Smith Anderson Sponsors Biotech 2010 Conference - Sponsorship Complements Partners’ Board Service and Life Sciences Practice

Smith Anderson announces that it will be a Gold Sponsor of the Biotech 2010 Conference on February 22 and 23 in Raleigh. The conference is presented by the Council for Entrepreneurial Development (CED), the North Carolina Biosciences Organization (NCBIO), and the North Carolina Biotechnology Center.

The firm’s sponsorship complements the service of three Smith Anderson partners on the boards of the sponsoring organizations:

• Christopher Capel serves on the Board of Directors of NCBIO
• Merrill Mason serves on the CED Board
• Gerald Roach serves on the Biotech Center Board

The firm is also a sponsor of CED’s Innovation to Impact campaign, a five-year vision to position the Research Triangle and North Carolina as the nation’s leading center for entrepreneurial support and success.

“We believe our life sciences practice provides clients with unparalleled depth and capabilities in the Southeast,” said Capel, who notes that, Smith Anderson is ranked #1 in the Raleigh/Research Triangle area in 19 categories by The Best Lawyers in America 2010®, including those important to life sciences companies such as venture capital law, mergers & acquisitions, and securities law. “We are very pleased to continue to support the life sciences community with these sponsorships and our board service.”

Our life sciences clients include pharmaceutical companies, biotech companies including agricultural biotech, medical device companies, CROs and other biopharmaceutical services companies, and life sciences-focused venture capital firms and other investors. Lawyers in this practice group include Santo Costa, former President, Chief Operating Officer and Vice Chairman of Quintiles Transnational Corp., and Senior Vice President and General Counsel of Glaxo, Inc.; Phil Tracy, former President and Chief Executive Officer of Burroughs Wellcome Co., a predecessor of GlaxoSmithKline; and Martin Lancaster, immediate past President of the North Carolina Community College System.

About Smith Anderson

Smith Anderson is the largest Research Triangle-based business and litigation law firm and one of the largest in North Carolina. Representing diverse organizations with local, state, national and international interests, our lawyers focus on building and strengthening relationships by understanding our clients' businesses and customizing our legal solutions accordingly. Our commitment to our clients also extends to our community and profession. For more information, go to www.smithlaw.com.

About CED

CED’s mission is to identify, enable and promote high growth, high impact companies and to accelerate the entrepreneurial culture of the Research Triangle and North Carolina. For more information, go to www.cednc.org.

About NCBIO

NCBIO is North Carolina’s state-level affiliate of the national Biotechnology Industry Organization. Together, the two groups advocate federal, state and local public policies designed to help the bioscience industry fulfill its extraordinary promise as a source of economic opportunity and improved life quality. For more information, go to www.ncbioscience.org.

About The North Carolina Biotechnology Center

The Biotechnology Center is a private, non-profit corporation supported by the N.C. General Assembly. Its mission is to provide long-term economic and societal benefits to North Carolina by supporting biotechnology research, business and education statewide. For more information, go to www.ncbiotech.org.