MAARSSEN, Netherlands, July 24 /PRNewswire/ --

The global pharma ingredients and services community's largest annual gathering, CPhI Worldwide, returns this year to Frankfurt on Tuesday 30 September - Thursday 2 October.

With the integrated ICSE contract services and P-MEC machinery and equipment events, the exhibitions will be conveniently located in the adjoining Messe Halls 3, 4, 5 and 6. Frankfurt has a long association with the events and 2008 marks the fifth time that the city hosts CPhI.

The industry has seen major growth since the event was last here in 2003. Five years ago there were 1,200 exhibitors: this year will see close to 1,800. The 2003 attendee total of just over 16,000 will likely be at least 50% up, at 24,000 or more for 2008.

New features at the flagship CPhI exhibition will notably include the Breakfast Briefings within its new series of CPhI conferences. To date these have included: REACH for the Chemical Ingredients Industry (London); Quality Control and Lean Process Implementation (Milan) and PharmaSource 2008 (Berlin).

The winners of the 2008 CPhI Innovation Awards will once again be announced at the Exhibitor Party at close-of-show on Tuesday 30 September. Finalist presentations of the top six contenders will be given on the day -- and the winners will be profiled as part of the Innovation Displays in Hall 4, Stand 40C05 on Wednesday and Thursday.

After a successful introduction in Milan last year, the "Speakers' Corner" is retained for Frankfurt. Located at Stand 42J45 it will feature approximately 32 presentations over the three exhibition days. Country pavilions this year will include Argentina, Brazil, China, France, India, Ireland, Japan, Korea, Portugal, Switzerland and the USA.

ICSE & P-MEC:

Alongside CPhI, ICSE (the International Contract Services Expo) and P-MEC (the Pharmaceutical Machinery and Equipment Convention) events are located in Hall 4.1.

ICSE will host the Breakfast Briefings (Stand 41H49) on 1 and 2 October. Each Breakfast Briefing is an informal forum for top level pharma professionals to discuss salient industry issues. ICSE will again feature the Biotech, IT, Clinical Trials and New Exhibitor "Zones", as well as a packed programme of "Speakers' Corner" on all three days.

Since its 2005 launch in Madrid, P-MEC has become a major global success story, with its well-timed focus on the hardware and technologies needed to meet the costs, regulatory and environmental challenges in producing ever more complex healthcare products. P-MEC 2008 will include approximately 60 exhibiting companies from 19 countries, making it a must for all pharma manufacturing professionals.

CMPi's Pharma Portfolio Group Director Eliane van Doorn commented: "Since CPhI was last in Frankfurt, the brand has seen the successful addition of P-MEC in Europe, CPhI and P-MEC in India, P-MEC in Japan and -- this August -- of CPhI and P-MEC in South America.

"Steady year-on-year increases in exhibitor and visitor numbers at CPhI Worldwide in Europe underline that the event brands have grown into key drivers for industry networking."

For 2009, CPhI Worldwide, with ICSE and P-MEC will again be at Spain's popular Feria de Madrid, which last hosted the events in 2005. Dates will be Tuesday 13 - Thursday 15 October. See: www.cphi.com, www.icsexpo.com and www.p-mec.com.

Notes for Editors:

-- Together, CPhI, ICSE and P-MEC provide integrated coverage of all main pharma services sectors. Held in Europe, CPhI Worldwide is the world's largest pharma ingredients event. The contract services and machinery events were added to meet demand for dedicated exhibitions, but with critical mass and proven networking value of the CPhI brand.

-- CMP Information (CMPi) is the UK-headquartered B2B communications division of United Business Media plc (UBM). Operating internationally, CMPi delivers targeted integrated business media solutions to around 20 industry sectors.

-- Its magazines, exhibitions, conferences, awards, information products and websites target marketers, buyers and sellers across a range of markets. These include Construction and Architecture, Commercial Property, Food and Pharma Ingredients, Security, Interiors and Licensed Trade.

-- CMPi's magazines reach over 780,000 readers directly. More than 330,000 business professionals and marketers visit its exhibitions each year. CMPi has approximately 1,200 employees in the UK, US, Asia and Europe and in 2007 generated over 190m pounds Sterling in revenues. See www.cmpi.biz

Web site: http://www.cphi.com http://www.icsexpo.com http://www.p-mec.com http://www.cmpi.biz

Gudrun Dohl, +31(0)346-559-461, or Ian O'Malley, +31(0)346-559-426, both of CMP Information; or Roger Johnstone of Gyro PR, +44(0)161-614-1450, for CMP Information