Creating Value for Industry Trade Associations

The Biotechnology Industry Organization (BIO)

“GLG delivers world-class experts for BIO’s industry and investor conferences—connecting BIO’s valued members and sophisticated healthcare investors with the leaders driving biotechnology innovation.”

John Craighead, PhD
Director of Investor Relations & Business Development, BIO

Industry Trade association Membership Biotechnology companies, academic institutions, and related organizations Global Reach 1,250+ organizations in the US and 30+ countries Focus Area Biotechnology advocacy, policy, business development, and capital formation

BIO’s Challenges

Serve and maintain its membership base
Provide high-quality and independent forums for industry leaders and investors to explore biotechnology innovation
Increase connections to physicians and scientists at leading academic institutions

GLG Solution

Further BIO’s reputation as a leading source of industry knowledge, analysis, and insight
Deliver independent medical and scientific experts to participate in BIO’s educational programs

BIO’s Benefits

Increased educational and growth opportunities for members
Access to medical and scientific industry luminaries, enabling better decisions for members and investors
Enhanced event programming, increased conference attendance, and sponsor satisfaction
Stronger position as the leading biotechnology association attracting the experts from among the industry’s best and brightest, and offering increased value to the industry

Our only agenda is the success of the industry.

This is the tagline and vision for the industry and investor conferences hosted by the Biotechnology Industry Organization (BIO), the world’s largest biotechnology association.

As part of its mission to promote biotechnology innovation through advocacy, policy, business development, and capital formation services for more than 1,250 member organizations worldwide, BIO hosts more than a dozen partnering and investor conferences every year. Its goal: to expand partnerships between pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies and provide high-quality and independent forums for industry leaders and investors to explore biotechnology innovation, driving industry-wide success.

Challenges to Achieve the Right Perspectives

Each BIO conference aims to provide cutting-edge programming for both members and investors, who are themselves industry experts. However, to enhance BIO’s reach within the academic and medical communities—as well as offset the increasing costs of highly knowledgeable speakers—means that BIO faces challenges as it continuously seeks to elevate the educational value of each conference.

BIO confronted these challenges through its close working relationship with Gerson Lehrman Group (GLG), gaining preeminent access to the world’s most prominent medical, scientific, and academic experts.

“We have deep knowledge and extensive connections in the biotechnology business and investment communities, but with limited internal resources, our ability to access leading scientific and medical experts is challenging,” said John Craighead, PhD, Director of Investor Relations & Business Development at BIO. “Working with GLG allows BIO to feature experts who are among the best and brightest, and provide members and investors the perspectives necessary to make informed business decisions.”

GLG: The Expert Network^SM

GLG provides technology and services to support a marketplace for expertise and manages the world’s leading expert network, helping more than 850 client companies find, engage, and manage experts. When clients need to deepen their understanding of a company, an industry, or a market, they turn to GLG. Quickly, they find and engage relevant, hard-to-find, authoritative experts from the GLG Councils^SM—a membership-based organization of more than 200,000 experts worldwide.

GLG and BIO

GLG first worked with BIO to provide world-renowned scientific and clinical experts at the 10th Annual BIO CEO & Investor Conference in February 2008. At BIO’s first annual BIO National Venture Conference, BIO and GLG expanded the partnership and relied on the unparalleled GLG network of clinicians and researchers to discuss treatment advances in antibiotics, RNA-based therapies, and stem cell/regenerative medicine, with attending healthcare venture capital investors.

BIO will continue to tap the GLG Councils for future partnering and investor conferences and to expand its current conference platform, furthering BIO’s reputation as the host of highly respected conferences for healthcare industry decision makers. Independent education and programming are essential components of BIO’s only agenda—the success of the industry.

BIO: Bridging the Biotech Divide

BIO understands that biotechnology executives and healthcare investors are hungry for knowledge and perspectives from leaders in the medical and research communities. GLG bridges the gap by facilitating world-renowned experts to speak directly to industry leaders and investors about the latest areas of pipeline innovation across a wide range of therapeutic areas at BIO conferences.

For example, a biopharmaceutical company may develop a product to treat cancer patients. But often, the same product may have potential uses in other disease areas such as rheumatoid arthritis. While the biopharmaceutical company surely would have oncology research and medical advisors, it may not have similar access to rheumatology specialists—limiting its ability to conduct research and development of its product in this therapeutic area.

Educational programming at BIO’s conferences that includes participants from GLG’s expert network gives unprecedented access for companies across a wide range of therapeutic areas, opening potential new growth opportunities. Together with BIO’s industry insight and analysis, this knowledge is a critical advantage for innovative biotechnology companies that are often resource-constrained.

GLG: Delivering Meaningful Perspectives

In an industry where innovation is part of the DNA, BIO took an innovative approach by aligning with GLG to assist with programming its conferences. However, the creativity flows both ways, according to Dr. Craighead.

“From profitable businesses to non-profit industry associations, GLG recognizes the value in building trusted connections between world-class organizations and world-leading experts,” said Dr. Craighead. “GLG provides direct access to extraordinary scientific and medical experts that would be challenging to tap in other ways.”

GLG helps identify and deliver experts for BIO’s industry and investor conferences, allowing BIO to focus on its core competencies. Together with GLG, BIO will continue to provide leading educational programs, establishing itself not only as a central source of information, but also as a constant driver of innovation.

BIO is a charter member of GLG’s Alliance Program, which promotes innovative and wide-ranging initiatives between GLG and the leading industry trade associations worldwide. By tapping into GLG’s global marketplace for expertise, trade associations can build unique and sophisticated programs and events to educate not only their membership but also key third parties, including public-policy officials and the media.

“GLG provides direct access to extraordinary scientific and medical experts that would be challenging to tap in other ways.”