Government biotechnology site launches

Clinic has designed and branded a cross-Government on-line portal, i-bio, that gives access to more than 200 public and private sector biotechnology websites in a bid to address suspicion of the industry.

The group created the name and all the graphic styling for the website, which aims to provide a ‘trusted gateway’ to biotechnology information for the general public, investors, academics, Government and people working in the field.

‘The [project] marks a departure from previous Government initiatives [in this area], which have not paid much attention to branding,’ says Clinic account director Anton Pace. ‘With i-bio, it was important to reverse preconceptions about biotechnology, so we were starting from quite a difficult point.’

The website was ‘soft-launched’ on Tuesday, ahead of a ministerial launch next March. The project is backed by six Government departments and five research councils. Clinic won a five-way pitch in April.