A continuing reassurance that we have returned to business-as-usual is the mass attendance among our region’s life science companies to the annual BIO International Convention, this year being held in Boston 5-8 June 2023. Whilst attending,  One Nucleus with collaborators BioMed Realty, Fish & Richardson and McDermott Will & Emery have delivered a series of satellite sessions facilitating connectivity for our members to the wider network of potential partners, clients and advisers. It is excellent to see over 200 delegates registered across the three sessions.

The focus on BIO, Boston has provided an early opportunity to leverage our collaboration with United Airlines. One Nucleus is one of the organisations being profiled on the UK Pavilion in the Exhibition Hall, an investment we see as valuable to provide a platform to promote our members, the Cambridge region and our connectivity, as we play our part in bringing our collective A-game to the UK table from which we all wish to see international investors feasting. The Department of Business & Trade has coordinated the UK presence and George Freeman MP, Minister for Science Innovation and Technology is attending as our champion. BIA’s ‘Brits at BIO’ recorded webinar provided a good overview of the UK engagement and key messaging, useful for BIO and more generally.   

Traversing the Cambridge-to-Cambridge Gap

As many will know, The BIO Convention moves around various US cities year to year. It being in Boston creates an excellent opportunity to continue One Nucleus activities to facilitate the two-way connectivity between these two key life science clusters - that accelerated with our business development trade mission with members to Boston in September 2022. It’s easy to see why there is keen interest in cementing the linkages that have been developing for decades when you consider some of the synergies.

Boston/Cambridge US and Cambridge UK both house numerous pharmaceutical, biotechnology, tech bio and medical technology companies. Many of these companies have international operations and establish partnerships and collaborations across borders. Many of the larger players in our region such as AstraZeneca, Abcam and Sanofi have footprints in both locations, as do the real estate developers including BioMed Realty and IQHQ. And there is frequent collaboration between professional services businesses such as Taylor Wessing, Penningtons and Goodwin and their Boston-based peers such as Fish & Richardson and Mintz to further oil the heels of deals.

The complementarity of the clusters is further reflected when one considers the emerging businesses in our region that are growing their activity through deals with Boston, some establishing a presence there such as Domainex and Nuclera, demonstrating how strong and innovative science as a foundation can drive investment and scale where there are aligned needs and solutions. It’s not just the R&D synergies of course. Great R&D outputs that aren’t translated to commercialisation and marketed products and services ultimately don’t benefit patients, the common goal for all those in the sector. To this end, the highly respected regulatory advice sector of our region provides US-based businesses a go-to location to develop regulatory and market access strategies outside of their own market and vice versa. DLRC Ltd and tranScrip for example having boots on the ground in both locations are helping traverse the regions.

Greater Boston and Greater Cambridge attract significant venture capital investment in life sciences. Venture capital firms in these cities often invest in startups and early-stage companies in the life sciences sector, supporting innovation and fostering growth. As a result, both locations are leaders in the creation of new companies, entrepreneurialism and opportunity. Investment ties between the two cities have long been present due to the quality of the R&D base, business culture and syndication. A recent example is PharmEnable securing $7.5M in a round led by MP Healthcare Venture Management. Seeing major investor OrbiMed, based nearby in New York open an office just down the road from Cambridge, in London, illustrating the growing late-stage investment appetite towards our leading companies.

Innovation and business success is a contact sport, however. Nothing happens without the right people being in the right place at the right time. There is a long list of talented individuals and leaders who have spent time in both Boston and Cambridge. Excellent examples who continue to drive that two-way interaction include Rob Johnson, CEO at Adrestia Therapeutics who was recently appointed a Fellow by the prestigious Henri Termeer Foundation and Michael Chen, CEO at Nuclera who is leading the company through significant capital raising and growth in both locations.

Fundamental to why world-leading life science clusters thrive is the science-base on which it is built that attracts the talent, entrepreneurs, investors, ambition and perhaps unreasonable optimism of success required to change lives through innovative treatments an technologies. Numerous collaborations exist between universities, research institutions, and companies in Boston and Cambridge. Institutions such as Harvard University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Boston University, and the Broad Institute in Boston collaborate with the University of Cambridge, the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute, and the Babraham Institute in Cambridge, among others. Researchers and scientists often travel between Boston and Cambridge for conferences, symposiums, and workshops to share knowledge, present their findings, and foster collaborations.

Building a Bridge to Boston – One Nucleus Breakfast Seminar at BIO Convention 2023

If One Nucleus is to play its part in the collective efforts against the challenges of unmet medical needs globally, then it falls to us to encourage, connect and facilitate potential collaborators, business partners and their respective expert advisers as best we are able.

The cocktail reception (with BioMed Realty) and Crepes & Conversation breakfast (with Fish & Richardson) provided great connectivity. The final one of our three sessions was with McDermott Will & Emery where the panel discussed how we can build that better bridge between these impressive clusters. At the fully subscribed session with attendees from numerous countries, the panel comprising Mark Sullivan (MOITI), Kelly Arvidson (MassDevelopment), Catherine Stace (Domainex) and Tony Jones (One Nucleus) moderated by Angus McQuilken (McDermott Will & Emery) discussed what further support could be effective, additional to efforts by others such as UK Government. More to follow on what opportunities were identified for effective, well-targeted and welcome initiatives we may develop.

Watch this space!