Michael Fox to keynote Boston event

Michael J. Fox (AP photo)

The organizers of an upcoming biotechnology conference in Boston said today that Michael J. Fox, an actor with Parkinson's disease, will be one of its keynote speakers.

The Biotechnology Industry Organization, a nonprofit association that represents more than 1,100 biotechnology companies, plans to hold its annual convention, called the 2007 BIO International Convention, in early May at the Boston Convention & Exhibition Center.

The group said that Fox, an advocate of pursuing stem-cell research to find a cure of Parkinson's disease, will be the keynote luncheon speaker on May 7.

Parkinson's disease is caused by degeneration in a part of the brain, and it can result in tremors and muscular rigidity.

According to the Biotechnology Industry Organization, nearly 20,000 people attended its convention in Chicago last year.
(By Chris Reidy, Globe staff)