SAN FRANCISCO -- Throngs of protesters, police in riot gear, barricaded streets surrounding the convention center -- Pennsylvania, are you ready for this? The world's largest biotech gathering that closes up shop in San Francisco today is headed to Philadelphia next June for its 13th annual rendition.

	Marcio Jose Sanchez, Associated Press Protesters staged a demonstration in front of San Francisco's Moscone Center, where the Bio 2004 International Convention is being held this week. The demonstrators were protesting genetically modified products. Click photo for larger image.

"I don't think we'll see this kind of show in Philadelphia," Richard Overmoyer, Pennsylvania's deputy secretary of Technology Investment, said as he watched the protesters. He's hoping that next year's gathering provides a tremendous opportunity to showcase his state and its biotech know-how.

Known simply as "BIO," this year's annual event pulled in an estimated 20,000 delegates from 59 countries. Attendees ranged from representatives of pharmaceutical giants scouting for promising research from up-and-coming biotech start-ups, to start-ups scouting for money and beneficial partnerships, to venture capitalists screening hundreds of pitches for the most promising, marketable concepts.

There were law firms promoting their ability to defend intellectual property and patents; manufacturers that make advanced and specialized tools hoping to make contact with the ever-growing number of new companies with the dream of making it big; and states and nations casting bait from their elaborate trade show pavilions, each maintaining it had the best location, best tax breaks and most promising pool of human, technical and business capital to help biotech businesses grow.

Many booths had an almost-obligatory cheesy slogan with some science pun. Others had christened themselves with bio-names: There were India's "Genome Valley" and "Bangalore Helix," "North Carolina: The State of Minds," "Iowa Life Changing," "Wisconsin: Room to Breathe," "UKBio" and HollandBioDelta.

Mike Bruening, manager of economic development for the Omaha, Neb., Chamber of Commerce (slogan: "Bio's Hot in Omaha," accentuated by faux flames dancing above the booth), explained why regions had flocked to the show.

"The types of jobs created [by biotech] are high-wage and highly skilled positions," he said. "The equipment and buildings for biotech manufacturing cost a lot of money, so that increases your tax base."

BIO 2004 organizers say biotech employs 194,000 across the country, with public biotech companies alone worth a collective $311 billion on the stock market. And while still a small slice of the overall employment pie, jobs in biotech grew 12 percent annually from 2000 to 2002, according to a U.S. Department of Commerce survey of 3,200 companies last year. Those companies contributed $272.8 billion, or 2.7 percent, to the gross domestic product, with the biotech components of their businesses adding up to $33.5 billion, or 0.33 percent of GDP.

But this year's event wasn't just about money. There also are 150 learning sessions devoted to advances in therapeutics, science, regulation, industrial and agricultural applications and bioethics. It's a chance to meet and mingle with the people who are best in their respective field.

It's an opportunity Pennsylvania's biotech enthusiasts intend to pursue with vigor.

"One great thing about BIO -- 80 percent of CEOs in publicly traded companies in the field come. There are very few conferences in the world where executives with such decision-making authority are together at the same time," observed Fritz Bittenbender, president of Pennsylvania Bio, an industry group representing Pennsylvania companies. "It's a chance to showcase our resources to the entire world."

While next year's convention will be in Philadelphia, Bittenbender and Overmoyer think the entire state will benefit. They plan to emphasize Pennsylvania's abundance of educated workers, its greenhouse programs of nurturing start-up businesses and its access to more venture capital than is available in many other states.

"We just had a U.K. company, Shire Pharmaceuticals, locate in King of Prussia," said Overmoyer, "because of the availability of an experienced life science work force."

Some Pennsylvania companies are at BIO because they are looking for money or partners to expand. Neose Technologies of Horsham, Protez Pharmaceuticals of Malvern, BioRexis Pharmaceuticals of King of Prussia, and Pittsburgh's Automated Cell Inc. are all scheduled to make 15- minute presentations to venture capital representatives and drug company scouts.

Some of the presenters are small companies, but Overmoyer thinks that's where growth is for Pennsylvania. "BioRexus started out a year and a half ago with 2 people. Now it has 45."

Other states tout their own programs, but may have lost ground because they backed off funding technical development during tight budget times of the last two years. Pennsylvania has continued to spend its tobacco settlement money on development, and Bittenbender wants to take advantage of what he sees as an edge.

"We will develop a host committee to determine what we want as a region to get out of the event, and develop some kind of metric to follow up and see how many deals were made, how much investment came from having BIO here," Bittenbender said, adding that Pennsylvania Bio already is using the San Francisco gathering as a soft launch for next year's event.