How can life science innovation change the world? That may seem like a daunting question, but on Thursday evening, innovators from Boston and beyond will attempt to answer it at Science Shaping Our World-SHOW: Life Science Trending Around the Globe – Making Local Innovations Go Global.
Among those presenting will be Philip Hemme, co-founder of LaBiotech.fr. At the event, Hemme will discuss his documentary The Tour de France of LaBiotech, which examines France’s life science business sector. While making the film, Hemme and the second half of LaBiotech.fr’s founding pair, Joachim Eeckhout, biked around France to interview the leadership of 26 different French Biotech companies.
SHOW will also include insights from panelists Dr. Masha Fridkis-Hareli, founder and president at Accelerating Translational Research LLC, Dr. Johannes Fruehauf, founder and president of Cambridge BioLabs and executive director of LabCentral, Dr. RK Narayanan of Partners HealthCare Innovation, and Dr. Jessica Tytell, senior director for life science innovation at Firefly BioWorks.
In preparation for the event, Hemme spoke with MedTech Boston about how different countries help encourage entrepreneurs, how technology is changing biotech, and what excites him about SHOW.
MedTech Boston: What are the major differences between France and the U.S. regarding biotechnology?
Hemme: The major difference between France and the U.S. is the size of their biotech markets. The U.S. biotech market represents about 60 percent of biotech in the world, while France is just a small percent. Boston raises as much money for biotech in one month that France raises in one year. That means there is almost 10 times less biotech in France than in Boston. The second biggest difference is the amount of private money injected into biotech in the U.S. I was surprised when I arrived in Boston that companies were raising $50-150 million, but now I am almost used to it.
Anna Sims is an associate editor at The Warren Group, publisher of Banker & Tradesman. Her writing has appeared in New York Family Magazine, BDCWire.com, and Crushable.com, among other publications. Born and raised in Des Moines, Iowa, she came East to attend Boston University where she earned a B.S. in journalism and a B.A. in English.
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