| UNC-CH
Walk into any of the world’s most inventive laboratories, and you’ll find the sharpest scientific minds searching for the right combinations of chemicals, compounds and molecules. When researchers bring together just the right mix of these and other elements under the right conditions, new possibilities emerge.
In the summer of 2017, the exploration of new possibilities was precisely what some of UNC-Chapel Hill’s staff had in mind when they headed to San Diego. Except this time, the interactions at play didn’t involve chemicals, gases or compounds, but conversations. Indeed, for a week in June, Carolina staff from the Office of Commercialization and Economic Development (OCED) attended the annual BIO International Conference and treated the event as a laboratory for business development and collaboration with scientists and potential partners in the biotechnology and pharmaceutical industries.
The conference, held by the Biotechnology Innovation Organization, brings together global biotech and pharma companies, foundations, investors, medical centers and universities to meet and share opportunities and best practices with the hope of developing new partnerships that can advance promising treatments, devices and technologies. As one of the largest meetings of its kind, the goal of BIO is to find ways to work together to move these innovations to market, and into the hands of doctors, medical professionals and patients, faster.