Bio.News is heading back to San Francisco for the Biotechnology Innovation Organization (BIO) Investor Forum, one of the only independent partnering events dedicated to showcasing drug development programs that are ready for partnering or venture funding.
In addition to BIO One-on-One Partnering™, the 2024 BIO Investor Forum (a.k.a. “BIF”) includes two days of panel discussions covering everything from the market and policy outlooks to the latest innovations in neurodegenerative disease, oncology, and AI. We’ll be covering the news and highlights throughout the week right here at Bio.News and in special editions of our newsletter.
What we’re watching at the 2024 BIO Investor Forum
Here are a few topics we’re expecting to learn more about:
- The market outlook and the fundraising environment for biotech companies, with a look at the latest HSBC Venture Healthcare Report.
- How AI is enhancing drug development productivity.
- The policy outlook and the impact of the Inflation Reduction Act on R&D and investment.
- New developments in R&D for neurodegenerative disease and oncology.
Why biotech investment matters
As an episode of the I am BIO Podcast released during last year’s BIO Investor Forum explained, biotech investment is more important than ever to help early-stage biotechs navigate the so-called “Valley of Death.”
The Valley of Death is the “transition from a breakthrough discovery, usually after many years of NIH-funded basic research, to an actual development candidate in clinical trials,” explained Daphne Zohar, a member of BIO’s Emerging Companies Section Board. As a result, drug developers are often forced to abandon promising drug candidates to focus resources on drugs with the best chance of market success. The Inflation Reduction Act will only make the valley deeper as it disadvantages drugs for rare diseases and small molecule drugs.