Biotechnology and Life Sciences Global Venture Congress 2005 New York SAEC Ventures

My Dear Friends, Welcome!

I’m truly excited to see that we are convening the second Biotech & Life Sciences Global Venture Congress. We will be doing what we have done before: take pleasure in the company of a limited but exciting group of extraordinarily accomplished individuals from around the globe.

The Global Venture Congress conference is an event we would like to define and call "the world’s platform for exploring the frontiers” in which we express our optimism for the future and extend our support to usher in the future of innovation faster. Our dedication and commitment is well known to more than 15,000 participants who have attended our events, starting from our humble beginning in a small bar in NYC in 1999.

This includes all the delegates who participated in our first Biotech Congress held last year -- biotech and life science executives, investors, professors, entrepreneurs, Nobel laureates -- the very people who helped make the biotech industry the key sector it is today. One delegate from the 2004 conference said, "just being in the room with so many smart people and interesting ideas gives a sense of exhilaration."

This year we have another great global audience for which I am excited. Delegates include representatives from South Korea, Russia, Switzerland, China, and the UK.

It’s hard to miss the recent investment activity in the Biotech & Life Sciences space. Also it’s noteworthy to point out that the VC industry is just starting in India and is expected to grow quickly. All indicators suggest that more and more investments are expected to happen all over the world. This is great news for entrepreneurs who have started or are planning to start a Biotech/Life Science venture.

There is a stream of exciting discoveries and development news coming from all sectors. It’s note worthy here to mention a few such examples. 1) There has been development of rapid DNA sequencing technology through the use of nanotechnology. 2) In November 2004, scientists in Cambridge, MA had a breakthrough. They found a way to slip a biotech drug intravenously past the body's defenses. Now nearing clinical trials, intravenous RNAi could be the key to defeating cancer. 3) There have been telerobotic surgeries performed in patients' homes by world-class doctors at a fraction of the cost of a hospital visit. 4) The news of stem cell research development from South Korea is the most important of all in my view. The sooner we resolve the ethical issue of stem cell research, the sooner we can find various treatments to life threatening diseases through the use of stem cells.

The best is yet to come - a lot of exciting development can be expected in the fields of Medical Device, Specialty Pharma, Drug Design, Genomics, Stem Cells, Proteomics, Biomedicine and Nanotech-Biotech.

As always, those who join us in New York will rub elbows with people they regard as peers. Conference delegates are going to be learning from one another and perhaps making plans for new business and research ventures.

I would like to thank you all for participating in this great endeavor.

Best regards,

Gyan Parida, Ph.D., MBA
Chairman, Global Venture Congress
President/CEO, Silicon Alley Entrepreneurs Club (SAEC)