OREGON BIOSCIENCE UPDATE

Join OBA and PGE Park for a Beavers Game! August 12th, the first 25 to sign up will join us in a Sky Box for a Beavers Game, beer and schmoozing. Tickets are $25 each and include your first beer! Please email Barbara Anderman to sign up for your tickets. They'll go fast! We look forward to seeing you in the sky box.




OECDD Grant Announcement As part of Governor Ted Kulongoski's ongoing efforts to stimulate the economy and create quality, sustainable jobs for all Oregonians, the Oregon Economic and Community Development Department (OECDD) announced today a partnership between the department and the Oregon Bioscience Association (OBA) to foster growth in Oregon's commercial bioscience/medical technology sector.

OBA will help the state identify and contact Oregon bioscience companies that might benefit from a variety of economic development tools and incentives available through OECDD or other state agencies. OBA will also coordinate feedback from the bioscience community to these tools and incentives.

The work, funded by a $50,000 state grant, will allow OBA to continue with it's efforts to convene, this fall, stakeholders representing universities, hospitals, businesses and economic development entities to share short-term and long-range plans. The objective is to optimize coordination and information sharing within the bioscience community as a means of supporting further development of the bioscience/medical technology industry.

Finally, the grant will support OBA's efforts to secure funding for the Oregon Regional Research Directory Service (ORRDS) as well as a strategic plan for the bioscience/medical technology sector.


Present at Venture Oregon 2003! OEF is now accepting applications from promising companies that wish to present to an audience of venture capitalists and investment bankers from across the western US at Venture Oregon 2003. More than 25 venture firms have invested over $500 million in the 100+ companies that have presented at the conference over the past seven years.

Venture Oregon 2003 will be held October 30th at the Oregon Convention Center. Applications are open until July 31, 2003. For application information, visit www.oef.org/Events/apply_to_VO.html.


Seeking input from individuals who are familiar with Oregon's research institutions and biosciences industry! For the past six months, a committee—comprised of local economic development professionals and technology transfer directors from OHSU, U of O, OSU and PSU—has been working to develop a single-source Web portal at which business owners, researchers, venture capitalists and others can access information on Oregon's biosciences research and industry. The goal of the committee was to provide a single source of information on: biosciences research taking place at Oregon's universities and private institutions; organizations and associations that support the biosciences (such as OBA); and information on locating a business in Oregon. Unlike a Web site, this portal leads users to existing Web sites and takes them to the research pages of each university and private facility. Users looking for information on locating a business in Oregon will be directed to another Web portal—www.oregon4biz.com.

Before the portal is officially launched, we are seeking input from individuals who are familiar with Oregon's research institutions and biosciences industry. So—if you have a few minutes, log onto to www.oregon4biosci.com and let us know what you think. All comments and suggestions should be directed to:
Krista Hildebrand, Rockey Hill & Knowlton
503-248-9468
krista.hildebrand@hillandknowlton.com


BIO-VWR new agreement BIO is pleased to announce that they have signed a new agreement with VWR International. The new agreement is the result of a competitive bid and negotiation process conducted over a 6-month period in conjunction with BIOCOM. Because of the combined $45 million annual purchasing volume of BIO and BIOCOM, the new VWR agreement provides better pricing and terms than what either organization could obtain on their own. Both organizations formed an ad-hoc committee comprised of representatives from member companies that assisted in the development of the RFP (request for proposal) and the analysis of the resulting proposals. After careful evaluation and analysis of the terms and pricing schedules proposed by Fisher Scientific and VWR International, the ad-hoc committees awarded the new contract to VWR. The initial term of the new contract is for three years, from July 1, 2003 to June 30, 2006.

OBA members that are existing participants in the BIO-VWR national contract began enjoying the benefits of the new agreement as of July 1. All existing participants were automatically converted to the new pricing schedule and have been notified by email.

Some of the benefits of the new contract are:
· More aggressive pricing than the previous contract. Overall, hot list pricing is 6.5% lower under a total contract volume analysis.
· Very competitive pricing on equipment.
· No minimum order requirements.
· No shipping fees when shipped from a VWR facility.
· E-commerce rebate.

As you can see, the new contract offers many new enhancements. We are very pleased with the outcome of this competitive bid process, as our respective members gain new cost-saving and other benefits. Feel free to contact Fred Zeldow at BIO if you have any questions. He can be reached at 202-962-6633, or more information can be found at www.biobusinessolutions.com.



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Offerings...

