Elsevier to Host Vaccine Virtual Congress with ON24 Virtual Show

Vaccine Virtual Congress ensures attendees can attend online to get vital information about vaccines and infectious diseases

SAN FRANCISCO, CA – December 2, 2008 – ON24, Inc., the global leader in Webcasting and Virtual Events solutions, announced today the company will host a virtual show companion to the 2nd Annual Vaccine Global Congress sponsored by VACCINE, the preeminent journal on vaccines and vaccination. For medical professionals and researchers, academics, healthcare professionals, government agencies, and charities unable to personally attend the Boston Vaccine Congress, the Vaccine Virtual Congress on December 9, 2008 is an innovative alternative to access relevant research, connect with colleagues, and discuss regulatory policies.

“Since the Vaccine Congress discusses vital vaccine and vaccination information that can have significant impact on researchers and medical professionals, especially for those in developing countries, we partnered with ON24 to hold a virtual show to extend the reach of the congress to delegates unable to travel to Boston,” said Nigel Clear, the Commercial Director of Elsevier. “Only ON24 had the world-class professional services team and robust platform to meet our unique requirements to create an interactive, virtual environment where delegates could access educational information and collaborate with peers regardless of physical boundaries.”

According to Elsevier’s market research, 90% of respondents indicated that they would ideally attend more than two conferences a year. If respondents could attend conferences without considering travel costs or time constraints, Elsevier found that respondents would attend two times the number of conferences per year. “Our research clearly demonstrated that people want to attend conferences to hear presentations, network with peers and access rich information. By partnering with ON24 for our virtual events, we are spearheading a strategy that enables medical professionals the ability to access content 24/7 in an on-demand format that suits their needs,” explained Clear.

The Vaccine Virtual Congress will mimic a real trade show in an interactive, 3D like environment, which is accessible from any computer without downloading any proprietary software. Completely customizable, the virtual congress will feature a Boston skyline to complement the in-person congress, poster sessions on upcoming vaccine research and developments, a communications lounge for one-on-one chats and group discussions, and professional networking capabilities to find and connect with peers. “ON24 Virtual Show was designed to be an easy-to-navigate, engaging 3D environment, which provides show organizers, like Elsevier, the flexibility to complement and extend the reach of their in-person shows to audiences worldwide,” said Denise Persson, Chief Marketing Officer, ON24.

The Virtual Vaccine Congress will provide a state-of-the-art report for scientists, governmental authorities and healthcare workers and seek to accelerate the development of vaccines. Featured presentations include:

• Rino Rappuoli, Novartis Vaccines and Diagnostics, Italy: “Vaccines: an health insurance of the 21st century”
• John S. Oxford, Retroscreen Virology Ltd, UK: “The ferret and human models for influenza vaccine evaluation”
• Dack Dalrymple, Dalrymple & Associates, USA: “Current & future U.S. Government funding for vaccine R&D and acquisition”
• Robert Chen, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: “Enhancing vaccine safety assessment during vaccine development: some modest proposals”
• Alan Barrett, University of Texas Medical Branch, USA: “Characterization of type-specific and dengue complex antigenic sites on the envelope protein domain III of dengue viruses”
• Jennifer Schranz, Wyeth Pharmaceuticals, USA: “Pneumococcal conjugate vaccines: What do we know and what do we need?”

Visit the 2nd Annual Vaccine Global Congress website to learn more about the presentations and speakers or register for the Vaccine Virtual Congress.

About Elsevier
Elsevier is a world-leading publisher of scientific, technical and medical information products and services. Working in partnership with the global science and health communities, Elsevier’s 7,000 employees in over 70 offices worldwide publish more than 2,000 journals and 1,900 new books per year, in addition to offering a suite of innovative electronic products, such as ScienceDirect, MD Consult, Scopus, bibliographic databases, and online reference works.

Elsevier is a global business headquartered in Amsterdam, The Netherlands and has offices worldwide. Elsevier is part of Reed Elsevier Group plc, a world-leading publisher and information provider. Operating in the science and medical, legal, education and business-to-business sectors, Reed Elsevier provides high-quality and flexible information solutions to users, with increasing emphasis on the Internet as a means of delivery. Reed Elsevier’s ticker symbols are REN (Euronext Amsterdam), REL (London Stock Exchange), RUK and ENL (New York Stock Exchange)

About ON24, Inc.
ON24, Inc. is the global leader in webcasting and virtual events. ON24 provides a full range of innovative solutions for applications such as demand generation, corporate communications and training and continuing education. More than 700 organizations in publishing, technology, life sciences, government, and financial services rely on ON24, including IBM, Cisco, United Business Media, Credit Suisse, GE Healthcare, Hewlett-Packard, Motorola and the National Science Foundation. ON24 is headquartered in San Francisco, with offices in New York, London and Singapore.