Life Science Leader Chief Editor To Co-Chair BIO International Program Committee

Life Science Leader magazine’s Chief Editor, Rob Wright, has been invited to serve as educational program planning committee co-chair for the 2015 BIO International Convention,  to be held June 15-18, 2015, in Philadelphia, PA. Planned by the Biotechnology Industry Organization (BIO), which represents 1,100+ biotechnology companies, academic institutions, state biotechnology centers and related organizations across the United States and in more than 30 nations, the annual affair is the largest global event for the biotechnology industry.  “Being invited to help plan the educational program for such an important industry event is quite an honor,” said Wright. “It is made even more special by the fact that it is taking place in my home state in 2015.”

The BIO International Convention draws some of the biggest names in biotech, business, as well as government. “At this year’s event in San Diego,” recalls Wright, “When Sir Richard Branson [founder of the Virgin Group, a 400 member company conglomerate] was scheduled to speak, people began lining up at least an hour before. The next day, attendees lined up several hours early to hear former Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton, give her BIO address.” According to BIO, the event routinely attracts 15,000 attendees from 65 countries and 49 states. The record for the largest gathering, 22,000+, took place in Boston back in 2007. Wright thinks the 2015 convention could surpass this mark. “Forty percent of the American population live within a day’s drive of Philadelphia,” he says. “In addition, the tri-state region of PA, NJ, and DE, is home to 80 percent of the U.S. pharmaceutical industry.”

As a committee co-chair, Wright will work closely with BIO staff and program committee members during the review process of over 600 educational breakout session submissions. “It is a big responsibility to develop a cutting edge program for attendees representing some of the biggest companies in the world,” he shares. In addition to traditional big pharma and biotech companies (e.g., Amgen, J&J, and Pfizer), the BIO International Convention attracts executives from the likes of Forbes Global 2000 businesses, such as General Electric (7) and Samsung (22).

Life Science Leader is owned by Jameson Publishing, which is located in Knowledge Park in Erie, PA. Wright joined the company as the magazine’s chief editor in 2010 after spending 17 years in the pharmaceutical industry. Today he travels internationally meeting with and writing about pharmaceutical and biopharma top executives. He intends to provide behind the scenes insights about the planning process on his Chief Editor’s blog. You can also follow him via social media — Facebook, LinkedIn, Pinterest and Twitter.