaker from the National Contact Point for Research Programmes of the European Union will focus especially on the framework of the programme Horizon 2020. It is designed to finance activities that support innovative ideas in the years 2014-2020. Ultimately, its goal is to ensure Europe's competitiveness in the world. The invited experts are going to describe the way small and medium-sized enterprises can benefit from this programme.

Because Clinical Reseach Organizations (CROs) are frequent visitors of BioForum every year, the events programme will also concentrate of this topic. Company KCR S.A., an enterprise oparating all aroung the world, is a patron of a discussion panel focusing on conducting clinical research in CEE. KCR is also a sponsor of the whole event. The panel will be led byMarek Kiecana (founder of KCR S.A.) and the first announced speaker will be Mike Jagielski ‑ CEO of KCR S.A.. He is an experienced leader with over 15 years of experience in clinical research. He focuses his activities on the intercultural integration and management development in countries around the world, including the United States, Colombia, India, China, and European countries. During his lecture, he will present superiority of Central Europe in the global clinical trials market.

In addition, the lectures and panel discussions held during BioForum 2014, will address more topics like:

• Investments in the life science sector in the CEE region
• Successes and failures of cooperation between science and business
• Patent cliffs
• Establishment of start-ups
• and many more!

More details on the program of BioForum will be available soon. For the latest information on the event, one may visit its official website: www.cebioforum.com

by Tomasz Domagała