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Biotech Conference to Open in Toronto

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Reuters

The world’s biggest annual biotechnology conference opens this week in Toronto, providing a forum for boosters as well as detractors of an industry where stock prices have been hammered by regulatory setbacks.

The sector has had a tough year in terms of financial performance. The American Stock Exchange biotech index closed Friday at 361.90, a 44% drop from where it stood 12 months earlier.

This year, more than 12,000 representatives from health care, agricultural, industrial and environmental biotechnology are expected to attend the convention.

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The conference will feature several symposiums, including a session today addressing ways to smooth the Food and Drug Administration drug approval process. Topics such as when a company should give up on an experimental drug and whether drug development costs are justified will be the focus of other discussions.

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