MAARSEN, Netherlands, January 19 /PRNewswire/ -- Reflecting the continued growth in the fine chemicals, pharmaceuticals and bio-pharmaceuticals industries on the Indian sub-continent, leading events organisers UBM International Media and its sister company UBM India Pvt. Ltd. today announced that they had recorded significant gains in both exhibitor and attendee numbers at CPhI India, P-MEC India and related pharma services events, held in Mumbai from December 1st to 3rd 2009. The combined exhibitions have accelerated since their inception in 2006, gaining wide recognition as the largest and most important pharma services business gatherings in India and South Asia.

Moving strongly ahead of pre-event expectations, the four events, held at the Bombay Exhibition Centre and comprising of the third CPhI India, second P-MEC India and debut editions of BioPh India and ICSE India, hosted over 770 exhibitors from 20 countries, up over 20% on the 600 exhibitors in 2007 and welcomed 26,300 attendees, an increase of almost 5% on 2007's 25,831 attendees. Close-to-capacity attendance was also achieved at the two associated conferences - Biosimilars India and the Indian Pharma Summit.

Our 2009 India events were ahead of expectations in all key respects, said CPhI Event Director Annemieke Timmers. Most importantly, we had excellent feedback on the importance of the exhibitions for business networking - and saw important foundations laid for even stronger events later this year.

Market growth and momentum were a fitting backdrop to the launch of the BioPh India event - focused on the convergence of technologies and business models in pharma and healthcare biotechnology - and the debut of ICSE India, with emphasis on the very fast-growing outsourcing and contract services sector.

With UBM, the Government of India's new Department of Pharmaceuticals staged the first India Pharma Summit, which attracted over 800 delegates to its broad-ranging agenda across the issues, opportunities and challenges for India as an emerging global pharma hub.

Staged in the BioPh pavilion, the Biosimilars India 2009 conference was also fully attended for its 17 sessions over three half-day modules.

With the BioPh India and ICSE India launches and a strong conference programme, Mumbai 2009 was our strongest Indian event since the family was launched here in 2006, noted ICSE, BioPh and P-MEC Event Director Haf Cennydd.

Key industry organisations that supported the 2009 exhibitions included Pharmexcil - the Government of India's pharmaceutical export promotion council; the Indian Drug Manufacturers Association (IDMA); the Organisation of Pharmaceutical Producers of India (OPPI) and the Bulk Drug Manufacturers Association (India) (BDMA).

For 2010, CPhI India, with ICSE, P-MEC and BioPh India will return to the Bombay Exhibition Centre on the same dates as 2009: 1 - 3 December.

UBM International Media's annual sister events for the pharma ingredients and services sector include Worldwide (Europe - October); Japan (April); China (June); and South America (August). For websites, see: www.wherepharmameets.com; www.cphi-india.com; www.pmec-india.com; www.icsexpo.com and www.bioph-online.com .

Notes for Editors: - UBM International Media operates market-leading global exhibition brands and their complementary media products. - The CPhI pharmaceutical ingredients and related sector exhibitions currently number over 15 highly-regarded annual events. The portfolio also includes Informex (specialty chemicals), Food Ingredients, HBA (health beauty industry) and Sea Trade (cruise industry). - Worldwide locations for its events include China, India, Japan, North America, Brazil, Africa and Europe. More than 330,000 business professionals and marketers visit UBM exhibitions each year. The exhibitions portfolio is managed from Holland. UBM International Media has approximately 1,200 employees in the UK, US, Asia and Europe. See www.ubm.com

SOURCE: UBM International Media

CONTACT: Rob Sahi (CPhI), UBM International Media, + 31-(0)346-559-461, orIan OMalley (ICSE, P-MEC, BioPh), UBM International Media, +31-(0)346-559-426, or Richard Kerns, Impress PR, +44-(0)-161-728-5880