CED picks new Raleigh center as site for Biotech 2009 conference

Research Triangle Park, N.C. — Raleigh’s new downtown convention center will be the site for the Biotech 2009 conference from the Council for Entrepreneurial Development.

The event is set for Feb. 16-17.

Dennis Gillings, founder and chief executive officer of Quintiles Transnational in Durham, will be one of the program speakers.

Also on the agenda is James Greenwood, CEO of the Biotechnology Industry Organization (BIO).

Based in Washington, D.C., BIO has more than 1,200 companies and universities as members.

Joan Siefert Rose, the new president of the CED, said the conference “will focus on the impact of anticipated policy changes on the biotechnology industry” by a new president.

Traditionally the CED life science conference has taken place in either Winston-Salem or the Triangle.

Raleigh’s convention center opens for business in just a few weeks.

Gillings, a former professor at UNC-Chapel Hill, now leads one of the world’s largest contract research organizations that provides a variety of services for biotech, pharmaceutical and life science clients.