 Two conferences (ISMB 2003, in Brisbane and ISMB 2006, in Fortaleza) had drastically reduced numbers of participants due to their location, with a corresponding reduction in income.To allow more delegates to attend, it was decided to limit conference locations to North America and Europe.In January 2007, ISMB and ECCB agreed to hold joint conferences in Europe every other year, beginning with ISMB/ECCB 2007.