MIDC/General Interest News

MIDC Receives Two Major Grants to Provide Business Development Training to Israeli Technology Companies

The Maryland/Israel Development Center and its Israeli partner, Trendlines International Ltd., were awarded a two major grants from the US-Israel Science and Technology Foundation (USISTF) to provide in depth business development training and consulting to Israeli life science and information technology companies. The MIDC was one of only 10 organizations nationwide to receive an award, and one of only two to receive both grants.

The MIDC and Trendlines won the award for MarketReach America, a highly structured business development program designed to help Israeli companies enter the US market. MarketReach America entails a three step process including an intensive strategic planning workshop in Maryland; market research, analysis and consulting by Trendlines in Israel, culminating in a US business development road show to meet with potential partners, investors and customers.

Five life sciences companies have been selected to visit Maryland in mid-April as part of the first MarketReach America business development program including:

• Andante Medical Devices, which has developed an innovative physical therapy device for accurate, real-time monitoring of weight bearing during physical rehabilitation;
  
• Chiasma, the developer of a delivery platform that enables medication currently being given by injection to be administered orally or through inhalation;
  
• ETView, which has designed an innovative endotracheal tube for use in emergency medicine, anesthesia, and resuscitation;
  
• MGVS, the developer of gene and cell therapy products that use the patientsí own cells for treating vascular disease; and
  
• SLP, which has created disposable screening sensors for sleep disorders.

Selection criteria include a management team qualified to engage in international business development, adequate financial strength to support the business development effort, and innovative life sciences products or technologies that are either ready to sell or in advanced development.

For more information see www.MarketReachAmerica.com.

Maryland Ranked 4th for High Tech Prowess

Watch out, Silicon Valley: Maryland is nipping at your heels.

The Milken Institute ranks the state fourth in the nation on its 2004 technology and science index, with a score that's a fraction behind second-place California and third-place Colorado.

The index, first published in 2002 and updated last week, measures how well-positioned each state is to perform in an economy that's increasingly based on high technology and knowledge. Massachusetts ranked first. It measures performance in research and development, risk capital and entrepreneurial assets, human capital, technology and science work force, and technology concentration and dynamism.

Maryland stacked up particularly well in some research and development subcategories, finishing first on R&D expenditures per capita for biomedical sciences, life sciences, physical sciences and engineering. It was first in academic and federal R&D dollars per capita as well.

The Milken Institute is a California-based economic think tank that focuses on job creation and similar activities.

For more information, see www.milkeninstitute.org.

By Jamie Smith Hopkins
Baltimore Sun Staff

Photo Gallery of Gov. Robert Ehrlichís Trade Mission to Israel
Governor Robert Ehrlich visited Israel with a delegation of 30 business leaders in November, 2003. Click here to see photos of the trip.

MIDC Organizes Video Conference for Israeli Life Sciences Companies on Business Opportunities at NIH
With a $25+ billion dollar budget, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) is the leading research and development center in the world for the life sciences. Business and R&D opportunities abound for life sciences companies including those from Israel with innovative biomedical technologies. The MIDC and the Israeli law firm Goldsobel & Kirshen, organized a video conference in February to alert Israeli life sciences companies to these opportunities. Co-sponsors of the conference include the Life Sciences Division of the Jewish Federation of Greater Washington and ASM Resources, the venture arm of the American Society of Microbiology.

Business and Other News

• Register Now for BIO 2004 Online
  The Biotechnology Industry Organization (BIO) will host the foremost international biotech event in San Francisco, California, June 6-9, 2004. Bio is expecting 20,000 biotechnology and life sciences professionals from all aspects of the industry and from all parts of the globe will participate in the BIO 2004 Annual International Convention. Register online at http://www.bio.org/events/2004/reg/.
  
  
• Oblicore Sees Profitability in 2004

  Oblicore, an Israeli company with headquarters in Columbia, MD, sold software to E.ON Energie, one of Europe's largest private energy companies, and is about to complete an $8 million financing round. Oblicore develops service contract and outsourcing management software.
  
  Oblicore CEO Yuval Boger said that E.ON Energie was its 20th customer. Other customers include France Telecom (NYSE:FTI); Begacom, a major European telephony services provider; Landsbank, one of Germany's five largest banks; and TDS, a IT vendor to European companies.
  
  Oblicore has an R&D center in Israel with 15 employees and a marketing center in Belgium, responsible for sales in Europe. The company expects to hire 12 new employees following its move to new offices in Columbia, Maryland and to have 200 employees in the U.S. within three years. Boger said Oblicore's revenue was between $2-4 million a year; he expects the company to become profitable in 2004. The company was founded in 2000 with a $12 million investment. By Ran Dagoni, Globes
  

• Access Eastern Mediterranean Healthcare Program, June 2004
  
  The U.S. Commercial Service at the American Embassies in Turkey, Egypt, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon and West Bank/Gaza invites you to participate in Access Eastern Mediterranean Healthcare Program (AEM), June 2004. This opportunity offers a low-cost way to evaluate market potential, gain exposure and explore business opportunities in 6 markets with 150 million consumers. The U.S. Commercial Service will feature your products on the AEM website and will promote your company to hundreds of potential distributors/partners in 6 markets. The participation fee is only $1,000.

