Biocat and European bioXclusters partners prepare trade mission to Boston

By Biocat

Biocat is organizing a trade mission to Boston (Massachusetts, United States) from 28 to 30 October 2013, geared mainly towards SMEs and research bodies working in the field of personalized medicine.

The focus of this mission differs from others as, in addition to visiting benchmark institutions and companies from the top life sciences cluster in the United States, participants will also be able to participate in advisory sessions with US experts on key topics for entering and doing business in this market. They will also get a first-hand look at the Healthbox and MassLander accelerators.

The visits scheduled will take participants to the Massachusetts Biotechnology Council (MassBio), an association representing more than 600 biotechnology companies and organizations in this state and with which Biocat has a collaboration agreement; the Cambridge Innovation Center (CIC), one of the top start-up incubators in the state; the Forest City Science and Technology Group; and the Boston Children’s Hospital.

The sessions with experts, which will be held at the Genzyme-Sanofi headquarters in Cambridge, will cover the following topics:

• How to present your company (pitch)?
• Prerequisites for navigating US regulatory environment & IP Strategy
• Investors and Investments, what opportunities are there in the US for European SMEs

Moreover, companies and organizations in the Catalan delegation will be able to hold one-to-one meetings with experts to get more specific feedback depending on their needs. These experts include Dr. Karin Hollerbach, who gave a lecture on 9 April in Barcelona alongside Catalan businesspeople, and who will offer up her ample knowledge and network of contacts in various arenas; Alexandra Suhas , CEO of Marie Landel & Associates; Jean-Marie Vallet , investor and entrepreneur; and two representatives to be confirmed from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and the National Institutes of Health (NIH).

Video-interview with Karin Hollerbach

On this mission, organized under the framework of the bioXclusters project, the Catalan delegation will travel with companies from the three leading European clusters in biotechnology and health: Bavaria (Germany), Piedmont (Italy) and Rhône-Alpes (France). Catalan businesspeople that had this experience previously on missions to China and Brazil valued it very highly.

The advisory sessions and internal travel arrangements for the delegation are subsidized by bioXclusters. Other travel expenses (round-trip airfare), accommodations and food must be paid by each company.

Program

Companies interested should send an e-mail as soon as possible to:
Biocat
Business Development Department
Mamen Martí (Head of Internationalization
cmarti@biocat.cat
Tel. +34 93 310 33 89

Follow us on Twitter @bioXclusters

Related information:

• Reports and documentation on the biotechnology sector in the United States
• Video-interview with Karin Hollerbach (April 2013)
• Article: Workshop Fostering internationalization (III): United States (17 March 2013)

See all news on the bioXclusters project.