Boost for Midlands Biotech firms in Boston

A delegation of 11 Midlands companies from the biotechnology and pharmaceutical sector travelled to the United States to meet with buyers at BIO International Convention Boston.

The delegation was supported by Midlands Engine and the Department for International Trade. BIO Boston was held 4-7 June and is the largest biotechnology event in the world and, now in its 25th year, attracted buyers from more than 76 countries and welcomed 16,000 biotechnology and pharmaceutical leaders to network.

The event saw more than 100 one-to-one meetings hosted between US biotech companies and the Midlands delegation, offering opportunities to collaborate and showcase their businesses.

The Midlands is home to a growing number of biotech companies, and this event is the latest initiative from DIT Midlands to help firms unlock new business opportunities in the United States. It follows shortly after DIT’s ‘Gulf Region Life Sciences Meet the Buyer’ event in Coventry, which welcomed buyers from the Middle East to meet with more than 60 Midlands-based healthcare and life sciences companies and showcased the international appetite for Midlands healthcare expertise, goods and services.

Commenting on the company’s participation in the event, Lara Peacock from Keele-based Cobra Biologics, said:

The US biopharmaceutical market is extremely important to Cobra, with just under 50% of sales being generated by US customers in 2017. BIO Boston provides an exceptional environment in which to not only engage with existing customers, but to establish new opportunities too. To be championed by the Department for International Trade at events such as this, and to be supported in the expansion of Cobra’s UK-based facility, is extremely important for the future of the company.

Baroness Fairhead, Minister of State for Trade and Export Promotion at the Department for International Trade, led a strong delegation of UK life sciences businesses at the Bio Conference. Commenting on the event, Baroness Fairhead said, said:

As a global leader in scientific innovation, with more than 5,500 life sciences companies, the UK’s offer to the world in this sector is clear. I am delighted to be joined on this trade mission by terrific businesses from all across the UK.

The Department for International Trade will continue to use trade missions such as this to promote healthcare and life sciences innovators across the world, driving investment and forging trade ties that have the potential to further scientific boundaries and improve the lives of millions.

Ian Harrison, Head of Exports, at the Department for International Trade in the Midlands, said:

Meet the buyer events and international missions like the delegation to Boston BIO are unrivalled opportunities for businesses such as Cobra Biologics to showcase the strength of the biotech sector in the Midlands and foster relationships with overseas buyers where there is a strong demand for British goods and services. More businesses in the region should take advantage of unique opportunities like these.

Firms looking for support should ring 0345 222 0159 or email wmenquiries@mobile.trade.gov.uk. They can also visit great.gov.uk, which has information on live export opportunities and includes general information on exporting and events.