MEMBER NEWS NOTES
Caltag Laboratories Launches New Antibody Conjugates Using Molecular Probes' Alexa Fluor® Dye and Tandem Technologies
Molecular Probes, Inc., and Caltag Laboratories announced today that Caltag Laboratories is launching a series of new flow cytometry and microscopy products incorporating Molecular Probes' Alexa Fluor® dye and tandem conjugate technologies, licensed under recently completed agreements between the two firms. These powerful technologies will enable Caltag Laboratories to provide researchers and clinical laboratories with substantially enhanced capabilities for exploring cellular diversity and function.

"Access to these fluorophores and conjugates from Molecular Probes greatly enhances our ability to provide our customers with improved reagents for a breadth of immunoassay applications," said Robert C. Johnson, Vice President of Caltag Laboratories. "Not only are the new direct Alexa Fluor conjugates brighter than conjugates prepared using other dyes, but the new Alexa Fluor tandem conjugates also require less instrument compensation than any other available tandem conjugates, providing greater accuracy and sensitivity for our customers' assays."

Caltag Laboratories has introduced a range of monoclonal antibodies directly conjugated with the Alexa Fluor dyes for use in the analysis of both mouse and human cell populations. In addition, Caltag Laboratories will soon launch a series of new antibody conjugates of Alexa Fluor dye–phycobiliprotein tandems, which will further facilitate multicolor applications. Antibodies conjugated with Alexa Fluor dyes or Alexa Fluor tandems are ideal tools for researchers and clinicians whose protocols employ flow cytometry or microscopy.

"The strong position that Caltag Laboratories holds in the primary antibody market, especially as a provider of fluorescent conjugates for use in flow cytometry, makes this a valuable partnership for Molecular Probes and for the researchers and clinicians who rely on these products," said Anthony Martin, President and CEO of Molecular Probes. "This agreement with Caltag Laboratories continues our strategy of partnering with technology and market leaders to advance the development of high-value applications for fluorescence detection solutions."

Molecular Probes Ranked Among 100 Fastest-Growing Companies
For the second straight year, Molecular Probes has been named to the list of 100 fastest-growing private companies in Oregon. The list, published annually by The Business Journal, highlights "the most agile, well-managed organizations in the region." To be considered for the award, companies must have shown three consecutive years of revenue growth; a reported growth of almost 50% over the three-year period from 2000–2002 placed Molecular Probes at 60th on the list, a significant rise from their 77th-place ranking last year. The company also ranked 10th in terms of the largest total number of employees among companies on the list.

"Being named to The Business Journal's Private 100 list puts Molecular Probes among the strongest companies in the region, and is especially gratifying in light of current economic conditions," said Anthony Martin, President and CEO of Molecular Probes. "Our employees are to be commended for the hard work and dedication they have shown to support the continued growth and prosperity of the company."


Qmedtrix Debuts in Top 50 of Oregon's Fastest Growing Private Companies
Qmedtrix Systems, Inc. ranked 45th in The Business Journal's list of Oregon's Fastest Growing 100 Private Companies.

In its first year in the rankings, Qmedtrix debuts among the top 50 fastest-growing privately-operated companies in Oregon. The list ranks companies by percentage of revenue growth from 2000 through 2002. This timeframe is particularly significant, because the impact of the economic downturn hit most companies in 2000, says Craig Wessel, publisher of The Business Journal.

During 2000-2002, Qmedtrix's revenues increased by 75.5 percent. "When you know the top ranked company, New Edge Networks Inc., had 1,583.97 percent growth, you can see that we are playing with the big boys," says Jeanie Lunsford, communications coordinator.

The companies on the list "represent the most agile, well-managed organizations in the region" according to Wessel. During the past three years, the featured companies have combined to generate more than 3,650 new jobs.

Of the 100 featured companies, Qmedtrix was one of only 16 that were profiled in the "Fastest Growing 100 Private Companies" tabloid produced by The Business Journal, June 13.



NEW MEMBER WELCOME
Alex Johnson and Cliff Weston, Marger Johnson
Marger Johnson & McCollom, PC is a leading full-service intellectual property law firm specializing in patents, trademarks, copyrights, trade secrets and technology licensing, with particular expertise in prosecution, litigation and opinion work. With a stellar 17-year track record of securing intellectual property, the firm provides visionary and comprehensive strategic counsel to top-tier clients in a wide variety of industries nationwide. With 18 attorneys on staff, the firm has offices in Portland, Oregon and Vancouver, Washington.

Welch Allyn Protocol
Welch Allyn is a leading global manufacturer of frontline medical products and solutions, including medical diagnostic and therapeutic devices, cardiac defibrillators, patient monitoring systems and miniature precision lamps. Our mission-critical monitoring products and solutions lower operating costs and provide leading-edge patient monitoring devices that make the best use of your resources. Please contact us at 1-800-769-4014 or visit our website at www.monitoring.welchallyn.com.


check in next month for more information on our new members!