PA Bio’s Growth

The past year has been a challenging one for many in our community, but if you step back and take a broader perspective, we’ve accomplished great things over the past few years. First, membership in Pennsylvania Bio has grown to more than 375 organizations. I set a goal when I started at Pennsylvania Bio to double our membership, and in just four years we have exceeded that. Many may ask why this is so important. It’s really very simple. There’s strength in numbers. We have one of the most vibrant bioscience clusters globally. From research institutions to emerging and mature biotechnology, pharmaceutical, medical device and diagnostics companies, and a strong support network, few locations can boast such a depth of industry. The growth in the association has made it possible to be a more effective voice for you and provide greater opportunities for interaction within our diverse community.

The growth in our programs has also been a source of great pride. Our Annual Dinner—which will be held this year on March 11th at the Pennsylvania Convention Center in Philadelphia—has become the signature event for the bioscience industry in PA. We’ve continued to grow the attendance and the prestige of the dinner each year, and we look forward to making this year’s the best to date. Additionally, our annual joint symposium with BioNJ continues to be a must-attend for the industry. In 2009, despite the economic issues the country has been facing, we saw a record turnout.

For the last five months I have worked alongside Chris, and I’ve seen his vision for continued growth. Chris has been out speaking with many of you and has started on a great path to expand what we’ve already done, but also to build new paths for improving services to our members to help you succeed, as well as improving the connections within our community and our visibility throughout the commonwealth. I look forward to seeing the new heights the association can go to.

I say this repeatedly, and I’ll say it again here, it’s all about our community. As a community we tackle unmet medical needs. As a community we improve the lives of patients. As a community we make the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania a world leader in innovation. As a community we’ll continue to make a difference. Your commitment drives this, and it’s your commitment and energy that will fuel our success—as an industry and as an association.

When I took over at Pennsylvania Bio, I believe I brought the wealth of my experience in the industry over the course of more than three decades to help our members better understand each other and help our policymakers in Harrisburg and Washington better understand our needs. Chris brings to Pennsylvania Bio a new set of skills and experience that will broaden this understanding and help grow the interactivity among the different parts of our industry continuum. Additionally he will be able to reach out to other sectors and industries to cast a wider net for the positive impact our companies make in the health care sector at large. He can bring new faces and voices to the Pennsylvania Bio table. Prior to joining our staff here at the Association, Chris was with Johnson & Johnson, and he began his J&J career with Centocor. He knows what it means to be a member of the association and he knows what the association needs to do to provide for the betterment of the membership.

In closing, I hope I will see you all on March 11th at our annual dinner and at programs throughout 2010, as I will be with Pennsylvania Bio throughout 2010—as president until June 30th and then as vice chairman and member of the Executive Committee. This is an exciting time for the industry and the association. As I said before, I look forward to seeing the new heights to which we can go.

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