Editor’s note: Joan Siefert Rose is CEO of LaunchBio.
DURHAM – It’s Spring! Come join LaunchBio as we grow.
Our mission sounds rather lofty: To build an ecosystem of innovation for the benefit of human health and well-being. What it means: We put life science entrepreneurs first, helping startups connect with the people, ideas and resources in their communities to help them accelerate their science from lab to cure.
Innovation is a team sport, so we partner with the national BioLabs network of co-working spaces to offer programs and workshops. We invite you to join us at an upcoming event to meet new people, have a beer, get inspired, and have some fun. After all, who says that biotech needs to be boring? (Not LaunchBio, that’s for sure.)
Heating Up in North Carolina
There’s no question that summers in North Carolina can be a little steamy, so we’ll be providing a cool respite in the chill atrium of the Chesterfield Building in downtown Durham for our June 6 program.
As students exit the leafy campuses of Duke, UNC and NC State University, we’ll be focusing on graduations – specifically, where biotech startups ready to leave incubators and co-working spaces like BioLabs North Carolina will “graduate to” once they are ready to build their own labs and grow their teams. The experts from Davis Moore will share their up-to-date market analysis on commercial real estate and provide tips on planning for the big move.
Immuno-oncology holds the promise of revolutionizing treatments and outcomes by taking advantage of the body’s immune system to fight cancer. It’s one of the hottest fields of scientific research and technology commercialization, and we’ll have a panel of North Carolina-based startups and researchers to share their perspectives on how IO will change outcomes for patients.
We’ll also have sessions on new technologies to keep track of scientific data and lab reports – always better to plan up front than fix problems later – and, in the spirit of keeping cool, we’ll offer a reprise of our popular “Science of Beer” program. Mark your calendar for 4-7 p.m. for June’s Larger Than Life Science.
Partnering in Cambridge
Bitcoin, scaling up a business, the future of foreign investment in biotech, and science on display – our May 15 Larger Than Life Science program has it all. We are delighted to join Amgen at 360 Binney Street in Kendall Square (note this month’s location) as our host for compelling content and networking from 4-7 p.m., and you can sign up here, free of charge.
Amgen has been a great supporter of companies based at LabCentral, our partner organization, providing free lab space, mentoring, and access to its international network for startups selected through the competitive Golden Ticket program. Meet 2 previous LabCentral Golden Ticket winners – the co-founders of QurAlis Corporation and Kernal Biologics – and the team at Amgen and Amgen Ventures who have helped propel their growth. Amgen also will have a Senior Scientist on hand to provide free tours of its Scaleup Lab, visible from the lobby, throughout the event.
The Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) used to be an obscure government committee. But now it’s playing a big role in the tech and biotech sectors as the US government takes a greater interest in regulating startup investments from foreign firms in the name of national security and global economic competition. Add in the largely unregulated world of cryptocurrency, and it’s enough to make your head spin. Fortunately, the legal experts at Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati will be on hand to help navigate the new legal and economic landscape and explain what it means for life sciences companies.
De-Coding the Secret to Success in San Diego
Our May 30 program at BioLabs San Diego – Towne Centre also will dive into trends in foreign investment and national security (which will be especially relevant following CFIUS’ intervention in Broadcom’s attempt to buy home-grown Qualcomm last year). Join the conversation about how current trade tensions with China may impact the flow of international investment capital to southern California’s biotech sector.
We are pleased to partner with the San Diego chapter of Women in BIO to feature author Judy Robinette. She’s a “super connector” who’s spent 3 decades helping entrepreneurs find investment capital and strategic partners. Come hear her share those secrets when she discusses her new book, Crack the Funding Code: How Investors Think and What They Want to Hear to Fund Your Startup.
And since we’re all about cracking codes this month, we invite you to step up for our Rubik’s Cube challenge! Winners get bragging rights and a nifty new toy to sit on their desks. It’s all going on from 4-7 p.m., and we’ll have tour guides on hand to show you around the beautiful new Towne Centre location so sign up here.
Up Next
June will feature LaunchBio’s first program in San Francisco. Watch this space for details soon on a session on non-dilutive funding. We’ll also be on hand for the opening of state-of-the-art labs at BioLabs@NYULangone, followed by summertime programming in Manhattan. And we hope to see you at BIO in Philly next month.
(C) LaunchBio
