Betting on Change - The Venture Forum in 2008

SANTA CLARA, Calif., May 14 /PRNewswire/ -- Shining a spotlight on the
ever-growing field of life sciences, Larta Institute's 14th Annual Venture
Forum will provide a ray of hope in the midst of the dark backdrop of the
current economy. This year the Forum has the unparalleled opportunity to
focus on brilliant entrepreneurs in the life sciences, even while concerns
are surfacing on broader economic issues. "For 14 years, through good
economic times and bad, the passion and ingenuity of entrepreneurs has been
an inspiration for us all," says Rohit Shukla, CEO of Larta Institute.
Therefore, Larta's focus on market-ready and well-coached seed-stage
companies from across the globe attracts the most experienced, insightful
and driven industry leaders to this "marketplace of ideas and solutions."

"Financing for innovation is always challenging, especially when the
world economy is dealing with inflation, deflation, high energy prices,
economic downturn and credit market crises," said G. Steven Burrill, CEO of
Burrill & Company, and a featured keynote speaker. "The Venture Forum
brings together innovation and capital in a creative atmosphere -- this
kind of financing is the hallmark of an innovative society." Burrill &
Company is co-producing the event with Larta Institute. The other
noteworthy keynote speakers this year, including Boris Nikolic of the Gates
Foundation and Mary Woolley, president of Research!America, and a host of
seasoned industry executives, will describe and embrace the advancements,
opportunities and pitfalls of this critical sector.

The Venture Forum is the culmination of Larta's close mentoring of
showcased innovators over the course of many months, and as such is
considered the premier platform for emerging companies to present and
exhibit for serious investors and industry executives. "Larta's Venture
Forum offers an exciting opportunity to view compelling emerging technology
innovations -- this fits well with P&G Health Care's objectives, which are
focused on external discovery to fill our pipeline," said Bruce Halpryn of
Procter & Gamble Health Care. "The ideas being pitched at the Forum are of
great interest to us in our continuing search for innovative technologies
that could drive new business opportunities for P&G Health Care."

In this "rich brew of innovation," as Shukla refers to it, presenting
companies are specially selected from the National Institutes of Health's
Commercialization Assistance Program, managed by Larta institute. In
addition, an equal number are selected from Larta's network, representing
36 states, 12 universities and entrepreneurs from Larta's Global Bridge
network, this year featuring Brazil and Canada.

Larta Institute's track record of success ensures that this year's
event will once again present great new business opportunities not seen on
the regular conference circuit.

2008 Life Sciences Venture Forum, Friday, May 30 -- Santa Clara
Convention Center: http://www.theventureforum.com

Attendee Registration: http://www.theventureforum.com/registration.asp

Credentialed Media: To register for press passes, contact Avi Kulokas
at akulokas@larta.org or 213-538-1451.

Sponsorship Opportunities: For information on sponsorship, contact
Carlos Gutierrez at cgutierrez@larta.org or 213-538-1453.



For information about Larta Institute, visit http://www.larta.org

Contact:
Constanza Pachon
Tel. 213/538-1451
Email: cpachon@larta.org

This release was issued through eReleases(TM). For more information,
visit http://www.ereleases.com.





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Via: Healthcare