Singapore, Feb 16, 2012: The international biotech and pharma community will converge upon the city of Suzhou, China, a rapidly growing base for life science industries, at ChinaBio Partnering Forum 2012 at the Kempinski Hotel Suzhou, May 23-24. The fourth annual conference is the premier life science partnering event in China, and is expected to bring hundreds of attendees from around the world seeking to increase their market share and embark on new business deals in China. Produced by EBD Group and ChinaBio LLC, the theme of the 2012 event is focused on leveraging market opportunities in China.

“Investment and market opportunities in China are drawing the attention of international companies and investors including big pharma,” said Mr Greg Scott, president and CEO of ChinaBio LLC. “While the funding climate has become more difficult in the West, the opposite is true in China. In 2011 alone, nearly USD 10 billion in commercial investment was generated for life science companies in China. This was in addition to the billions of dollars being pumped into the industry to support the ambitious policies of the Chinese government to double the size of the biotech sector in the coming years.”

“China’s rising prominence in the biotech and bio-pharma sector has prompted a tremendous increase in the number of potential partnering opportunities,” said Mr Carola Schropp, president, EBD Group. “ChinaBio Partnering Forum is the largest partnering event in China, and it has been growing steadily each year. We expect record attendance in 2012.”

This year’s program once again features the Innovation Showcase, with leading Chinese scientists presenting advanced technologies, as well as workshops on topics that include the global partnering landscape in China, novel Chinese drug development, and acquiring innovative technologies and products from Western institutions. The conference program highlights the growing interest in China as a global player in the biotech sector, and the increased desire for partnering meetings facilitated by partneringONE, the leading conference partnering system for the life sciences. Distinguished speakers from high level corporations are scheduled to present on the program panels, and attendees from sponsoring pharmaceutical companies including AstraZeneca, Bayer, and Boehringer Ingelheim are expected.

As a result of the increased number of attendees expected, the conference has relocated to the Kempinski Hotel Suzhou, a world-class venue that supports greater opportunities to network.