YPSILANTI – More than 150 people jammed into a crowded hall at the Eagle Crest Conference Center last week to attend the 2006 MichBio Annual Meeting, making it the best attended annual meeting in the Michigan life sciences trade association’s history.
But one MichBio officer who spoke warned unless Michigan uses its scarce dollars wisely, the state won’t become a life sciences powerhouse this century.
“Our challenge in the state is to take advantage of the 21st century fund both from the perspective of entrepreneurs and established companies, but also for those making funding decision,” said Ed Pagaini, MichBio President, who also is Director and Site Head for Strategic Alliances, for Pfizer’s Ann Arbor R&D complex. “We need to think how we will use these resources wisely so we don’t lose this opportunity to make the Michigan life sciences industry great.”
MichBio Executive Director Michael Witt called the members who attended “the key decision makers in the life sciences industry in the state.” Witt said keynote speaker Kenneth Matzick, president and CEO of Beaumont Hospitals, reaffirmed the role of the academic medical centers in the development process to commercialize the next generation of life sciences start-ups.
“We’ve acheieved a signifant milestone this year in achieving the 200-member mark, a critcal mass of major life science entities both large and small that represent the core of our future,” Witt said. “And we’re working hard to justify the trust put in us by the Michigan taxpayers to build this industry and diversify Michigan’s economy.”
For more information on MichBio, click on MichBio.Org
To read Pagani’s speech, click on Pagani
To read Witt’s speech, click on Witt
