Xconomy Forum: A Big Thank You to Our Sponsors, Speakers, and Guests

Xconomy held its first half-day life sciences forum yesterday—How to Build A Life Sciences Company—and it was a rousing success. All told, nearly 200 people attended the event, which featured, among other things, case studies on five startups with different funding strategies that illustrate the innovative approaches needed to launch and sustain life sciences companies today. The event culminated in a fascinating chat (moderated by Xconomy chief correspondent Wade Roush) with legendary MIT inventor and entrepreneur Bob Langer and his longtime business partner, Polaris Venture Partners co-founder and managing general partner Terry McGuire.

We will be giving you a full report tomorrow. But today we’d really like to thank everyone who made it possible, starting with our gracious event host Novartis Institutes for BioMedical Research, which really showed what leadership in a field is all about by welcoming and fostering dialog with the entire life sciences community, including some of its own competitors.

We were also generously supported by PricewaterhouseCoopers, with whom we have partnered before on the recent Super Cluster II report on the Massachusetts life sciences industry; the CPA and consulting firm MFA—Moody, Famiglietti & Andronico, LLP; Halloran Consulting Group, which specializes in clinical development services for biotech, pharmaceutical and medical device companies; and our special international partner, Aderly, the Lyon Region Economic Development Agency.

We had a group of non-profit sponsors and partners as well. These include the Massachusetts Biotechnology Council, the GSAS Harvard Biotechnology Club, and the MIT Sloan BioMedical Business Club.

Our warmest thanks to these great sponsors, as well as to the baker’s dozen guest speakers who generously gave of their time and shared information about their companies—and to all our attendees, who helped make the discussion a lively and productive one. We hope to see you again soon.

Author: Robert Buderi

Bob is Xconomy's founder and chairman. He is one of the country's foremost journalists covering business and technology. As a noted author and magazine editor, he is a sought-after commentator on innovation and global competitiveness. Before taking his most recent position as a research fellow in MIT's Center for International Studies, Bob served as Editor in Chief of MIT's Technology Review, then a 10-times-a-year publication with a circulation of 315,000. Bob led the magazine to numerous editorial and design awards and oversaw its expansion into three foreign editions, electronic newsletters, and highly successful conferences. As BusinessWeek's technology editor, he shared in the 1992 National Magazine Award for The Quality Imperative. Bob is the author of four books about technology and innovation. Naval Innovation for the 21st Century (2013) is a post-Cold War account of the Office of Naval Research. Guanxi (2006) focuses on Microsoft's Beijing research lab as a metaphor for global competitiveness. Engines of Tomorrow (2000) describes the evolution of corporate research. The Invention That Changed the World (1996) covered a secret lab at MIT during WWII. Bob served on the Council on Competitiveness-sponsored National Innovation Initiative and is an advisor to the Draper Prize Nominating Committee. He has been a regular guest of CNBC's Strategy Session and has spoken about innovation at many venues, including the Business Council, Amazon, eBay, Google, IBM, and Microsoft.