I’m dashing this message off right before I get on a plane for Xconomy’s big event tomorrow afternoon: “Pharma’s Bet on Boston Innovation.” Only a few tickets are left for this gathering at the Hyatt Regency in Cambridge, MA.
I’m personally excited to fly in from Seattle for this event because it will bring together some of the world leaders in biotech and pharmaceutical R&D, all of whom happen to live in the greater Boston area (and who I usually talk to by phone and e-mail). The headliners are Christoph Westphal, the CEO of Sirtris and the senior vice president of GlaxoSmithKline’s Centre of Excellence for External Drug Discovery, and Deborah Dunsire, the CEO of Millennium: The Takeda Oncology Company. They will be able to share their experience of leading a growing biotech company, getting acquired by a big company, and then being given more resources to drive innovation in Boston instead of getting lost in a corporate shuffle.
We also have brought together several biotech leaders who have put together partnerships or attracted investment from Big Pharma companies, including speakers from Aileron Therapeutics, Hydra Biosciences, and Enlight Biosciences. Top venture capitalists from the Novartis Venture Funds, MedImmune Ventures, Advanced Technology Ventures, Flagship Ventures, and PureTech Ventures will be there to add perspective on how their companies are looking to create technologies that Big Pharma will want to buy. We will also hear from one of the region’s biotech success stories, Lebanon, NH-based GlycoFi, on what it’s like to be absorbed within a larger pharma company, in this case, Merck.
Here’s a podcast I did about the event.
I’m really looking forward to hearing what these folks have to say about the future of the pharmaceutical business, and the opportunities they see emerging in the Boston area. You can find more information about the agenda and how to register at the list minute here.
See you there tomorrow.
