Battle of the Biotech Bands: Momenta, PerkinElmer, Ironwood Will Try to Take Merrimack's Rock Crown
Biotech by Day, Rockers by Night: Biotech Band Members Face Off in Third Annual Battle
May 19, 2015
By Alex Keown, BioSpace.com Breaking News Staff
BOSTON – They develop medical advances in medication and technology during the day, but when night comes, they trade in microscopes and molecules for Gibson Guitars and microphones–all for a good cause.
Wednesday marks the third annual “Battle of the Biotech Bands” at the Royale Nightclub in Boston. This year three bands from area pharmaceutical and biotech companies will compete for the title, as well as charity. The three bands competing Wednesday night are Aural Gavage, made up from employees of Momenta Pharmaceutical; Molecular Groove, comprised of employees of PerkinElmer, Inc. and Zac Mac Band, which includes employees from Ironwood Pharmaceuticals . Each band plays a set of four or five songs before a panel of judges that select the evening’s winner. Proceeds raised go to the band’s selected charities, the Boston Globe reported.
Each of the bands competes not only for the honor of being the top biotech band, but also to raise monies for the charities of the band’s choice. The band from Momenta is competing for The Jolane Solomon Research Fund at Boston College, a research fund named in honor of a former Momenta employee who died a few years ago. Molecular Groove is raising funds for The American Cancer Society and the Zac Mac Band is playing for the Boys and Girls Club of Middlesex County, according to the Battle of the Biotech Bands website .
In its first year a band comprised of Biogen Idec, Inc. employees took home the title of best biotech band, while last year’s winner was a band from Merrimack Pharmaceuticals Inc. . That band, BAD IDEA, will open the evening’s festivities and get the crowd ready for this year’s competition.
Last year more than 700 people attended the event, according to a 2014 report in the Boston Business Journal. The event raised more than $60,000, with each charity receiving a portion. The charity represented by the top band gets about half of the proceeds, and the other two charities split the other half.
The Battle of the Biotech Bands was founded in part by Bill Harris, a principal of architectural firm Perkins+Will’s Science and Technology practice, after he saw Aural Gavage perform.
In addition to raising money for charities, the evening is also a time for biotech companies to network with other industry leaders.
Momenta Pharmaceuticals recently announced the company will present data from a Phase I study of oncology drug necuparanib in metastatic pancreatic cancer. The company also announced this week the public offering of 7,250,000 shares of its common stock
In March Ironwood Pharmaceuticals, maker of LINZESS, used to treat irritable bowel syndrome and constipation, entered a deal with EXACT Sciences Corporation to promote Cologuard, ESC’s FDA-approved noninvasive stool DNA screening test for colorectal cancer.
PerkinElmer reported revenue of approximately $2.2 billion in 2014, has about 7,700 employees.
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