Colorado Governor Ritter To Promote Colorado Bioscience Sector In California

June 17, 2008 -- Colorado Governor Bill Ritter is scheduled to visit San Diego on Wednesday to promote Colorado's fast-growing biotech and bioscience economic sector during a business retention and recruiting trip.

The business outreach mission coincides with the 2008 BIO International Convention, which brings together 20,000 bioscience industry leaders from around the globe. This will be Gov. Ritter’s second economic-development visit to California in two months; he met with several high-tech companies in the Silicon Valley in April.

On Wednesday, Gov. Ritter will be attending the 200 BIO trade show, exhibition and conference with a Colorado delegation that includes officials from the Colorado BioScience Association. He also will be meeting with numerous companies that currently do business in Colorado or are considering opening operations here.

"Colorado has a great story to tell the rest of the country and the world about our biotech and bioscience sector," Gov. Ritter said. "Private companies are thriving. Venture capital funding is healthy. Thanks to legislation I signed into law this year, the state will be making a record $26.5 million investment in the industry through the new Colorado Bioscience Grant Program. And our research institutions are on the cutting edge."

Gov. Ritter cited as recent successes: Colorado State University's cancer research, infectious disease and clean energy superclusters; a $75 million research grant awarded to the University of Colorado at Denver by the National Institutes of Health; and the return of Nobel Prize-winning molecular researcher Tom Cech to Colorado.

"The great R&D work being done in Boulder, Fort Collins and at the Anschutz Medical Campus at Fitzsimons are making Colorado a regional bioscience hub," Gov. Ritter. "My administration has made the biosciences one of the focal points of our overall economic development strategy, and by elevating the stature of this crucial industry of the future, we are competing on a national and international level."

A Colorado Pavilion (booth #3049) on the trade show floor will feature Colorado's research institutions and bioscience companies. Participants include the Colorado Office of Economic Development and International Trade, the Colorado BioScience Association, University of Colorado, Colorado State University, National Jewish Medical and Research Center, Colorado Science and Technology Park at Fitzsimons, Metro Denver Economic Development Corporation, Jefferson Economic Council, Arvada Economic Development Association, Northern Colorado Economic Development and the Aurora Economic Development Corporation.

Source: Colorado Governor

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