Oregon and Southwest Washington’s Life Science Industry: Positioning for Growth

Also on the dais: device, diagnostic, digital health, and therapeutic companies will reveal their technology proposition during the Company Pitch Showcase sessions. Attendees can participate in audience Q&A after each pitch and meet the entrepreneurs.

Company executives; entrepreneurs; investors; business, economic development and life science professionals; researchers; vendors; and STEM students are all invited to the annual conference, Oregon Bio 2019: Innovating and Scaling for our Region’s Growth, on October 29 at downtown Portland’s World Trade Center 2. The program will conclude with an awards ceremony and cocktail reception honoring the People’s Choice and Judges’ Choice for the winners of the Research Fast Pitch and the Company Pitch Showcase.

“We’ve designed this event to garner broad appeal and interest,” said Liisa Bozinovic, executive director of Oregon Bioscience Association. “Economic indicators show the region’s bio-economy is strong and gaining strength. We’re seeing company growth and expansion across Oregon and Southwest Washington. We know that there are 820 bio-focused establishments in Oregon alone, making significant contributions to Oregon’s economy and the health of our world.”

Companies who would like to present at the Company Pitch Showcase and researchers who would like to participate in the Research Fast Pitch can find more information at https://www.oregonbio.org/event-class/oregon-bio-2019-innovating-and-scaling-our-regions-growth/. Applications are due Sept. 16 and 22, respectively. Startup companies in any of these bio-sectors are encouraged to participate: Agriculture, consumer products, diagnostic technology, digital health, genetics and genomics, medical device, research tools and therapeutic categories.

The day will kick-off with networking and an illuminating panel discussion From Start-up to Grown-up: A Regional Life Science Company’s Story. Pitch sessions and facilitated regional and topical meetups will follow. Afterward, there will be an evening poster review and cocktail reception.

The Oregon Bio 2019: Innovating and Scaling for our Region’s Growth event partners include OTRADI/Oregon Bioscience Incubator, Genentech and BIO.

About Oregon Bio

The Oregon Bioscience Association seeks to create opportunity through advocacy, cultivation, education and group purchasing discounts for its members and the sector. Oregon Bio promotes the growth and quality of the bioscience industry in the region and continually seeks ways to support sustainability, acceleration and growth in the life science, bioscience, biotechnology and device manufacturing industries. Oregon Bio, a nonprofit membership association, affiliates with the Biotechnology Innovation Organization (BIO), and the Advanced Medical Technology Association.

The region’s most current bioscience economic impact study showed in 2017 Oregon’s growing bio footprint reached $10.7 billion, creating 47,238 jobs for $1.5 billion in wages across 820 business establishments. Between 2002-2017, total bioscience employment in Oregon jumped 72 percent among the five industry subsectors. Health-related R&D at Oregon hospitals and universities generated $669 million in economic activity in 2017. In 2015, federal research funding to Oregon institutions totaled more than $363 million. Venture capital investments in Oregon’s bioscience-related companies have increased in recent years and between 2014 to 2017, totaled $76.5 million.

Also growing is Oregon’s share of NIH funding. A 2018 report released by BIO shows Oregon attracted 1,274 bioscience and related patents. The study also found Oregon is emerging in several bioscience areas, with job growth in four of the five major subsectors from 2007 to 2016.

For more information about Oregon Bioscience Association, please visit www.oregonbio.org. Connect with us on LinkedIn and Twitter.

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