Patient advocacy drives innovation: James Roe’s asthma story comes to BIO 2026

When BIO President & CEO John F. Crowley met INDY NXT racer James Roe at a Notre Dame game, something clicked. It wasn’t a shared love of football, though both are avid fans of the Fighting Irish. It was a mutual understanding of the patient and caregiver experience, and why it is key to informing and driving innovation in the lab, in the clinic, and even on the track. 

Roe is a patient. Crowley is a caregiver and industry leader. Both share a commitment to patient advocacy and biotech, which made Roe keen to promote the Biotechnology Innovation Organization (BIO) and speak at the 2026 BIO International Convention in San Diego.

Roe will step onto the BIO Storytelling Stage on June 24 to share his journey of managing acute asthma while competing at the highest levels of motorsport. Additionally, Roe’s No. 8 Topcon car, carrying the BIO logo across six INDY NXT races from March 28 through June 7, will be on display on the exhibition floor throughout the convention.

Patient-centered innovation in biotech starts here

“I was diagnosed with asthma at five years of age and spent weeks and weeks and weeks in hospital as a kid. I also had an uncle pass away from asthma when he was younger,” explained Roe in an interview with Bio.News.

“I wanted to get some advice on what I could do with my own racing career to advance patient advocacy, because I’m fortunate enough to have made a professional racing driver career here in North America,” he said.

From this question, an exciting partnership took off.

The theme of the 2026 BIO International Convention is Driven By Purpose—a reflection of the industry’s unwavering conviction to solve the impossible, to push boundaries, and to achieve better outcomes for patients, public health, and the world. Roe’s story as both a patient and a racer was a perfect fit.

“James’s story embodies what it means to be ‘Driven by Purpose,’” according to Crowley. “His resilience and commitment to overcoming personal health challenges reflect the same determination we see every day across the biotech community.”

How Roe turned asthma into advocacy

“I was diagnosed with type 2 asthma. So for me, the risks to my health were quite specific,” explained Roe. “Early on in my youth, there was always the fear of a sudden asthma attack. And the chances of an attack go up with increased exertion, so as I began my racing career in Ireland, it was something we had to keep an eye on.”

Asthma, for a long time, was considered a single, albeit complex, disease, but thanks to breakthroughs in research and treatment, it is now understood as a spectrum. Unlike the wheezing symptoms triggered by environmental allergens in less severe forms of asthma, severe type 2 asthma is often genetic and categorized by type 2 inflammation, a systemic allergic response that involves the activation of immune cells, including eosinophils, mast cells, and T-cells, per the Allergy and Asthma Network.

“Growing up, everything that I did came with the caveat of, Hey, you gotta be careful of this. You gotta be careful of that. You gotta make sure you have your inhaler with you, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. It was always just a thing,” Roe recalled. Every soccer, rugby, or any other game, he notes, came with extra risk, extra concern, extra caveats. 

“I just had to make sure that I didn’t let all of those caveats hold me back,” Roe continued.

Over time, Roe learned to manage his asthma through fitness and medication. As he progressed into motorsports, he adapted that management to high-intensity environments—ones filled with tire and fuel fumes and sustained physical strain, where his heart rate can average more than 130 beats per minute.

“It’s all a juggling act,” he says.

As Roe drives forward his career, his history as a patient informs his perspective. With thousands of race fans watching Roe compete, he sees an opportunity to raise awareness—particularly at the BIO International Convention, which brings together more than 20,000 industry leaders each year.

“Whilst I have a platform and such a fan base in North American motorsport, I want to make sure I am telling the story,” he said. “I want to work with an industry that listens to patients, especially since it reflects my sport, which listens to drivers. It’s about telling my story that asthma didn’t hold me back, and it doesn’t have to hold you back. And if it changes the opinion, or the life, or the perspective, or the outlook on asthma management for one child, that’s enough of a reason to do it.”

What racing reveals about biotech R&D

“At the end of the day,” Roe explains, “we’re all in a results-based business.” 

In racing, that means constant iteration—refining engineering, improving pit crew performance, and analyzing data to gain even fractions of a second. It means “never being satisfied,” per Roe.

“I think that’s very comparable to the biotech industry because it’s constantly evolving,” Roe continued. “New products are coming out. Companies are spending hours and hours and hours, and engineers are spending hours and hours and hours on R&D. Years of work are spent on certain products and research, all with the purpose of being better and more efficient and addressing scenarios and problem-solving.”

He has seen that progress firsthand.

“Thanks to modern-day innovation, technology, and biotech development, no matter what you’re managing in life, it doesn’t have to hold you back,” he says. “There is always a solution. There’s always an answer.”

Roe is excited to be attending BIO 2026 in San Diego.

“I’m honored and, quite frankly, humbled that John thought of me as a speaker at the BIO Convention, which is the largest in the world,” he said. And, by Roe’s account, this is only the beginning. 

“I’m looking to expand my patient advocacy beyond the BIO Convention,” he adds. “This is not a one-and-done thing. I want this to be something that is part of my journey and my legacy, and I’m always looking to grow that piece.”

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