"When I meet people like you, I'm inspired," said Minister of the Economy Naftali Bennett at the IATI-Biomed 2013 conference in Tel Aviv today. "You create real things which save and improve lives. We're not just creating data which is hard to see and aimed at shooting pictures of birds and pigs into the air," he added in reference to Angry Birds.
"Not everyone is pleased by exits," said Bennett. "I'm not sure that this is correct. When Cyota was sold to RSA in 2005, it had 120 employees, and it now has 400. We learn from the involvement of a multinational. Biomed is very important for Israel, and the industry can grow multifold. The Chief Scientist is very important for the industry's development."
Chief Scientist Avi Hasson said, "2012 was a record year for the raising of capital by Israeli companies, and of exits too. I was especially impressed by the variety of buyers: Americans, Europeans, and even Chinese. Many companies have made their first acquisition of an Israeli company in recent years."
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on June 11, 2013
© Copyright of Globes Publisher Itonut (1983) Ltd. 2013