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International
biotech group
sets its sights
on Waikiki

The April conference
will focus on Asia
and the Pacific Rim

---

By Tim Ruel
Star-Bulletin

An international business conference, seeking to become the premier biotechnology meeting for the Asian region, will be held in Waikiki in April, and may return every other year.

The Biotechnology Industry Organization is still working on the details, but has picked the dates of April 17-19, a BIO official said today.

"It'll be about a number of things, but the idea is we will be positioning this as the major biotechnology meeting in Asia and the Pacific Rim," said Morrie Ruffin, the nonprofit organization's vice president for business development.

The conference has a tentative title of "Bio Asia Pacifica," and will focus on creating partnerships between international biotech businesses, Ruffin said. The meeting would bring between 400 to 600 visitors to Waikiki.

Based in Washington, D.C., BIO had held its Asian regional meeting in Japan for the past five years, Ruffin said.

BIO now wants to alternate the meeting between Hawaii and a different Asian country every other year. "It's a lot easier to jump over to Hawaii to do planning than to go over to Japan," Ruffin said.

Another big factor in bringing the conference was Gov. Ben Cayetano, who directed his office to help BIO form plans in Hawaii, Ruffin said. Cayetano attended a BIO meeting in Boston earlier this year.

State tourism officials are also trying to get BIO to hold its 2004 annual meeting at the Hawaii Convention Center, potentially bringing 10,000 visitors. The organization is expected to make its final decision on that meeting soon.

Local biotech executive David Watumull, who is close to the talks with BIO, said the April event will be the first of its kind in Hawaii.

"I think the other interesting part of this is it gives Hawaii . . . a chance to showcase our assets in front of a global biotech audience," said Watumull, executive vice president of Aquasearch Inc. in Kona.

Watumull noted that BIO and the state have only agreed verbally to hold the event, and have not signed anything yet.

Topics of the meeting will include licensing of intellectual property and investment in both private and public companies, he said. BIO is still choosing between the Sheraton-Waikiki Hotel and Hilton Hawaiian Village, and should decide by next week, Ruffin said.