Associated Press: Iowa Presidential Campaigning Returns

Associated Press reporter Mike Glover writes, “It’s been six months since voters handed Barack Obama the White House, and in the minds of a lot of Iowa activists that means only one thing: It’s time to start the campaign again.

2012 already?”

To see the complete story as it was published in the Washington Post, including a quote from Eric Woolson of The Concept Works, click here.

Exemplar Genetics Team Attends 2009 BIO International Conference in Atlanta

SIOUX CENTER – The world’s largest biotechnology conference will have a northwest Iowa connection as members of the Exemplar Genetics management team attend this year’s conference in Atlanta.

“Nothing compares to the BIO International Convention in terms of size, innovation or industry and media interest,” said John Swart, president of Exemplar Genetics.

Exemplar Genetics, which partners with medical researchers to seek cures for some of the most challenging diseases facing humans, made its industry debut at the 2008 BIO conference in San Diego.

“The 2008 BIO convention was a tremendous venue for us to introduce Exemplar Genetics’ unique expertise, products and technology. This year’s convention is giving us the opportunity to let more biotech and pharmaceutical companies, researchers and investors know about the ground-breaking work that’s going on at our firm,” Swart said.

Before Exemplar Genetics was founded, researchers lacked animal models to faithfully represent human diseases such as cystic fibrosis. Relying on laboratory mice before advancing to tests on humans, they faced a large barrier on the path to discovering how some human diseases work and how to treat or even prevent them, Swart said. Exemplar Genetics has bridged the considerable gap between the laboratory mouse and human testing with a patented process featuring a substantially improved animal model: the pig.

BIO is the world’s largest biotechnology organization. It provides business development, communications services and providing advocacy for more than 1,150 members around the globe. Since its formation in 1993, BIO has helped the biology-based, entrepreneurial industry grow from a small number of companies concentrated in a few cities to an industry that increasingly extends throughout society.

This year’s event, which runs from Monday through Thursday, plays host to a number of domestic and international public officials who are seeking the biotech industry’s employers and their high-wage, high-value jobs. At least eight U.S. governors and more than 90 international public officials from 18 countries and the European Union. The convention also has drawn industry leaders like Exemplar Genetics from approximately 48 states and 60 countries and hosts more than 1,800 exhibitors. This year’s program features 170 sessions addressing the biotech industry’s most pressing issues, including healthcare pricing and access, capital formation and partnering strategies in a tight credit environment, and climate change and biofuels.

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