Spring is springing, and what better way to embrace the change of season than to travel to beautiful Barcelona to attend one of the largest international life sciences partnering events in Europe. Alongside its members and wider network, One Nucleus was delighted to have the opportunity to exhibit and enter into 1-2-1 partnering at BIO-Europe Spring 2024 to showcase our membership, engage with the network, and discover new collaborations to bring further business opportunities to our members.

The event is well known for its efficient partnering platform, enabling companies to arrange a high volume of 1-2-1 meetings across three days with other life science companies attending from all over the world. However, such events do not come cheap, so deciding whether to invest in attending in-person events such as BIO-Europe Spring takes careful consideration. In this article, Jasmin Bannister, Business Development Manager at One Nucleus shares their thoughts on the pre-event decision process, the benefits of attending, and how to maximise your experience without breaking the bank.

But first, what was everyone talking about?

AI:

It’s of great interest, but it’s hard to measure the use and benefit. The key to success and effective use is data quality and bridging the gap between biologists and computer scientists. If you’re not already implementing or using AI tools within your company, you could fall behind.

Investment:

There are challenges, but there are reasons to be optimistic. Now more than ever, companies must focus on establishing and promoting their USP (unique selling point) to stand out in the crowd. Great science will always remain attractive to investors and should not discourage spin-offs/early-stage companies from persevering.

People:

Despite the increased efficiency of technology and generative AI, humans do deals with humans. This will be hard to replace. The novelty of attending events in-person since the pandemic does not seem to have diminished. With more than 3000 delegates, there was a great atmosphere and enthusiasm for the sector across the three days. It’s also important to note the recognition that strong talent and leadership are what drive a business.

Sustainability:

There is an increasing pressure from governments and investors for companies to implement sustainable policies and practices. Companies recognise the importance of adopting the right collaborative initiatives and innovative strategies to reduce the industry’s environmental impact. Key areas of focus being CO2 emissions and waste management.

What is the return on investment (ROI)?

Identifying what your aim is before attending the event (in fact, any event!) is a great place to start. It usually falls within the following two event types:

• Field Marketing Event: seeking a short-term/direct ROI, usually measured through sales or revenue. It may also support you in measuring how it impacted the time to contract completion of open opportunity.
• Brand Marketing Event: usually more open and focused on raising your profile and/or customer retention. Direct ROI for this type of event can be more challenging to measure, with the money spent on attending not always reflecting a direct financial return. It can still be a valuable tool for building your deal pipeline, particularly in a sector such as Life Sciences, where the dealmaking process can be protracted and require numerous meetings and brand image awareness among partners in order to build trust.

Leverage the support available

There are many opportunities to participate, varying in price, whether it be as a delegate, sponsor, exhibitor or speaker. Rest assured that you don’t need to spend heavily on the biggest booth in a primary location, fancy giveaways, or multiple speaking slots to stand out from the noise. A prime example being, the One Nucleus Enhanced Profiling Opportunity package, starting at just £250+VAT, where members can benefit from increased exposure, a ‘home base’  between meetings, display business cards/leaflets, and simply feel among friendly faces through the intense days (proof below)! Joining the One Nucleus stand this year were DefiniGEN, CPI, Inaphaea BioLabs, Riverlabs, Vernalis, Pharmaron, and Ikarovec. Find out more about these companies in our Genesis Review/BIO-Europe Spring brochure released at the event. All One Nucleus members have access to a 12% discount on the delegate pass, please email info@onenucleus.com for more details if you’re considering attending BIO-Europe in Stockholm on 4 – 6 November 2024.

Be Prepared

Once you have decided what you would like to gain from the event and how you would like to participate, now is the time to book and prepare for those all-important meetings.

Key advice would be:

1. Start early – the sooner you have access to the partnering platform and begin sending invitations the better.
2. Target – avoid wasting your time by sending 1000’s of invites to random companies; take the time to target the right people for whom you have a value proposition.
3. Location and Wellbeing – the partnering booths are great, but don’t be afraid to mix things up or get some fresh air. Depending on who you are meeting in your allocated slot, you could suggest going for a short walk outside of the conference centre, grabbing a coffee, or meeting at their or your booth. Drink lots of water and wear comfortable footwear.
4. Social media – it’s easy to get lost in the noise on social media, but engagement is key however, so remember to take some photos or short videos and use the hashtags.
5. Preparation – when both parties have confirmed the meeting, you will already have something in mind to talk about, but be sure to do your research and prepare in advance to make the most of your 30 minutes. Don’t forget your notebook and pen! Your notes are sacred for effectively following up.
6. Business cards – not everyone is going to have a physical card anymore, and at this particular event. Be ready to adapt if you are keen on securing that lead.
7. Receptions - Leverage the evening reception events for a more relaxed and informal networking experience. If it’s your first time attending and you are on your own, look out for those friendly faces (which are mostly everyone!) and don’t be afraid to approach someone to say hello and introduce yourself. It’s okay not to connect with everyone straight away. Lean on topics that interest you and that are within your comfort zone to discuss, that will help initiate conversation.

Will we see you at ON Helix 2024 in Cambridge UK?

Looking ahead to summer, our ON Helix conference is the perfect opportunity to learn about cutting-edge biomedical therapies and technologies that are key to enabling the translation of research into better patient outcomes and network with 250+ attendees. Sponsoring ON Helix offers a high level of visibility, with your logo being included in our communications and in the post-event ON Helix Review publication to be released at BIO-Europe 2024. You can find more information on the benefits of being involved here or by contacting my colleagues at onhelix@onenucleus.com.