Contact: Matt Schutte, Director of Corporate Communications | 614-675-3686
Ohio bioscience and medical device companies selected to present at BIO Mid-America VentureForum

Nine Ohio-based companies have been selected to present at the Biotechnology Industry Organization (BIO) Mid-America VentureForum to be held September 25-27th at the InterContinental Hotel in Cleveland.

These companies were among more than 50 Midwestern companies selected by venture capitalists from the nation’s leading firms who serve on BIO’s advisory board. Cleveland-based Arteriocyte, Inc., Cleveland-based CleveX, Toledo-based Cognitive Pharmaceuticals, Cleveland-based Copernicus Therapeutics, Inc., Mayfield Heights-based Ganeden Biotech, Inc., Cleveland-based Interventional Imaging, Columbus-based OncoImmune, Oberlin-based Synapse Biomedical, Inc., and Columbus-based Vertebration will present their business plans to a national audience of venture capitalists and other potential investors. Ohio’s nine presenting companies surpass the total from any other participating state.

Now in its fourth year, the BIO Mid-America VentureForum is the Midwest’s largest annual event joining private bioscience and medical device companies in need of funding with venture capitalists, angel investors, and investment bankers from across the U.S. and Canada.

“This meeting is important for both Ohio and the Midwest because it clearly demonstrates that highly valued, globally competitive bioscience companies are in the region, many of them right here in Ohio,” said Omeris President & CEO Tony Dennis. “This event also validates the momentum Ohio is experiencing in both investment dollars raised and bioscience companies launched, especially northeast Ohio.”

Dr. Andrew von Eschenbach, acting commissioner of the FDA, will be a keynote speaker at this year's event. Workshops and plenary sessions will be held throughout the conference and will cover topics ranging from alternative capital sources to accelerating the regulatory review process. A combination of 14 Ohio-based representatives, including Ohio Governor Bob Taft, will join national venture capitalists and experts in the life sciences industry to participate in panels, keynote speeches, and welcoming remarks.

The BIO Mid-America VentureForum is co-sponsored by eight state biotech associations: Omeris in Ohio, Colorado BioScience Association, Illinois Biotechnology Industry Organization, Indiana Health Industry Forum, Iowa Biotechnology Association, LifeScience Alley, Missouri Biotechnology Association, and Wisconsin Biotechnology Association.

For more information on the BIO Mid-America VentureForum, please visit http://bma.bio.org/opencms/bma/2006.

BIO represents more than 1,100 biotechnology companies, academic institutions, state biotechnology centers and related organizations across the United States and 31 other nations. BIO members are involved in the research and development of healthcare, agricultural, industrial and environmental biotechnology products.

Omeris is a non-profit organization supported by the Thomas Edison Program of the Ohio Department of Development. Its mission is to accelerate bioscience discovery, innovation and commercialization of global value, driving economic growth, and improving quality of life in Ohio. Omeris is headquartered in Columbus, with regional business development affiliates in Cleveland, Columbus, Cincinnati and Athens.