I am not an expert in the field, but perhaps someone has an opinion about this type of conferences. http://www.theconferenceforum.org/Biotech101-Overview.html

A question that comes to mind is, how good and informative are these events for potential entrepreneurs in the biotech area?

Are there any others taking place throughout the year you may know about, and maybe share information about?

Maryland Awards $1 Million to Five Biotech Small Businesses. Applications for the next round of FY2012 awards are due February 15, 2012.
Further information may be found at: http://www.biotech-now.org/business-and-investments/2012/01/maryland-awards-1-million-to-five-biotech-small-businesses

Continue to wonder about potential answers or discussion avenues to the issues of bioscience, innovation best practices, and enterpreneurial implications.

Joan, I run a pioneering bioscience incubation at the University of Florida (www.sidmartinbio.org) and I find the state programs that match SBIR/STTR grants to be very efficient ways to assist early companies and still provide a measure of diligence.

Over the next 20 years the demand for pharmaceutical products is expected to increase dramatically in the developing world whereas the markets in the United States and Europe are expected to level off. What can new biotechnology startups do to position themselves to take advantage of this changing landscape?

Our initial forum moderators are the following Biotechnology Professionals:
Michael Riedlinger, Manager, Rochester BioVenture Center, New York, USA
Joao Paulo Longo, Centro de Desenvolvimento Tecnológico, Universidade de Brasília, Brazil
Steven Hubert, Vice President, Operations, Ommia Biologics, Maryland, USA
Patti Breedlove, Associate Director, Sid Martin, Biotech Development Incubator, Florida, USA
Stefan Schulze, Associate Director, Georgia BioBusiness Center, University of Georgia, Georgia, USA