A Quick Review, Then on to ’08!

As we approach the 2007 holiday season, it’s a perfect time to reflect on our collective accomplishments that made for an exciting and momentum-generating year.  From a highly successful iBIO IndEx meeting in February, to an exciting launch of our PROPEL program in June, to the inaugural iCON Awards and the bestowing of the Maitland Award in October, to a very enlightening Career Links program for local Ph.D. and M.B.A. students earlier this month, 2007 was a year in which we repeatedly and consistently exceeded our own high expectations. 

We build new alliances in Springfield and established a significant new presence in the ag-bio community.  We also strengthened relationships with the City of Chicago, the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity, the Illinois Department of Agriculture, the State Board of Education and the Chicago Public Schools.  In essence, the hard work of the iBIO leadership and many of our members helped seed the partnerships which will help us achieve our strategic objectives for years to come.

Under the leadership of Robert Easter, Dean of the College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and a member of the iBIO Institute’s board of directors, we convened the Ag-Bio Leadership Summit (ABLS), a key event to develop an ag-bio strategy for Illinois.  According to iBIO President and CEO David Miller, we were able to achieve what no other group even attempted before:  coalescing all the major agriculture groups in the state to plan for the future.  You’ll likely hear more about this from David in the coming months, yet I wanted to be sure to commend all of our members who helped us gain considerable traction in the ag-bio arena.

On the corporate front, the vitality of our sector is readily apparent, from the financial strengths of large companies like Abbott and Baxter to Nanosphere’s successful initial public offering on November 1st.  As I’ve said before, our individual successes contribute to the overall vitality of our regional biotech community.  Another sign of our local vigor is Siemens’ decision to establish a center of excellence in Illinois following its acquisition of Deerfield-based Dade Behring.  The new business unit, known as Siemens Medical Solutions Diagnostics, represents the combined resources and expertise of Bayer HealthCare Diagnostics Division, Diagnostic Products Corporation and Dade Behring.  We look forward to Siemens Medical Solutions Diagnostics making important contributions to our community in the coming years. 

What lies ahead? We can all look forward to another vibrant iBIO IndEx on February 20th  in Chicago.  I encourage as many of you as possible to join us for the premier annual event for the life sciences community in the Midwest.  And two months later, following successful lobbying by iBIO to move a major event from Orlando, Chicago will host the 2008 World Congress on Industrial and Environmental Biotechnology.  This move confirms that we are adding to our reputation as a biotech hub on the rise, and that we are addressing all four sectors (health care, agriculture, industrial and environmental) that comprise the iBIO community.

I’m quite certain that 2008 will see a significant increase in the number of mentors, both institutional and individual, who will participate in this PROPEL program.  It’s exciting to think about new relationships that PROPEL will forge, and the new triumphs and achievements that will surely follow from these partnerships.  We will also continue our popular series of breakfast conferences, and I encourage you and your colleagues to participate in as many meetings as you feel are relevant to your interests.

I predict that a year from now, when we look back at 2008, we will see another long list of achievements that will serve as sources of pride.  I hope that as you enter the new year, you will commit a portion of your time and energy to help drive the growth of our iBIO community. 

Wishing you a healthy and happy holiday season,

Norbert Riedel,
CVP & Chief Scientific Officer
Baxter International Inc.

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