Washington, D.C. (January 14, 2016) – The Biotechnology Innovation Organization (BIO) announced today that registration is now open for the 2016 BIO International Convention®. BIO 2016 will take place June 6-9, 2016 at the Moscone Center in San Francisco, California. The BIO International Convention is where the global biotech community meets, connecting the people, companies and innovations that help to fulfill the promise of biotechnology through healing, fueling, and feeding the world.
“We excited to bring the BIO International Convention back to San Francisco. Many biotech milestones hail from the Golden State: the first biotech company, the first biotech IPO and the first FDA-approved biotech drug to name just a few,” said Scott Whitaker, president of the BIO International Convention. “The BIO Convention, and our industry as a whole, have made tremendous strides since the last time our Convention was hosted in San Francisco in 2004.
“In the decade since then, the number of partnering meetings has increased nearly four hundred percent, as companies and nonprofits continue to make connections and form partnerships that are critical to advancing their business interests. To keep up with the demand for partnering opportunities, I am pleased to announce that we will be adding an additional half-day to BIO One-on-One Partnering™ Monday afternoon.”
BIO 2016 offers the chance to connect with more than 3,100 companies through BIO’s One-on-One Partnering™ system as well as the world’s largest biotechnology exhibition – the BIO Exhibition, which is now over eighty percent sold. The BIO Exhibition will once again feature the Start-Up Stadium, where start-up companies will have the opportunity to pitch to key members of the investment community, venture philanthropy groups, and BIO attendees, as well as the Innovation Zone, featuring select companies who have received SBIR/STTR grants from the National Institutes of Health and the National Science Foundation.
“The California life sciences community is thrilled to welcome BIO back to the Bay Area, the birthplace of biotechnology, for the 2016 BIO International Convention,” said Sara Radcliffe, President and CEO of the California Life Sciences Association (CLSA). “The region continues to lead the world in life sciences patents, new start-ups, venture capital, and NIH grant recipients. I know that as the global biotech community gathers for BIO 2016, they will find a warm welcome and a robust local biotech sector with whom to partner, collaborate and advance the innovative technologies for which our industry is so well known.”
“As the organization representing, supporting and advocating for the Southern California life science industry, we couldn’t be happier to partner with BIO to host the BIO International Convention this year in San Francisco and in 2017 in San Diego,” said Joseph Panetta, Biocom President and CEO. “The Convention is a wonderful opportunity for the life science community in California to showcase our strength as a biotech cluster to the world and create new opportunities for companies, research institutes and patient groups of all sizes.”
The program featuring world-renowned speakers, discussion on hot topics along 16 session tracks will be announced in mid-February while Partnering opens late March.
BIO would like to thank our regional hosts: the California Life Sciences Association, BIOCOM, and the Southern California Biomedical Council, as well as our sponsors, including our Double Helix sponsors: AbbVie, Amgen, Genentech and Johnson & Johnson, as well as our Helix sponsors: Baxalta, Eli Lilly and Merck.
To learn more about the event and available registration packages, please visit convention.bio.org/register.
Advance media registration is now available for qualified reporters working full time for print, broadcast and web publications with valid press credentials. To register, please visit here.