European Commission proposes to invest Billions to provide Finance for New European Technologies and Small Companies

Venture Capitalist firms already coming on board to provide finance for companies to use innovative technologies as low risk.

Lyon, France (May 3, 2013) -- A long term strategic plan by the European Commission (EC) to rebuild the European economy by investing in the development of new technologies is now reached the stage where it will start to have an impact as it reaches the commercialisation phase. The EU is proposing to make several billion Euros available for companies to enable this to happen as a key part of the new EC Horizon 2020 programme, which starts in 2014 and replaces FP7 and CIP. Crucially, a part of this support is aimed at entrepreneurs, start-ups and SMEs because these are seen as providing the engine for the economic recovery as, being nimble and fast, they can bring these new innovative technologies to market quickly.

Since 2003, more than €400 million has been co-invested by the European Commission into more than 130 European research projects to develop innovative, Smart Systems technologies to reinforce European scientific excellence and competitiveness. This specific area of Smart Systems can deliver significant competitive advantages across a wide range of application fields such as Life Sciences, IT & Telecoms, Agrofood, Environment and Energy. More than 50 projects have now reached the stage of promising contacts with investors and customers, and are on their way to commercialisation. This is all co-ordinated in the Smart System area by the COWIN initiative, which is dedicated to encourage the transfer of IP, and the formation and growth of young companies.

Laszlo Csernak, COWIN's Project Officer, explained, "In order to compete in the global marketplace, European companies need to be able to offer solutions that are significantly better. They cannot compete on price with the emerging economies that have low labour costs so the best way to have a competitive edge is to build in intelligence to create smarter products. Usually this takes the form of advanced miniature electronics often with state of the art sensors to provide awareness of what is going on so that immediate responses can be instigated - Smart Systems. As this is a pan-European program, we are able to bring together research groups and companies from all over Europe to contribute parts of a solution forming an interlocking jigsaw that would never happen any other way. New synergies and working relationships have been fostered between countries and companies that are flourishing with the exchange of ideas that stimulates further innovation. It is a very real example of the European Union working together and achieving incredible, tangible results with what is probably its most important initiative that will really make a difference in terms of economic growth and jobs throughout the EU."

Geraldine Andrieux-Gustin, the COWIN coordinator, added, "In mid 2012, we started match-making advanced technologies that we have selected to companies who approached us looking for solutions to their technology challenges. We are now in active discussion with over 300 European companies with more contacting us every day. Part of our service is to mentor entrepreneurs and small companies with a whole range of advice from help with business plans to devising a strong position in the competitive landscape. COWIN is having great success with many of the innovative technologies developed during EU projects being taken up by companies and being used to generate sales. COWIN is also mentoring over 20 start-up companies to support their growth strategies and business development."

Pierre Marro, Policy Officer at the EC, explained, "The EC recognises that these small to medium sized companies are the champions of tomorrow and we want to help them grow and be successful. Currently, EC programmes and projects required several companies from a minimum of three different countries to co-operate. The new EC Horizon 2020 is being finalised at the moment. This is being designed to add a completely new package with simplified procedures and without these constraints of co-operations to specifically provide new technologies holders with help in starting and running companies right through to finance help. Lack of finance has been a stumbling block in the past due to the economic crisis, so a key new service in Horizon 2020 will be dedicated to providing access to finance with new instruments dedicated to SMEs and access to risk financing that will really help companies grow quickly and create new jobs and economic wealth."

Meantime, COWIN is co-ordinating a VC finance programme for 2013. Over twenty of Europe's leading Venture Capitalist firms are supporting COWIN to help entrepreneurship in Europe and will be taking part in the COWIN Investment Place this summer which will bring together VC firms and companies that are seeking finance this year. COWIN is also planning a series of webinars that will also facilitate finding VC funding and also bring in business angels and family offices. "The VCs are really keen to be involved," explained Geraldine Andrieux-Gustin, "because the risk element is greatly reduced because all the technologies have proved themselves to be commercially ready. It is now a question of making successful businesses based on them. The VCs and the COWIN team can provide the expertise and finance to help companies make that happen so that these innovative technologies can be quickly commercialised and start generating jobs and money in the EU."

