BIOTECHNICA, LABVOLUTION and ELA: Strong trio in October

The strategic decision made by Deutsche Messe AG to launch the new trade fair LABVOLUTION alongside the established BIOTECHNICA has been well received by the market. From 6 to 8 October this year, Hannover will be the place where industry meets science in the fields of laboratory equipment, biotechnology and life sciences. Together with the debut of the new concept, which will see the two trade fairs take place in the same venue and covered by a single entrance ticket, Deutsche Messe AG has attracted the successful European Lab Automation (ELA) conference and exhibition to Hannover. As well as enhancing LABVOLUTION, ELA also has close links to BIOTECHNICA thanks to its conference track on personalized medicine.

“We’re hearing lots of positive feedback in the discussions we’re currently having in the exhibitor acquisition phase,” says Bernd Heinold, Head of Department, BIOTECHNICA at Deutsche Messe AG. “Biotechnology and lab equipment are two fields with a host of synergies.” In the past, laboratory equipment had already played a key role for life sciences at BIOTECHNICA. The LABVOLUTION format will now enable sectors to be addressed that deal with lab equipment beyond the life sciences. “We’ll have a much greater variety of sectors and applications in October,” says Jürgen Fürstenberg-Brock, Head of Department, LABVOLUTION. “Chemistry, pharmaceuticals, environment, quality control and food will be just a few of the sectors at the trade fair.” A number of key players in relevant sectors have already registered as exhibitors, including Analytik Jena, Eppendorf, Merck Millipore, Mettler Toledo, Nikon, Olympus and Qiagen.

BIOTECHNICA:

The name BIOTECHNICA has been associated with new business leads and networking in the fields of biotechnology and life sciences in Germany and Europe for 30 years. Industry and science alike use the forum to find products, technologies and opportunities for cooperation. BIOTECHNICA is the only trade fair to cover the entire red, white and green biotechnology value chain – from basic research to the finished product. Featuring marketplaces for bioeconomy and personalized medicine technologies, BIOTECHNICA 2015 will focus on the sector’s overall significance for society, key issues and innovative strength. The range covered by BIOTECHNICA includes the entire biotechnological process chain: process engineering, analytics and sensor technology, bioinformatics, biotechnological applications in industry, pharmaceuticals, medicine and agriculture, and biotech services such as financing or consulting.

LABVOLUTION:

LABVOLUTION presents the entire world of lab equipment for laboratories focussing on research, analysis, production and training. The new trade fair covers the whole range of lab equipment products and services for a variety of target markets, including chemistry, pharmaceuticals, biotechnology, synthetic materials, material development, cosmetics, medical and environmental technology and the food industry, and shows how laboratories are an integral part of the entire value chain. In addition to its focus on generating new business leads and networking, LABVOLUTION will also serve as a platform at which the latest laboratory-related trends and issues of future relevance can be discussed. In this regard, one of the highlights of the trade fair’s premiere will be the SmartLAB – an intelligent prototype laboratory of the future. Overall, the range of topics covered by LABVOLUTION will include lab equipment and infrastructure, analytics, commodities and consumables, reagents and chemicals, applications and processes, and specialized services.

European Lab Automation (ELA):

The ELA conference and trade fair is Europe’s largest event dedicated to automation in the life sciences field. ELA is staged by the British organizer SELECTBIO. ELA has been held annually since 2011, with Hamburg having hosted the event three times and Barcelona being the most recent venue. In Hannover, the ELA exhibition will be part of LABVOLUTION for all three days of the event. Conference participants will meet in the Convention Center, which is directly adjacent to the exhibition hall, on 7 and 8 October. ELA incorporates three conferences: Lab Automation and Robotics, Genome Engineering and Personalized Medicine. Lab Automation and Robotics will showcase preparation techniques for extracted cell material and human tissue samples. The Genome Engineering conference track will focus on both new and established technologies and their discovery, development and application in various organisms. Most notably, applications for CRISPR/Cas9 in therapeutics will be explored. The conference will be completed by Personalized Medicine, which will cover emerging and established laboratory-developed tests and provide insights into the changing legislation and funding landscape.