www.checkbiotech.org ; www.raupp.info ; www.czu.cz

A new technological innovation aims to put Europe?s biotech industry on a
level footing with its American counterpart, January 2006 by Anthony
Fletcher.

Channel Bf, launched this week by Lyon-based EEI (Editions Européennes de
l'Innovation) in association with EuropaBio, the European association for
bioindustries, is an online TV channel designed to enable biotech companies
to present video clips directly targeting potential investors and business
partners.

EuropaBio, which represents companies involved in the genetic modification
(GM) of crops, believes that the innovation will help the industry build on
the rapid development enjoyed by European biotech firms in the last few
years.

With almost 2,000 companies, Europe is nearly on a par with the US when it
comes to biotechnology. But US companies employ twice as many people, invest
three times as much on R&D and generate twice the revenues of their European
counterparts.

EuropaBio argues therefore that the biggest challenges for the European
biotech industry ? which generates 50 per cent more companies than the US
year on year - remains access to finance, facilitating research, and the
implementation of European community legislation.

But biotech companies clearly feel that the mood is changing in Europe. More
and more farmers are planting GM crops, while hostile European regulators
are softening up to the technology.

This month, the EU ordered Greece to lift its ban on a GM seed manufactured
by Monsanto, and also granted European approval for three Monsanto GM maize
types. The industry believes that European consumers are slowly being won
over by scientific as well as economic argument.

Nonetheless, European consumer opinion is still unequivocally anti-GM, and
retailers have tended to respond by advertising their products as ?non-GM',
creating an impression that this is a health and safety as well as an
environmental issue. EuropaBio accepts that there remains a great deal of
apprehension on the part of both companies and potential partners over GM
technology. Achieving widespread acceptance is therefore still the biggest
obstacle.

This is exactly where Channel Bf comes in. Accessible on line via
www.channelbf.com, it should enable biotech companies and potential partners
to get to know each other via a modern, innovative, relevant, standardised,
efficient, user-friendly and multi-lingual medium.

The technology offers both operators and companies two different formats to
present themselves: business clips which last 10 minutes and business
pitches that last one to two minutes. Free access to the content on Channel
BF, claims EuropaBio, guarantees users a major penetration to reach
important targets groups.

Channel Bf was launched in Geneva, Switzerland on Monday.

EuropaBio has 60 direct members operating worldwide and 25 national
biotechnology associations representing some 1,500 small and medium sized
enterprises involved in research and development, testing, manufacturing and
distribution of biotechnology products.

www.checkbiotech.org

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