Bio-IT World Launches Exclusive Venture, Investing Event

By Allison Proffitt

March 5, 2024 | The Bio-IT World Conference & Expo has launched a new co-located event this year—the Bio-IT World Venture, Innovation, and Partnering Conference, held on Wednesday, April 17, overlapping with the last day of the Bio-IT World Conference. 

The Bio-IT VIP conference is part of the new Cambridge VIP series of events: high-level, networking summits for investors and entrepreneurs. While Bio-IT World will offer the same technical deep dives, discovery strategy, and industry insights as always, the Bio-IT VIP event focuses on exploring investment trends in biotech, CEO perspectives on raising capital, and the role of incubators and innovation hubs on biotech and the life sciences. Unlike the rest of the Bio-IT World Conference & Expo, the Bio-IT VIP event will not be a hybrid or online event, ensuring exclusive, face-to-face networking.

In recent years, Bio-IT investment has surged, attracting diverse stakeholders. The Bio-IT VIP event lets executives explore the spectrum of investors—from venture capitalists to institutional funds—and discover the pivotal role of pharmaceutical companies and the technologies commanding investment interest.

With an agenda driven by the Bio-IT VIP advisory board—John J. Keilty, Venture Partner, Third Rock Ventures; William T. Mayo, Senior Vice President Research, IT Bristol Myers Squibb; and Jami Rubin, Chief Financial Officer, Boundless Bio; Venture Partner, ARCH Venture Partners—the day-long program is built around interactive panel discussions on fundraising, AI in drug discovery, the build vs. buy decision for enabling software, and more.

Steve Pagliuca, Chairman, CEO and Founder, PagsGroup, delivers the plenary address on Boston’s role as a bio-IT hub and investment powerhouse. He’ll discuss the launch of Arena Bioworks, a new biomedical research institute, and share about the institute’s private funding model that will advance novel therapeutics by forming and supporting biotech companies up to Series B. A plenary panel discussion will follow exploring advantages and drawbacks of investing in a hub, ensuring sustainability through talent attraction and retention, and strategies for scaling beyond the initial geography. 

Registration is now open along with the rest of the Bio-IT World Conference & Expo.