The biotech industry's largest annual conclave comes to Boston next week, and it's a stressful time for those in the business of developing new drugs.
Companies are declaring bankruptcy or shedding employees because of a dearth of venture capital funding and a stock market that has been unwelcoming to biotech stock debuts. About one-quarter of the laboratory space in the Boston area is sitting vacant, according to the commercial real estate firm CBRE, up from near-complete occupancy three years ago.
The Trump administration has been cutting funding for early-stage scientific research through the National Institutes of Health, and a new regime at the Food and Drug Administration, which oversees testing and approval of new products, has the industry on edge, wondering how those processes will change.
The Washington, D.C.-based Biotechnology Innovation Organization puts on the annual BIO trade show, and it is expected to bring about 20,000 participants to the Boston Convention and Exposition Center starting on Monday. Spokesperson Jennifer Baskerville says attendance is "tracking higher" than 2024, when the event was held in San Diego.
And the trade show just added a big name to the roster: Martin Makary, who was confirmed in March as the FDA commissioner.
I asked eleven veterans of the industry what topics they expect to be on the table next week — both in the trade show's hallways, and at the dinners and cocktail parties that will take over much of the Seaport.
1. Boston's role as a biotech epicenter is threatened
Long viewed as the undisputed capital of biotech, the Boston area is now facing questions and concerns about whether it can maintain that position amid government funding cuts and the Trump administration's ongoing battle with Harvard University, one of the birthplaces of the biotech industry in the 1970s.
International delegates are expected to ask whether Boston's dominance is slipping, and whether another region — or many other regions — might rise to replace it.
"Where will the epicenter of biotech move if it is no more in Boston?" asked Johannes Fruehauf, an entrepreneur and investor who is also chairman of LabCentral, a shared laboratory space for biotech startups in Cambridge. Several respondents referenced the perception that Boston's academic anchors are under siege, particularly Harvard, which has become a flashpoint in debates over federal funding and international students.
Satish Tadikonda, an investor and lecturer at Harvard Business School, noted, "I just returned from Italy and Saudi Arabia, and I can tell you that almost everyone is astounded by the cuts on science/potential loss of U.S.'s — and Boston's — leadership in science."
Rachel Sha added that her Cambridge startup, Vaxess, which is working on needle-free delivery of medicines, has already received overtures to relocate.
"We've had invitations from government officials — both outside the U.S. as well as from other U.S. states — to either move Vaxess's headquarters entirely, or open additional manufacturing sites and R&D facilities" outside of Massachusetts. The company was built on technology initially developed at Tufts University.
Sha remains a hometown booster, "Boston is still the place to be for biotech and pharma," she said.
2. The industry is stuck in a funding drought
Nearly every respondent pointed to the ongoing drought in biotech financing as a dominant topic of concern and conversation. While previous BIO conferences have often buzzed with talk of IPOs and billion-dollar acquisitions, no one is expecting a party this month.
"Funding remains a critical challenge for most companies," Tom Hughes, CEO at Navitor Pharmaceuticals in Cambridge, said, "and we're seeing a continuing series of layoff or going-out-of-business announcements."
John Maraganore, a founder of Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, a publicly traded Cambridge company, echoed that.
"The big question on everyone's mind is when will biotech exit this long and protracted winter?" he said. "When will it be possible to raise capital again?"
The winter followed a sunnier time: 2021, when the industry set all-time records for fundraising, surpassing $40 billion .
One biotech industry veteran said he didn't want to talk with me on the record because his company is in the midst of trying to raise its next shot of funding, "and everyone's on pins and needles."
3. Everybody is trying to read the Trump tea leaves
Another topic that will be on attendees' minds is the potential effects of the new Presidential administration on basic scientific research, drug pricing and regulatory approvals, not to mention changing government recommendations about vaccines.
"Policy will be at the forefront, with a number of threats and also opportunities for the industry," said Daphne Zohar, the CEO of Seaport Therapeutics in Boston, and a member of BIO's executive board.
Fruehauf warned of a "dual threat" to the biotech sector: First, "the uncertain future of basic-science funding/investment by the government … and [second], the threat to the economic model of developing drugs in the US." One concern has been Trump's May executive order on drug pricing, which some saw as making consumers happy about lower prices, while potentially undermining companies' incentive to invest in long-term and risky drug development projects.
In addition to speaking at the BIO trade show next Tuesday, Makary, the new FDA commissioner, will also hold a "listening session" with an invited group of local CEOs.
International attendees at the trade show "may also want to discuss the potential impact of tariffs," Chris Garabedian said, and how the Trump administration's policies will affect drug prices in foreign markets. Garabedian is CEO of Xontogeny, a Boston firm that supports biotech startups.
4. Obesity is still a big topic
The biotech industry is full of people who did better than most of us in chemistry and biology class, and when they get together, they can't resist talking about the frontiers of science. Some participants expect that "combination therapies" to fight cancer using two different types of drugs will be a hot topic. Interest in rare diseases and gene therapy treatments may be waning, said Tom Hughes.
"More prevalent diseases are red hot," he said, including obesity, heart failure, immunology and inflammation.
Sha added, "There continues to be a lot of enthusiasm for obesity because of the size of the opportunity."
Her company, Vaxess, is working to deliver a popular class of weight loss drugs known as GLP-1s using an adhesive skin patch instead of an injection.
5. Is China an industry collaborator or competitor?
A final topic expected to gain traction at the BIO gathering is how U.S. biotech companies should regard China. As Chinese biotech companies accelerate the development and testing of their own drugs, some view it as a place for U.S. companies to shop for new products at bargain basement prices. (That could spell trouble for young companies in the U.S. that have their own drugs and need a larger company to help bring their products to market.)
However, given tariffs and the contentious relationship between the U.S. and China, how much should the biotech industry be betting on China right now?
Rachel Sha posed the key question: "In the face of this trade war, what kind of China strategy makes sense for U.S. life sciences?"
Fruehauf said that at a time when the U.S. is slashing funding for scientific research — the National Institutes of Health budget is expected to get reduced by roughly 40% in the 2026 federal budget, from $47 billion to $29 billion — China "is already making massive gains" on building its own biotech research capabilities and creating new drugs.
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