Inaugural BioSpace Australia Hotbed Campaign To Provide Australian Life Science Companies With Daily Presence And Promotion In The US

SYDNEY and NAPLES, Fla., November 4, 2003 -- BioSpace, a specialized provider of Web-based resources and information to the bio-pharmaceutical industry, announces the inaugural Hotbed Campaign for Australia's life science community. The campaign will provide to Australia's life science organizations a strong daily interactive and promotional presence to US investors, job seekers, researchers and executives through the industry's leading Website, BioSpace.com, reaching 1 million unique monthly visitors. The Australia campaign will be the first fully integrated international Hotbed Campaign to be launched and will receive the support of the Australian Trade Commission in Washington.

(http://www.biospace.com/promo/campaign_australia2004.aspx)

The venture is designed to publicize and provide function to companies, non-profits, research institutes, universities and other groups within Australia's life science sector. The campaign is structured to include organizations of all sizes - from incubators and startups to more established organizations and their vendors.

BioSpace is working with Professor Joan Dawes in communications and development efforts for the campaign in Australia. Professor Dawes has had an extensive international career in biomedical research and industry through a number of appointments in the UK, US and Australia. She has been Sydney-based since 1989, holding positions as Deputy Director and Head of Applied Research, Heart Research Institute; Director, CRC for Biopharmaceutical Research; and Scientific Director and subsequently Chief Executive Officer, BioDiscovery Limited. She holds an Adjunct Professorship at the, School of Physiology and Pharmacology, University of New South Wales, and has served as President of the Australian Biotechnology Association (now AusBiotech).

"The Australia Hotbed campaign will continually demonstrate to our international audience the size, strength and dynamic nature of the Australian life science industry. We are thrilled to be working with the esteemed Professor Dawes and to welcome Australia to our global community of Hotbeds", says Chris Amato, CEO of BioSpace.

Austrade sees the Biospace Hotbed campaign as playing a pivotal role in bringing to the attention of the US biotech industry, the scope and scale of the innovative Australian industry in drug, device, diagnostic, agricultural and veterinary biotech innovations. Austrade believes that the Hotbed Campaign will promote the true message that Australian products, services and expertise offer major opportunities for US and global partnerships and business. Biospace will afford a visual representation of where the nations' top biotechs are located, and report on their expertise, Australian-global interactions and deal flow.

Australia is home to more than 350 "core" biotechnology companies and about 450 "diversified" biotechnology companies. The industry spans the country with the core companies accounting for almost A$1 billion (US$700 million) in annual revenue. The Australian pharmaceutical industry has a turnover of around A$12 billion (US$8.4 billion) per year and employs around 30,000 people.

The BioSpace Australia Hotbed Campaign (to be branded/named) will feature a BioSpace Hotbed Map for the area displaying participating organizations' logos and a professional artist's rendition of their corporate facilities. The map will be enhanced through the integration of a multitude of interactive components on www.biospace.com. Among the online components will be an Australia Hotbed Homepage that will contain daily news, jobs, events and company information specific to Australia's life science community. Additionally the Australian life science community will receive monthly highlights within the BioSpace GenePool, a daily opt-in email containing breaking news and information and sent to over 54,000 life sciences and business professionals every day.

Created as regional marketing tools, BioSpace Hotbed Campaigns have become a staple of the industry's promotion by recognizing and promoting leading life science clusters and communities. Australia joins eight (8) Hotbed Campaigns as the first fully integrated international venture with a comprehensive set of deliverables. BioSpace recognizes to a lesser degree an additional six (6) regions in the US, Canada, Europe and Israel. The original 1985 Biotech Bay TM Map for San Francisco hangs on permanent display in the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of American History.

All local life science companies and their vendors are invited to participate in this exciting campaign. Please contact Professor Joan Dawes at 0417-207-106 or jdawes@aoris.com.au for more information.

About BioSpace

BioSpace provides Web-based resources and information to the global life sciences community through the industry leading Internet site, www.biospace.com. Reaching 1 million unique monthly visitors and generating 7 million page views, the public Website aggregates relevant news, information and services crucial to industry research and development. Site users are given access to a tremendous amount of business and scientific information, supplemented with BioSpace's own GenePool newsletter, a daily e-cast of breaking industry news and information.

CONTACT:
Professor Joan Dawes
jdawes@aoris.com.au
0417-207-106