What To Expect At Year Two Of Philly Builds Bio+
By Sam Hopkins | September 6, 2023
We recently sat down with Nancy J. Kelley, a Founding Member of Builds Bio+, ahead of the second Philly Builds Bio+ Annual Symposium for Life Science Innovation and Development, taking place on September 12 at the Union League of Philadelphia. The day-long event will unite life science and real estate professionals who are working together to create the infrastructure for the rapidly expanding regional life science business scene.
Builds Bio+ was formed in 2018 in New York City and has expanded with the growth of the life science industry throughout the NYC metro area, including Connecticut and New Jersey. As members of the original group of leaders found themselves doing more work in Philadelphia and within the city’s rapidly growing life science ecosystem, they decided to replicate the successful Builds Bio+ model to showcase the Philadelphia area.
The inaugural Philly Builds Bio+ event took place in September 2022 and was a sell-out gathering, with more than 325 people and 40 speakers, including keynotes from Penn Medicine and Spark Therapeutics, major institutions experiencing growth in their local cell and gene therapy operations.
So, what can attendees expect in year two of Philly Builds Bio+? “The market is evolving and we are following that evolution and showcasing it,” Kelley says. “Last year was an overview where we showed how Philly compares to ecosystems around the country, and the ways that real estate is progressing to meet the life science industry’s needs.”
Building on Success
This year will be more of a focus on how Philadelphia is growing into a more established cluster and generating jobs as a result of investments and visible growth that attracts talent. More than 40 companies and institutions will deliver presentations on their progress and vision for the area, complemented with discussions about revolutionary science and technologies.
Importantly, Philly Builds Bio+ will include patient viewpoints–the North Star for everyone involved in life science industry development. Social equity and economic opportunity will also be a key theme at Philly Builds Bio+ reinforcing the awareness that the jobs being created in the area must be accessible to all.
A keynote from the pharmaceutical industry will highlight the way that transactions are fueling the development of revolutionary treatments for patients. It’s all part of a carefully organized sequence that builds on last year’s event and the progress shown since then. The Philly Builds Bio+ steering committee has been planning for three months, including more than 30 executives from around the ecosystem, featuring multiple types of stakeholders.
Philly Builds Bio+ will showcase the breadth and depth of what is in Philadelphia. Historically, Kelley says, the area has been known as one of the smaller life science markets from a commercial development standpoint, but its impact on the industry is much larger due to the revolutionary science and treatments being developed there. “It’s really important to showcase this city, these institutions, and this technology to really bring home what’s happening in Philadelphia.” That is all the basis for major progress heading into next year, with a crucial component being the existing talent in Philadelphia’s institutions–a key resource in demand by companies that need to grow quickly to meet market needs.
Workforce Development
When it comes to workforce development, Kelley is most excited about ensuring access to a broad base of jobs being created–not just for PhDs or postdocs coming out of local institutions, but opportunities for technicians, bookkeepers, lawyers, and all of the support services that the life science industry needs. Many of those positions only require a certification, and the programs that Philadelphia is putting into place are designed to train people across the full scope of the area’s growing companies.
Philly Builds Bio+ will highlight a number of workforce development collaborations by including attendees such as Cheyney University, the Wistar Institute, IPS, University City Science Center, and the National Institute for Manufacturing Innovation, who will all be talking about their programs to skill-up and staff-up the local life science workforce.
Predictions for Philadelphia in 2024
What’s in store for Philadelphia’s life science industry in 2024? The last year has been exceptionally hard for the life science industry with capital markets being effectively closed and interest rates being high, Kelley says. “It’s been really difficult to raise money, so a lot of companies have had to hang on and conserve cash as best they could. I think you’re going to see some of that turning around in the next year.” Additionally, Kelley foresees many new companies launching and new therapies getting to the FDA for approval. “We’re really going to see some forward movement.”
Philly Builds Bio+ was created to do more than build knowledge about what the many impressive speakers are doing. The day will be heavy on networking, giving attendees opportunities to extend relationships with people throughout the industry, including those from other life science clusters like New York, New Jersey, and Maryland. It’s all part of a continuity of opportunity from place to place and year to year, rallying Philly’s key stakeholders to keep improving what is already a burgeoning life science industry.
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Sam Hopkins has spent the past decade in the Baltimore area life-science and healthcare ecosystem, including roles at Johns Hopkins, the University of Maryland, the U.S. Army, and early-stage companies. He spent the previous decade as a journalist, which saw him cover everything from clean energy conferences in Morocco, to Soviet-era Estonian rock’n’roll, to trailblazing CEOs in Timonium. Sam is an avid athlete and coach, and he lives with his wife and two sons in Baltimore’s Oakenshawe neighborhood. You can often find him around town spinning records as DJ Balagan, or performing in musical groups Sink and South of Boundary.
