On the Opening of the Biomed Israel 2011 Week: President Peres Has Announced the Launch of a Brain Research International Centre in Israel – To Be Headed by Entrepreneur Dr. Rafi Gidron

TEL AVIV, Israel--(BUSINESS WIRE)--On the opening of the ILSI Biomed Israel 2011 week (Monday, May the 23rd, 2011), President Peres has announced the launch of a new international centre in Israel, set to conduct brain research and to promote the neuro–technology field. Registered as a non–profit association, the centre will be headed (voluntarily) by entrepreneur Dr. Rafi Gidron, one of the entrepreneurs and founders of Chromatis, which, in the year 2000, was sold to Lucent for $ 4.8 Billion, together with representatives of the Israeli life science industry, senior academists, medical doctors, the Chief Scientist and the office team of the President of the State of Israel.

“and this is exactly the right moment to aim at the next target – a global centre that leads the development of brain research based technologies, ultimately helping millions of people around the world, victims of brain strokes, Alzheimer’s disease or even blindness and deafness.”

In his opening speech, Mr. Peres described how in the early 1980’s, when he started to promote the research of nano–technology in Israel, people around him did not understand what he was doing and were sceptic about the idea that nano–technology could be developed in Israel. “Today, Israel is considered to be one of the most esteemed Nano centres in this arena,” said Mr. Peres, “and this is exactly the right moment to aim at the next target – a global centre that leads the development of brain research based technologies, ultimately helping millions of people around the world, victims of brain strokes, Alzheimer’s disease or even blindness and deafness.”

Being aware of the fact that many of the senior functionaries of world and Israeli industries were in the audience, President Peres took the opportunity and called them to join the new centre initiative and to contribute to its success. "This centre will have no international borders, no politics and no prejudices, and it will only be guided by and act for the benefit of the entire humanity."

Mr. Peres noted that considering the position of Israel in relation to patents, one can feel very proud realising that the number of patents granted to Israeli companies in the field of medical instrumentation makes it the world number one in relation to the population size and positions the country in the fourth place considering the absolute number of patents. In the Bio–Pharma field, Israel holds the world second place in relation to the population size and the world eighth place in the absolute patent number. Moreover, Israel is the world number one in the number of patents granted to the life sciences industry as a percentage of the total number of patents authored by Israeli inventors.

The ILSI Week – "BioMed Israel 2011" – celebrates this year its ten–year anniversary. During the last decade it has become an international conference event, and each year hosted the greatest (and the hottest) names of the world from the bio–technology, drug and medical instrumentation fields. The event organisers, the association of the Israel Life Science Industry – ILSI – and the Kenes company, estimate that among the thousands of expected participants, including CEOs and senior functionaries of the Bio–Pharma and medical instrumentation companies, scientists and investigators, designers of public opinion acting in the field, venture capital fund managers and private investors, there will be more than 1000 visitors from around the world who will attend the conference as well.

The ILSI Week is the annual major event of the life science industry in Israel. The event includes an international professional conference attended by the world best experts (CEOs and senior functionaries of the Bio–Pharma and medical instrumentation companies, scientists and investigators, designers of public opinion acting in the field, venture capital fund managers and private investors) from Israel and from other countries and a trade show which presents the hottest innovations. Counted to be the greatest meeting point for life science bodies held outside the United States and won an international recognition, the "ILSI – BioMed Israel 2011" will be held between May the 23th and May the 25th in the David Intercontinental Hotel and Dan Panorama Hotel, in Tel Aviv.

Please visit the event website at: http://www2.kenes.com/biomed/pages/home.aspx.

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