Event preview: BioPharm America 2018

More than 700 global life science executives from sectors including pharma, established biotech, startups and investors will converge in Boston on September 5 and 6 for BioPharm America, where they will be seeking strategic opportunities for new deals to advance drug development partnerships. As part of Biotech Week Boston, the event is produced by EBD Group and will take place at the Hynes Convention Center in Boston.

The event provides opportunities for biotech startups to meet industry experts and network with investors including one-to-one partnering, presentation opportunities, and startup pitch competition.

“Each year, BioPharm America draws industry leaders from around the world to this unique partnering event that provides a nexus for discovery and realisation,” says Anna Chrisman, group managing director, EBD Group.

“The event plays a vital role in connecting emerging biotech with companies that seek to work with them, facilitating partnerships that drive growth and innovation.”

Attendees will hear from experts during the new Xcelerate keynote series, including biotech pioneer Robert Langer from MIT; Amy Shulman, CEO at Lyndra and partner at Polaris Partners; US Surgeon General Jerome Adams; and Elizabeth Nabel, president at Brigham Health.

Additionally, Luke Timmerman, founder of Timmerman Report, will give a special lunch presentation for attendees on September 5 with slides from his Mount Everest climb—he raised $339,000 for cancer research in the process. Timmerman describes the climb’s lessons about leadership here.

Highlights of the panels with key industry leaders, pharma executives, and investors include:

● How pharma and venture capital collaborations are changing the industry, with speakers from Pfizer, Medicxi, Agent Capital, and Roche Partnering.

● Company creation: Does in-house formation outweigh traditional investments for VCs?, a keynote session with speakers from Lightstone Venture and Atlas Venture.

● High-impact ideas and use-inspired research: A chat on how to create innovations that matter, a keynote session with speakers from MIT and Polaris Partners.

● Xcelerate keynotes on how the life sciences is adapting to unprecedented changes in drug development and what is on the horizon, with speakers from the US Department of Health and Human Services, Third Rock Ventures, MIT, Brigham Health, and Regeneron Pharmaceuticals.

● Panels and presentations on key therapeutic areas such as neurodegeneration, cell and gene therapies, rare diseases, underserved diseases, and oncology, with speakers from Merck, Biogen, Takeda, AbbVie, Novartis, Labiotech, PureTech Health, Clearview Healthcare Partners, Burrage Capital, MPM Capital, Oncology Impact Fun, and Nanobiotix USA.

Pre-event courses

BioPharm America will host two pre-event educational courses on September 4 ( here) featuring panel discussions on the evolving landscape and best practices for collaboration, as well as Product Valuation and Deal Structuring: Business Development Masterclass, which will provide attendees the opportunity to review valuation methods, refresh assessing skills, and improve their buying and selling negotiation strategies.

Additionally, EBD Group’s gold-standard partneringONE has been improved, with enhanced search capabilities, access to attendees’ meeting profiles from all past EBD events, and a fully responsive mobile platform.

Event registration, partneringONE login, and programme information are available on the  BioPharm America event web page.