More could be done to attract international businesses to the geographic area known as the US Mid-Atlantic region, panelists agreed during a session at the recent "Biotech 2011" conference sponsored by the local industry associations, BioNJ and Pennsylvania Bio, in Philadelphia. Dr Franco Lori, founder, president and CEO of ViroStatics, proclaimed that "This region offers everything to serve our needs, and the headline should be [that] it offers one-stop shopping". He urges the associations to "spend time and money" to convey that message, adding that in his view some companies do not realise what the region offers till they actually arrive and set up shop.

Our monthly update on technology transfer deals--licensing agreements between companies and universities or other research institutions--in the fields of life sciences, including pharmaceuticals, medical devices, in vitro diagnostics and research/analytical instrumentation and reagents.

PanCel is developing a device to take on the glucose-controlling function of the pancreas.

The growing incidence of these diseases, and their complexity, provide opportunities for a number of different approaches