Export oriented!

The first article below tells how Canadian company Penn Biotech Inc are promising to meet the burgeoning Chinese appetite for french fries and potato chips with vast quantities of super spuds "bio-engineered" by the Korea Research Institute of Bioscience and Biotechnology. However, a closer look at the details has raised the suspicions of The Vancouver Sun. (item 1)

Another recent curiosity - ABIC2004: AgBiotech goes Europe! (item 2) - may well have already turned up unsolicited in your inbox. This brings news of a "high level conference" which "aims to bring 'AgBiotech back to Europe'".

"High-ranking speakers and decision-makers" are promised from BASF, Bayer, the Donald Danforth Plant Science Center, and AfricaBio.

Curiously, ABIC appears to have few European connections. Here are its directors - most of whom seem to connect to Canada, and the prairie city of Saskatoon in particular.

*Bernard Laarveld - Chair: ABIC Foundation. Head of Department of Animal and Poultry Science, University of Saskatchewan, Canada. Dr. Laarveld actively supports economic and corporate development for the Saskatoon biotech community. Also co-founder of Minerva Animal Health Corporation Inc.

*Ashley O'Sullivan - President and CEO Ag-West Biotech, Saskatoon, Canada. Previously worked for Monsanto Canada.

*Armand Lavoie - Saskatoon, Canada. Vice President Western Canada of Foragen Technologies Management Inc.

*Lawrence B. Schook - Chicago, Illinois, USA.
President and CSO Pyxis Genomics which has
operations in Canada and U.S.

*Graham Scoles - Associate Dean. College of Agriculture, University of Saskatchewan, Canada. Teaching and research in area of plant biotech.

*Gerry Brown - Director, Business Development Branch, Saskatchewan Research Council. Experience of broad range of corporate environments including small biotech company and Esso/Exxon family.

*Paula Fitzgerald - Executive Manager of Agrifood Awareness Australia

*Peter Welters - founder of Phytowelt GmbH, formerly known as "Biotechnology & Molecular Biology"

*Roger Kemble - President of Syngenta Biotech, Inc. (SBI), Research Triangle Park, NC, USA. Also worked for Allelix Inc. (in Canada) and Pioneer Hi-Bred, prior to Syngenta.

*Hartmut Thomas - Germany. (Tagged on at end with no other details supplied!)

Information taken from: http://www.abic.ca/ABIC%20Foundation%20Board%20of%20Directors.html

You can see why this crowd want agbiotech "to go Europe!" As it says of ABIC's Chairman:

"Dr. Laarveld actively supports economic and corporate development for the Saskatoon biotech community."

1.Something's cooking besides potatoes
2.AgBiotech goes Europe!
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1.Something's cooking besides potatoes
David Baines
August 4, 2004
The Vancouver Sun [via Agnet]

Last week, The Vancouver Sun business section, according to this story, published a story about Penn Biotech Inc., a tiny Vancouver company that claims to be shipping 1.3 million pounds of super-spuds to China.

The bio-engineered seed potatoes purportedly reduce growing time by one third and create more uniform potatoes to feed the burgeoning Chinese appetite for french fries and potato chips.

A promising story, until you look into the details. The story notes that Penn Biotech is listed on the OTC Bulletin Board, the dregs of North American equity markets. It started trading last October after acquiring rights to the bio-engineered potatoes from the Korea Research Institute of Bioscience and Biotechnology. Purchase price was $31,228 US, plus a one-per-cent royalty on gross sales.

This extremely modest price tag indicates, the story says, that the technology isn't worth very much, unless the institute is banking on a big
royalty stream. But if it is, why did it sell the rights to a company with no track record whatsoever?
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2.Export oriented 2: AgBiotech goes Europe!

From: ABIC 2004 Conference [mailto:This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.]
Sent: 02 August 2004 14:45
Subject: ABIC2004 - AgBiotech goes Europe!

Dear Madam and Sir,

ABIC2004 in Cologne (12th to 15th September 2004) is one of the most important international conferences on agricultural biotechnology.

Scientists, industrial managers, investors and policy makers will come together for an intensive exchange of experience in order to give new
momentum to further the development of agricultural biotechnology and to enable co-operations between academic research institutes and partners from
industry.

This high level conference aims to bring 'AgBiotech back to Europe'. With the imminent lift of the de facto moratorium on genetically modified food, the implementation of new European regulations and a more competitive European market, this conference is important as ever to give new impulses to the European AgBiotech research and AgBiotech business in Europe.

The county of Northrhine-Westfalia supports the ABIC and its' organisation ideally and financially. In addition well-known national and international companies will be presented as exhibitors in Cologne. High-ranking speakers and decisionmakers from Economy and Politics will present on the conference (among others Kast, BASF; Garthoff, Bayer CropScience; Steinbrück, MP NRW; Busquin, DG Research EC; Beachy, Donald Danforth Plant Science Center, Webster, AfricaBio).

Highlights, which characterise this event are:
- the conference with scientific, economical or political lectures
- the partnering event, which takes place at the venue and virtual on a special internet platform
- the poster competition, an event especially for the young scientific talents
- the fair, where companies will present the broad range of agricultural biotechnology: from breeding, genetic engineering to food processing
or diagnostics.
- the comprehensive supporting programme, e.g. a biotech-tour to various biotechnology sites in Cologne and in the surrounding area

Use the ABIC2004 to complement the sales and marketing activities of your company/ organization. Take the opportunity to
- listen to top class speakers
- meet people from important companies who might be interested to bring on the market what you have just developed
- to get first hand insights on what is in the pipeline
- present your company/ organization with a booth during the exhibition
- and/or present your company with a lecture in the Business Forum to a top-class, international audience.

Take the chance to generate additional revenue potential for your company!

In addition we offer very attractive sponsorship packages. Well-known companies use already this opportunity to present themselves throughout the conference on a large number on events.

For further information please visit our web-side www.abic2004.org or contact us by phone or e-mail. Use our Online-Registration
http://www.abic2004.org/registration
We are looking forward to seeing you on ABIC2004!

Phytowelt GmbH
ABIC 2004 Conference Office
Nattermannallee 1 D-50829 Cologne
email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
internet: www.abic2004.org
phone: + 49 221-49299-55
fax: + 49-221-49299-560