THE message for the Kent bioscience and pharmaceutical companies that attended BioChannel 04 was “go global”.

The networking event held at the Ashford International Hotel was the result of a unique collaboration between the bioscience industry in South East England and its colleagues in northern France.

The Interreg Transenterprise Project is a two-year project funded by the EU and SEEDA to enhance the working relationships between bioscience companies and business support agencies in Kent and Surrey and Nord-Pas-de-Calais, Haute-Normandie and Picardie.

Etienne Vervaecke, director of Eurasanté - the largest science park in France outside of Paris - said: " We realised we were sharing the same vision, and the same problems as England; the need for financial and educational investment in the industry.

"Through the Interreg Project we are trying to get small companies involved with larger businesses who we hope will mentor and invest in them. The last two years have been a very, very positive experience.

Companies from Canada, Spain, Norway and Iceland joined UK giants Nestle and Pfizer to meet the Anglo-French enterprises.

Around 20 Kent companies took part including former Medway Small Business of the Year winner Micro Medical from Chatham Maritime.

Business Development Manager Gill Rowe said: "It is an excellent opportunity to present your company and its products to big buyers. Introductions like this would normally take months and months to obtain."

On the buying side, Naheed Visram from Baylis Medical had travelled from Toronto and said he was at the event to meet “innovative” new companies for the Canadian market and seek out development partners in Europe.

David Parry SEEDA Enterprise Hub director and ITP project coordinator said: "Bioscience companies in Kent have got to perform on the global stage and this event is designed to help them do that.

"From 10 meetings with 10 companies, they are going to get some tangible benefit."

John Dodd, Sittingbourne Hub director, added: "These are the 21st century businesses for Kent, the kind of industries future generations will want to work for. We need to work to make sure we can keep them in Kent."

The event was the first of its kind in the region and has laid the foundations for a second conference in Lille in November 2005.