(PRWEB) May 12, 2006 -- The Longmont Area Economic Council (www.longmont.org), celebrating its 25th year, is proud to sponsor the Colorado BioScience Association's (CBSA) (www.cobioscience.com) Longmont LifeScience Thursday on May 18, 2006 from 3:30 p.m. until 6:00 p.m. at the Radisson Conference Center in Longmont, at 1900 Ken Pratt Blvd. The event will feature Tom Keuer, senior vice president of Insmed Therapeutic Proteins (www.insmed.com), who will present "Insmed: A 20-Year Overnight Success Story."

A relative newcomer to the Colorado bioscience community, Insmed has rapidly established a substantial operational presence in Boulder. Recent achievements by the company include FDA approval of their recombinant protein-based product, IPLEX™, for the treatment of children with severe primary IGF-I deficiency, and an approved commercial manufacturing operation in Boulder called Insmed Therapeutic Proteins (ITP). Keuer, head of Colorado operations, will give a historical perspective on how a technology platform, a biotechnology company and a manufacturing facility all came together and are being built into a commercial enterprise. The Insmed story is an interesting case study regarding the long, often tortuous path to product approval, and the transition from R&D into an integrated biopharmaceutical company.

Registration begins at 3:30 p.m., the program starts at 4:00 p.m., and a cash bar reception and networking starts at 5:00 p.m. CBSA members may attend at no cost. Non-member admission is $50, and a student discount is available. To register, visit www.cobioscience.com, and click on "CBSA Events."

Longmont LifeScience Thursday, held each quarter, began in 2003, and is designed to provide information and networking opportunities for those interested in the life science industry, including those involved or interested in biotechnology, medical devices, ag biotech, pharmaceuticals, research institutions and life science industries. The Longmont Area Economic Council is a founding sponsor of the event and John Cody, LAEC President, serves on the CBSA Program Committee. Denise Brown, Executive Director of CBSA, has been instrumental in developing new programs for the Association and raising its profile in Colorado.

This program is sponsored by the Longmont Area Economic Council and Pfizer.

Speaker Bio
Tom Keuer, Senior Vice President, Insmed Therapeutic Proteins
Mr. Keuer is responsible for Insmed's technical program, including manufacturing operations in Boulder. His primary expertise is in GMP manufacturing operations, bioprocess development and large-scale biopharmaceutical facility engineering design, construction, commissioning and qualification. Mr. Keuer was previously VP of engineering for the BioSciences Division of Baxter International, and has more than 25 years of biotech industry experience, including 16 years in Boulder with Somatogen, Baxter and Insmed. Mr. Keuer was VP of operations for Somatogen, where he directed 58 employees, including clinical manufacturing, process engineering and validation. He was also an engineer with Monsanto, where he was the process design lead and project manager at a joint venture production facility with Biochemie/Sandoz for the manufacture of recombinant bovine somatotropin, sourced from E. coli. Mr. Keuer received The Monsanto Achievement Award for the successful outcome of this project. Mr. Keuer received his Masters of Science in Biochemical Engineering from Rice University.

About Insmed
Insmed is a biopharmaceutical company focused on the development and commercialization of drug candidates for the treatment of metabolic diseases and endocrine disorders with unmet medical needs. The company's leading product, IPLEX was approved as an orphan drug by the United States Food and Drug Administration in December 2005 for the treatment of growth failure in children with severe primary IGF-I deficiency (Primary IGFD) or with growth hormone (GH) gene deletion who have developed neutralizing antibodies to GH. For more information, please visit www.insmed.com.

About the Colorado BioScience Assocation
The Colorado BioScience Association is a not-for-profit corporation providing services and support for Colorado’s growing biosciences industry. Colorado is embarking on an aggressive plan to grow the state’s bioscience industry into one of the country’s premier bioscience clusters. CBSA enjoys the support of over 200 member organizations representing a range of bioscience companies dedicated to solving problems and developing products as well as companies providing key services to the bioscience industry and research institutions. CBSA works closely with the state and local policy makers to represent the interests of the bioscience industry. A critical component for Colorado to become one of the country’s top bioscience clusters is a supportive legislative and regulatory environment. The Colorado BioScience Association actively works to achieve these results. For more information, call (303) 592-4073 or visit www.cobioscience.com.

About the Longmont Area Economic Council
The Longmont Area Economic Council, which is celebrating its 25th year, exists for the sole purpose of keeping the Longmont area economy strong. This is accomplished specifically by "actively supporting the creation and preservation of quality primary jobs." Primary employers are those who sell the majority of their goods and services outside the region. LAEC is a public/private partnership, governed by a Board of Directors made up of representatives from primary employers, the City of Longmont, and the business community at large. For more information, call (303) 651-0128 or visit www.longmont.org.