High Profile Delegation of Life Sciences CEOs from Bordeaux Visits America's Medicine Chest State

Hosted by BioNJ, Choose New Jersey, the New Jersey Business Action Center and Princeton University

TRENTON, N.J.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Chief Executive Officers (CEOs) representing eight flagship biotechnology and life science companies from Bordeaux, France, will visit New Jersey June 15-16 to engage in bilateral trade discussions with biotechnology and other life science companies located in the Garden State.

“The French region of Aquitaine is noted for its commitment to the promotion of the biotechnology and life science industries as well as for its world-renowned Cote d'Argent on the Atlantic coast which attracts numerous tourists each year”

The delegation is supported by the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Bordeaux, the Regional Council of Aquitaine, where Bordeaux is the capital, and GIPSO (le Groupement Interprofessionel de Pharmaceutiques et Sante du Sud Oest) and hosted by BioNJ, Choose New Jersey, the New Jersey Business Action Center and Princeton University.

“The French region of Aquitaine is noted for its commitment to the promotion of the biotechnology and life science industries as well as for its world-renowned Cote d'Argent on the Atlantic coast which attracts numerous tourists each year,” said Debbie Hart, President of BioNJ. “The similarities with New Jersey are striking and we hope this visit will promote an ongoing conversation that will result in new opportunities for companies on both sides of the Atlantic.”

The eight companies from Bordeaux are: Atoxigen, Bertin Pharma, Cehtra, Gemacbio, bioluz, Demobatch-DBI, Disposable Lab and Itec Services. Combined, these companies offer a suite of contract services ranging from toxicology studies to Phase III clinical trials, and can enable New Jersey biotech companies to initiate or expand their European market sales.

“We are pleased to assist the participating companies from Bordeaux in fully assessing New Jersey as a home for their U.S. operations,” said Linda Kellner, Acting Executive Director of the New Jersey Business Action Center. “The benefits and resources for establishing and growing a company here have made the state an attractive location for life sciences companies from around the world.”

Mathieu Petitjean, Ph.D., CEO of MedNest, a well-regarded New Jersey enterprise and developer of innovative medical technology companies, has championed the connection between Bordeaux and New Jersey and laid significant groundwork to forge wider and deeper global ties to stimulate growth in the biotechnology industry in New Jersey. “This is the third edition of this Transatlantic Economic Development program, and the compounded economic impact in New Jersey is poised to be significant in the coming 2-3 years,” says Dr. Petitjean.

On June 15 the delegation will tour Princeton University's world-renowned scientific facilities; the Institute for Integrative Genomics housed in the Carl Icahn Laboratory and the newly-inaugurated Frick Chemistry Laboratory and then attend a welcome dinner hosted by Choose New Jersey at Prospect House on Princeton's campus.

“Located in the logistics center of the nation, New Jersey is a natural gateway to North America,” said Tracye McDaniel, President and CEO of Choose New Jersey. “Our state has assets that are appealing to businesses all over the world. And we’re so pleased to welcome this international delegation and host a dinner at one of the state’s most prized institutions.”

The dinner program will include welcomes from Corporate and Foundation Relations Director David Langiulli from Princeton University, Choose New Jersey President and CEO Tracye McDaniel and BioNJ President Debbie Hart who will moderate a panel discussion by New Jersey life science experts. Ms. Hart also will sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to promote further business exchanges with CEO Jean Pascal Zambaux of Disposable Labs, a manufacturer of disposable equipment for sterile production representing GIPSO and the delegation.

On June 16 the delegation will engage in strategic business-to-business discussions with key biotechnology and life science companies from New Jersey to explore areas of common interest.

About the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Bordeaux

The Bordeaux CCI is a partner to each of its 38,400 businesses: Small and Large Business, Industrial and Commercial Firms, Service Providers. Its four key missions are: (1) to support local companies involved in commercial, industrial and service activities in the setting up and the development of their business on a regional, national and international scale; (2) to train people in the areas and skills required by the market; (3) To develop the local economy by promoting, setting up and running infrastructures, events or facilities; and (4) to represent the interests of companies in relations with the Government and the Public Administrations. Contact: Marielle Carreau Gaschereau, e-mail at [e-mail].

About BioNJ

With more than 300 member companies, BioNJ is singularly focused on the growth and prosperity of New Jersey's biotechnology cluster. Founded in 1994 by New Jersey industry CEOs, BioNJ serves as the voice of biotechnology companies located in New Jersey, seeks to advance their economic growth and development and works to encourage new and established companies from around the world to locate to New Jersey. BioNJ represents companies engaged in biopharmaceutical, biomedical, bioagricultural and bioremedial endeavors. To learn more about BioNJ, please visit www.BioNJ.org.

About Choose New Jersey

Choose New Jersey is an independently funded and operated nonprofit created to promote New Jersey as a place to invest and do business. The mission of Choose NJ is to encourage and nurture economic growth throughout New Jersey, including a focus on making the state’s most distressed cities engines for growth and opportunity. The mission includes implementing a marketing program for the state and developing policy recommendations to improve the business environment. For more information, please visit www.choosenj.com.

About the New Jersey Business Action Center (BAC)

Under the leadership of Lt. Governor Kim Guadagno, and led by Acting Executive Director Linda Kellner, the New Jersey Business Action Center is the “one-stop” shop for attracting, retaining and growing businesses in New Jersey. The center also provides professional and coordinated assistance to businesses in the resolution of permit applications, licenses, certificates and other business-related approvals. The BAC is part of the New Jersey Partnership for Action, a three-prong approach to economic development in New Jersey that also includes Choose New Jersey and the Economic Development Authority.

About Princeton University

Princeton simultaneously strives to be one of the leading research universities and the most outstanding undergraduate college in the world. As a research university, it seeks to achieve the highest levels of distinction in the discovery and transmission of knowledge and understanding, and in the education of graduate students. At the same time, Princeton is distinctive among research universities in its commitment to undergraduate teaching. The University provides its students with academic, extracurricular and other resources—in a residential community committed to diversity in its student body, faculty and staff—that help them achieve at the highest scholarly levels and prepare them for positions of leadership and lives of service in many fields of human endeavor. Through the scholarship and teaching of its faculty, and the many contributions to society of its alumni, Princeton seeks to fulfill its informal motto: “Princeton in the Nation’s Service and in the Service of All Nations."