As we look ahead into 2024, MichBio has high hopes for a busy and impactful year on numerous fronts.
Programming - A Busy Year in Michigan and Beyond
Programming is already being mapped for the year. BioMixers have been scheduled for Grand Rapids, Kalamazoo, Lansing/East Lansing, Detroit and the U.P. Also, our hope is to restart BioArbor in September and bring that popular program back to life post-Covid for the benefit of the life sciences entrepreneurial community. So too, our Signature events, the Michigan Medical Device Summit (May 2024) and Drug Discovery & Development Symposium (fall 2024) will return to being stand-alone events, and we’re still figuring out how best to structure a Michigan Forum on Healthtech (Digital Health) and Patient Advocacy Forum.
Nationally, MichBio will be at JPMorgan Week in San Francisco beginning next Sunday, co-hosting our annual State Bio and Friends reception and partnering on behalf of Michigan early-stage companies. Once again, we’ve joined with the MEDC to attend several industry events and showcase Michigan’s life sciences cluster – Arab Health in late January, MD&M West in early February, BIO International Convention and Select USA Investment Summit in June, Bio Innovations Midwest in late September, Medtech Conference in October, and MEDICA in November.
Strategic Planning - Roadmap for Success
A major undertaking will be to update the Michigan Biosciences Roadmap for Success, a strategic plan for growing the statewide life sciences cluster. We’ll be pulling together a steering committee to oversee the benchmarking and priority setting process. This will include a listening tour, focus groups, opinion surveys and direct interviews, as we attempt to gather perspectives on what resources, policies and strategies are needed to drive bio-industry growth and ensure a sustainable future for the regional cluster.
Advocacy - State and Federal Priorities Abound
On the advocacy front, we expect another busy year, at least through the summer (fall 2024 will be lighter as we head into a presidential election season. A few high priorities left undone in Lansing from last session will hopefully move forward to enactment – a R&D Tax Credit and establishment of a rare disease advisory council (RDAC). In addition, we’ll be following closely the movement of prescription drug affordability board (PDAB), data privacy and right-to-repair legislation.
In Congress, our biggest tasks are to repeal the R&D amortization rule that has become a bane to businesses, especially small ones, and beat back attempts to undermine intellectual property protection through misguided assaults on March-in rights and invoking a TRIPS Waiver.
Throughout, MichBio will be engaging with elected officials and supporting our bio-industry colleagues, research institutions, and patient advocacy groups. That effort begins in late February when we host an inaugural Life Sciences Legislative Academy, a “101” overnighter program to better inform decisionmakers about our industry from idea to market (our first BioMixer in 2024 will be held jointly with Academy participants). Legislative fly-ins to Congress on behalf of the medical devices and biopharma sectors will follow in mid-Spring. And MichBio hopes to host an in-person Michigan Biosciences Day at the Capitol with reception, as well as some Bioscience Legislative Caucus briefings too. Your engagement in all our advocacy efforts is paramount – don’t shy away from being involved and letting your voice stand alongside MichBio in support of our industry.
Operational Improvements
At an operational level, there’s much to do behind the scenes. Maintaining the database is always a demanding chore but made more challenging as we continue to enhance the dataset with a comprehensive collection of assets and capabilities for companies across the medtech, biopharma, agri-bio, healthtech, suppliers and professional services. So if you’re sent a request from MichBio for business information – please respond! That also means beefing up the website to display more of that and other information, first in static form, and then in a new, user-friendly digital platform that we hope to onboard in 2024. Of course, all the internal activities depend on getting our staff back to full strength.
A Message To Our Members
Lastly, I just wish to remind everyone that MichBio is a member-driven, non-profit organization. So, we humbly ask our member organizations… please help communicate our value and encourage others to enjoy the benefits of membership in Michigan’s only statewide life sciences association.
In turn, we commit to listen and best understand how we can deliver value for your membership, better connect the regional life sciences ecosystem, and provide essential resources to support business growth.
To our large companies and institutions…continue to engage with us as we endeavor to drive cluster growth through advocacy in both the Michigan legislature and Congress as we encourage supportive public policy that will advance your mission in innovation and health.
To the small and mid-size companies, especially the early-stage startups across all sectors…get involved with our committees and programs whether networking or educational, access our BioConnections resources, and learn why public policy matters to your business operations and growth.
To our patient advocacy groups…help us help you tell your story and advocate alongside you on your issues by becoming a member (at no cost), participate in our Patient Advocacy Committee to better inform and coordinate mutual efforts, and be a partner on advocacy interactions with policymakers.
Academic and clinical research colleagues…encourage faculty and students to directly engage with us regularly by attending our events where they can meet industry thought leaders, commercialization experts, and potential collaborators, especially for those innovating.
To everyone…participate in the Preferred Purchasing Program to save money and keep up with us and Michigan’s bio-industry on social media! Similarly, if you have a story you’d like to share or help tell, we welcome your ideas for BioMatters and other media platforms.
As always, let us know what you think. And how we can be of better service.
The MichBio team wishes you a joyful, prosperous, and successful 2024!
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
.jpg?width=339&height=124&name=280032_BIO_24_Email-600x2203%20(1).jpg)
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