Further information on COWIN can be found at http://www.cowin4u.eu

COWIN contact details are Geraldine Andrieux-Gustin, Andrieux@yole.fr

Press contact is Nigel Robson, Vortex PR, +44 1481 233080, nigel@vortexpr.com

About COWIN
Launched in 2010 under the 7th Framework Program, COWIN is a support action dedicated to strengthening European competitiveness in miniaturized smart systems. The initiative is focused on the commercial exploitation of advanced technologies developed in the framework of European collaborative research projects. COWIN's mission is to facilitate take-up of those advanced technologies worthy of investment, in order to capture innovation, win new markets and make a profit.

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2012 Aesthetic Medicine Stats Confirm Botox Grows a Medical Practice

The economy is seeing an upturn and so too is the aesthetic medical industry. The ASPS, ASASP and the AAFPRS published that in 2012 cosmetic procedures, both surgical and minimally invasive were up over 2011. The IAPAM's Aesthetic Medicine Symposium offers the most comprehensive, hands on, live demonstration and didactic instruction in all of the top 5 non-invasive procedures that the these aesthetic medical association report on, and offers unparalleled business support to physicians as they build successful aesthetic medical practices and capture the continued growth in the minimally-invasive market in 2013.

Las Vegas, Nevada, USA - May 3, 2013 – The American Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS) reported that "surgical procedures grew only by 1% in 2012, but non-surgical treatments, such as botox, dermal fillers and chemical peels grew by 6%." "More people are turning to the more inexpensive non-invasive procedures rather than surgical cosmetic procedures," says Jeff Russell, Executive Director of the International Association for Physicians in Aesthetic Medicine (http://www.iapam.com). "They may not get the long term benefits of a face lift, but with a combination treatment of botox and dermal fillers, then can get a great result at a fraction of the price." In the recent report from ASPS, there were 13 million non-surgical procedures performed in 2012, and the top five minimally-invasive procedures were:

Botulinum toxin type A (6.1 million procedures, up 8 percent)
Soft tissue fillers (2 million procedures, up 5 percent)
Chemical peel (1.1 million procedures, up 2 percent)
Laser hair removal (1.1 million procedures, up 4 percent)
Microdermabrasion (974,000 procedures, up 8 percent)

"For the third consecutive year, the overall growth in cosmetic surgery continues to be driven by a significant rise in minimally-invasive procedures," confirmed Dr. Gregory Evans, MD, President of the ASPS.

Equally, reports from the American Academy of Facial, Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery (AAFPRS) confirms the increasing popularity of non-surgical treatments, notably, the number of men having botox, which was up 27% from 2011, with hyaluronic acid fillers and microdermabrasion also among the most popular maintenance treatments.

Finally, the American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery (ASAPS) echoes the findings of the other aesthetic medicine and cosmetic surgery societies. "There were over 10 million surgical and nonsurgical cosmetic procedures performed in the United States in 2012. Surgical procedures accounted for 17% of the total number of procedures and 61% of the total expenditures, with nonsurgical procedures making up 83% of the total number of procedures and 39% of total expenditures," and again, botox led the way in the number of procedures performed.

Jeff Russell concurs. "We are hearing from our members that minimally invasive procedures like botox and other cosmetic injectables, medically supervised hCG weight loss (http://www.hcgtraining.com) as well as laser treatments, microdermabrasion and chemical peels are in tremendous demand by patients, and we are seeing a correlating increase in the demand for our training.

For more information on the IAPAM's upcoming Aesthetic Medicine Symposium (http://www.aestheticmedicinesymposium.com) and/or the IAPAM's Clean Start hCG for Weight Loss Physician Training (http://www.hcgtraining.com), please see http://www.iapam.com or contact the IAPAM at 1-800-219-5108 ext. 704.

Botox is a trademark of Allergan, Inc.

About the International Association for Physicians in Aesthetic Medicine (IAPAM)

The International Association for Physicians in Aesthetic Medicine is a voluntary association of physicians and supporters, which sets standards for the aesthetic medical profession. The goal of the association is to offer education, ethical standards, credentialing, and member benefits. IAPAM membership is open to all licensed medical doctors (MDs), dentists (DDSs/DMDs) doctors of osteopathic medicine (DOs), physicians assistants (PAs) and nurse practitioners (NPs). The IAPAM offers aesthetic medicine and hCG medical weight management programs, including: botox training, medical aesthetic training, laser training, physician hCG training, and aesthetic practice business training. Additional information about the association can be accessed through the IAPAM's website (http://www.iapam.com) or by contacting:

Jeff Russell, Executive-Director
International Association for Physicians in Aesthetic Medicine (IAPAM)
1-800-219-5108 ext. 704