  For full details and to register online, please see: http://www.buyusa.gov/easternmed/medical.html
  

Economic News and Statistics

• Capital Raised by Israeli Companies Tops $1 Billion in 2003
  During 2003, Israeli high-tech companies raised $1.011 billion from Israeli and foreign venture investors, according to the IVC Research Center. Though the amount is 11 percent below the $1.138 billion raised in 2002, it approximates the $1.013 billion raised in 1999. Three hundred and seventy two companies raised capital in 2003, compared to 352 companies in 2002, and 338 in 1999.
  
  
  
• Israelís Growth Maintains Pace: GDP Up 2.6% in Fourth Quarter of 2003
  Israel's economic growth is improving. GDP rose by an annualized rate of 2.6% in the fourth quarter of 2003, after rising by 2.8% in the third quarter. The rise in GDP in the second half of last year mainly reflects an increase in private consumption and exports. Private consumption rose by 7.3%, while exports rose by 9.3%, after rising by 5.1% in the first half of 2003. In other economic news, the Bank of Israel announced that 12-month inflation expectations are just 1.5% for February, up slightly from 1.2% in January and 0.7% in December.
  
  
• ìThe Economistî Lowers Israelís Risk Rating; Israel is 11^th Lowest Risk Among 26 Emerging Economies
  Israelís status in international financial markets has further improved, following the publication of Minister of Finance Benjamin Netanyahuís economic plan. The Economist Intelligence Unit gives Israel the eleventh lowest risk among 26 emerging economies around the world. The Economist Intelligence Unit gave Israel a rating of 40 points, seven points better than in January 2003. 100 points is the worst risk rating, while zero points is the best. The Economist Intelligence Unit calculates risk ratings on the basis of 77 economic, security, and geopolitical indicators.
  

Upcoming Events

Follow the links under each listing to find out more
or to register for an event.

May 4-6, 2004
Biotech Israel 2004
Tel Aviv, Israel
Israelís 3rd National Biotechnology Conference and Exhibition will include sessions on genetic diseases, medical devices, stem cells, gene therapy, immunotherapy, neurobiology, nanobiotech, bioinformatics, agricultural biotech, and structural biology. It will also include a special session on future challenges in biotechnology.
http://www.kenes.com/biotech/

May 11-13, 2004
TechNet International 2004
Washington, DC
TechNet International is an annual event sponsored by AFCEA International, the Armed Forces Communications and Electronics Association. The 3-day event is one of the nation's largest C4I conventions and features numerous professional development and networking opportunities.
TechNet International 2004

May 18-19, 2004
Military & Aerospace Electronics East 2004
Baltimore, MD
The Military & Aerospace Electronics East 2004 Show features a series of government and industry presentations crafted to industry experts offering a glimpse into the most important opportunities in defense and aerospace programs over the next five years.
Military & Aerospace Electronics East 2004

June 1-2, 2004
Capital Connection 2004: Where Innovation Meets Smart Money
Washington, DC
Developed by the Mid-Atlantic Venture Community, Capital Connection provides multiple venues to network with the Venture Investors, Service Providers, and Entrepreneurs of the region's up and coming innovative companies.
http://www.mava.org/CapitalConnection/

June 6-9, 2004
BIO Annual International Convention
San Francisco, CA
With nearly 20,000 attendees annually, BIO is the premier international event for life science professionals.
http://www.bio.org/events/2004/

June 8-10, 2004
Wi-Fi Planet Spring 2004 Conference & Expo
Baltimore, Maryland
Wi-Fi Planet Conferences and Expos have become the definitive events of the Wi-Fi industry. These are the only events where all the major manufacturers, sellers and buyers of Wi-Fi related technology assemble. It's where vendors introduce the latest products, where business users gain the knowledge they need to make strategic buying decisions and where the industry charts it future direction.
Wi-Fi Planet Conference & Expo, Baltimore, MD - June 8-10, 2004

December 4-8, 2004
American Society for Cell Biology's Annual Convention
Washington, DC
The American Society for Cell Biology (ASCB) provides for the exchange of scientific knowledge in the area of cell biology through the scholarly dissemination of research at its Annual Meeting and in its publications.
http://www.ascb.org

Copyright ©2004 Maryland/Israel Development Center ï 217 East Redwood Street ï Suite 1217
Baltimore, Maryland ï 21202 ï USA ï Ph: 410.767.0681 ï Fx: 410.333.4302 ï info@MarylandIsrael.org

Israeli Office ï Trendlines ï Shorashim ï D.N. Misgav ï 20164 ï ISRAEL
Ph: 972-4-958-3323 ï FX: 972-4-958-3325 ï†postmaster@trendlines.com