BIO 2026: The business of biotech runs on partnerships

A $2.5 billion biotech AI deal announced at the beginning of the 2026 BIO International Convention grabbed headlines, but it’s only one of many partnership discussions that will begin, move forward, or culminate in a deal this week.

Partnering is a major reason the Biotechnology Innovation Organization (BIO) hosts the BIO International Convention, the world’s largest gathering of the biotech industry, taking place in San Diego from June 22-25.

It was therefore fitting that Insilico Medicine and SK Biopharmaceuticals announced their new agreement at BIO 2026. The deal will see Insilico leverage its Pharma.AI platform and SK Biopharmaceuticals contribute its medical expertise “to discover AI-enabled innovative drug candidates in the neuroimmune area of the central nervous system.” Insilico could earn a potential total of $2.5 billion.

With close to 70,000 partnering meetings scheduled, the BIO International Convention is sure to drive more exciting deals.

“BIO is a great place for partnering. I met with a viral vector manufacturing partner for the first time at BIO that ended up in a multi-million-dollar contract,” said Audrey Greenberg of the Mayo Clinic’s Mayo Venture Partner ahead of the convention.

Convention-goers awaiting partnership discussions in one of the convention’s meeting spaces spoke about why they come to the event.

“Most of our advertising, if you will, is done in person, or word of mouth, and we take these meetings very seriously,” said Richard Brown, managing partner at the global business development firm Plexus Ventures. “Every year, I come to BIO. I’ve been here since I was at Lilly 24 years ago.”

“Why BIO? Because you need a fairly integrated view of the partnering space, of the multi-stakeholder takes, views, priorities,” said Lennart Spindler an investor with the Dementia Discovery Fund, SV Health Investors, a leader in venture funds seeking therapeutics for neurodegenerative disorders.

BIO 2026 is a hub for partnering

As development challenges increase, the unique opportunities offered by the BIO International Convention become all the more important, according to Mackensie Vernetti, SVP of Partnering at the Biotechnology Organization (BIO).

“While factors in the market may change, we see the same levels of success throughout our events because partnering is essential to the industry,” she said. “People get quite creative with the kind of deals and meetings they make.”

The partnering at the BIO International Convention is powered by the BIO Partnering(TM) system, BIO’s bespoke platform allows participants to enter what they’re looking for and find other partners whose interests match theirs. The platform then schedules a time for the meeting and sets a location from among the 2,000 meeting rooms and booths available throughout the vast convention center.

According to Vernetti, BIO 2026 has seen a record level of partnering activity with more than 65,000 meetings arranged through the system by opening day, and new meetings are being scheduled.

The benefit of the BIO International Convention is that it draws the entire biotech ecosystem, bringing every type of potential collaborator to San Diego.

“This is the opportunity for a company to meet a greater variety of partners than they could meet in any other one place,” said Bernard Fallon, BIO VP of Industry Programs. “And investors can get a very efficient view of the state of innovation.”

One example of innovation on display is the BIO International Convention’s Start-up Stadium, where 50 small biotechs from around the world will pitch their innovations on stage, he noted.

Other business development assistance from BIO

Beyond the BIO International Convention, BIO enables partnering at the annual BIO Investment and Growth Summit, held in Miami this year. “This is a more compact, curated event for the investor community and the early-stage venture-ready companies to interact,” according to Fallon.

Another initiative is BIO’s webinar series, “Raising Capital”, which has featured ARPA-H offering advice on obtaining federal seed funding, and BIO Chief Legal Officer Joe Franklin joining lawyers from Covington to discuss global out-licensing considerations for manufacturers.

BIO also runs Investor Connect Plus in cooperation with LaunchBio. BIO member companies can apply to meet one-on-one with institutional and strategic investors who are actively deploying capital.

“This partnership will help match the right innovators with the right investors to deliver more groundbreaking treatments to patients,” according to Brad Zakes, BIO SVP of Emerging Companies and Economic Development.

Encouraging innovative new treatments is the ultimate goal of all BIO business development efforts.

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