Tour 2: From Bench to Bedside: Exploring Drug and Device Research and Commercialization in Massachusetts

This tour will share perspectives of how companies are commercializing their technologies in Massachusetts and provide the chance to visit cutting-edge labs and technology incubators representing corporate, academic, and non-profit settings as well as the opportunity to interact with leading researchers in the fields of oncology, biotechnology, and medical devices:

EMD Serono R&D Institute. EMD Serono is the North America biopharma business of Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany - a leading science and technology company – and its R&D Institute is one of the company’s four global R&D hubs. This tour will meet senior R&D officials from the company who will share the company’s robust pipeline of potential therapies in oncology, immuno-oncology and immunology as R&D focus areas – and why they chose Massachusetts as a global R&D hub. The visit will conclude with a tour of the R&D Institute’s lab space and an opportunity to meet and hear about some of the specific research programs taking place there.

Massachusetts Medical Device Development Center (M2D2). The Massachusetts Medical Device Development Center (M2D2) is a lifeline for smaller medical device and biotechnology companies, offering inventors and executives easy, affordable, and coordinated access to world-class researchers and resources at the UMass Lowell and the UMass Medical School campuses of the University of Massachusetts. This tour will meet successful start-ups who gained their success by working in Boston’s entrepreneurial ecosystem and include a tour of the M2D2 biotech facility and a networking reception for a “meet & greet” with resident companies, industry and community leaders, and university officials.

North Shore InnoVentures (NSIV). NSIV is a non-profit technology incubator helping biotech and cleantech startups succeed. By offering well-equipped lab facilities that are both affordable and within easy reach of Boston, an award-winning mentoring program, and a generous package of support services from sponsors, NSIV accelerates company financing and growth. NSIV is the hub of a cluster of life science and technology firms located at Cummings Center in Beverly, the 2.3 million square foot flagship of commercial real estate firm Cummings Properties. NSIV and Cummings Properties will host a visit to this remarkable reclaimed factory, including a tour of NSIV’s colorful new space, designed to support collaboration and innovation. The entrepreneurs and NSIV staff are passionate about making a difference in human health and sustainability. Come meet some of the entrepreneurs and catch their contagious enthusiasm.

Tours will pick up and drop off at the Boston Convention and Exhibition Center. Tour cost: $35.00.

Check-in opens at 9:00am in Room 210A. Tour attendees must pick up their BIO Convention Badge before seeking tour check-in. Please arrive at least 30 minutes before tour scheduled depature. The cancellation date to receive a full refund of payment for tours is April 27. After this point, refunds will not be issued. All name changes or substitutions for tour attendees must be requested by May 18.