Many travelers might think of the Liberty Bell, Independence Hall and Ben Franklin when they plan a trip to Philadelphia.
But it’s not history that will bring more than 16,000 scientists, health care providers, patient advocates, pharma industry leaders and biotech entrepreneurs from around the globe to the City of Brotherly Love next month.
At BIO 2019, happening June 3 to 6 at the Convention Center, it’s all about the future – the future of scientific breakthroughs, the future of innovative medicines, the future of ultimately helping patients overcome serious diseases.
I can’t think of a better setting for this year’s conference than Philadelphia and the surrounding region – home to some of the world’s most elite academic institutes, renowned research hospitals and a thriving biotech industry, which our company has been a growing leader in for several decades here.
Beyond city limits
I’ve been fortunate to live and work in the area for most of my career and I’ve never been more inspired than I am right now by the incredible innovation happening across the region, including in King of Prussia where my company’s operational headquarters are located.
At CSL Behring, we are reminded every day why we come to work. We’re driven by our promise for patients. For us, that sometimes means looking beyond our own teams to help discover treatment options for the patients we serve. It certainly means investing in the next generation of scientific innovators before they graduate to ensure we grow our talent pipeline.
In the past year alone, we’ve entered exciting research collaborations and made significant investments in the future. This includes:
- Teaming up with University City Science Center in West Philadelphia to identify and help commercialize potential new medicines at research and academic institutions across the Greater Philadelphia region. This ongoing partnership, announced last October, will focus on research and academic institutions that participate in the Science Center’s QED program, a program that provides funding, mentoring and business support to entrepreneurs.
- Launching the CSL Behring Fermentation Facility at Penn State University in State College last June. This facility will help train students for the dynamic and rapidly-growing field of biotechnology and equip them with the real-life skills and expertise needed to be leaders in biotech. The facility was made possible in part through a $5 million grant from CSL Behring.
- Expanding our campus in King of Prussia to our new state-of-the art office at 500 North Gulph Road to accommodate our growing number of employees in the region.
Our values-based company and purpose-driven careers at CSL Behring coupled with the region’s affordability -- compared to cities like Boston and San Francisco -- has helped us attract and retain talent to the region. While I’m biased when it comes to the great work of CSL Behring, I recognize that the thriving biotech industry is the work of many. From leading companies with expertise ranging from rare diseases to oncology to economic development partners like Life Sciences PA and the Select Greater Philadelphia Council, the region’s growing reach is the result of exceptional collaboration.
I’m humbled to be part of an industry and business community having such a profound impact on patients around the globe.
The promise of biotech
As a sponsor of BIO 2019, we’re excited to help showcase the region’s scientific innovation and share the exciting work we’re doing for patients with rare and serious diseases.
To celebrate this year’s BIO conference and give back to Philadelphia, we’ve entered another unique partnership – this one with the Mural Arts of Philadelphia to create a mural on a building on Sansom Street between 11th and 12th Streets that captures all the promise that the life sciences have to offer. The mural will be a focal point in the city for years to come.
Just because we’re focused on the future of scientific advancement, doesn’t mean we can’t make history along the way.
Paul Perreault is CEO of CSL Behring and managing director of CSL Ltd.
