2016 Massachusetts Life Sciences Innovation Day
“The Life Sciences Center of the Universe – Making it Work for You”
June 2, 2016 8:00 a.m. - 7:00 p.m
Harvard Club of Boston
374 Commonwealth Avenue, Boston
The 9th Massachusetts Life Sciences Innovation (MALSI) Day is the biggest day for life sciences startups and innovation in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. This is a high-energy, hands-on event which brings together scientific leaders and business experts to mingle with scientists, post-docs, professors, entrepreneurs, innovators, and venture capitalists.
The theme this year is “The Life Sciences Center of the Universe – Making it Work for You”. Cambridge/Boston, with Kendall Square as its focus, is the world’s leading life sciences research center. It’s a Life Science Super-Cluster. A vast amount of basic research happens here (and nearby); ever-increasing numbers of large and small pharmaceutical and biotech companies are making it their home; and local venture capital is readily at hand to prime the start-up pumps.
That’s the picture in large focus. But what do things look like at the micro-level? Suppose you’re an academic researcher and you have an idea which, you think and hope, might lead to a new product. Is it a benefit or a liability to find yourself in a place where so much is happening and so many other people have good ideas? Is it good or bad to be a small fish in a large pool?
How do you get relevant people to listen to your idea? Assuming you can get anyone’s attention, whom do you talk to first- venture capitalists, company researchers, angel or corporate investors, foundations? What does it really mean for corporate researchers to be a ten-minute walk away from a great life sciences bee-hive? Or a twenty-minute ride on the Red Line (if it’s working!)? Do you actually make that walk? How often? Or do you just read the literature—something you might do anywhere at all? How important is it, in fact, to be so close to other labs and institutions? How far does the aura of Super-Cluster charisma actually extend? Is Kendall Square just a prestigious address or does it have concrete advantages? Could you do as well, or better, a half-hour’s drive away? One hour? Should you start out in a district with lower rent, lesser prestige, and a quieter life, or is it that important to be “where everybody is”? What’s the right thing to do— for you?
The conference features Keynotes, Panels, Innovators’ Marketplace, Networking Reception with leading life sciences CEO’s , and Poster Competition.
MALSI Day welcomes Keynote speakers:
- Willie Shih, Robert and Jane Cizik Professor, Harvard Business School in Boston
- Lita Nelsen, Retired Director, Technology Licensing, MIT
It is the flagship event of life sciences in Massachusetts, jointly and actively put together by all the major organizations that are involved in starting and supporting the life sciences start-up ecosystem in the Commonwealth.
Photos from Last Year’s Conference:
Feedback from 2015:
“This has always been a fun event with great networking opportunities and this past Tuesday was no exception. Thank you for putting together a great program.”
“The best panel was “Creating a compelling value proposition for your idea.” It combined - great panelists, challenging and informative questions, as well as interactions with the audience.”
Photo: Gao Guangyan
