In one chaotic week in January, San Francisco will play host to the J.P. Morgan Annual Healthcare Conference, Biotech Showcase, East/West CEO, OneMed Forum, Annual Dermatology Summit, and the TPP China Partnering Forum.
That’s a lot of networking.
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To help facilitate all those meetings, one.bio announced today the official launch of an online community that empowers users to “find, connect, and meet” with other professionals during the so-called BioWeek.
Dubbed meet.bio, the platform aims to further the company’s mission to enhance recruitment and partnering in the life sciences industry.
“One way to look at it is almost like a matching site, a dating site for life science professionals,” said Hansruedi Kottmann, CEO of one.bio in a phone interview.
Before anyone gets too excited, consider that the male to female ratio at the J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference (JPM) could be as extreme as nine to one. But as a business tool, it could have some potential.
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“Our estimate is that there are between 30,000-40,000 people in San Francisco during that week,” Kottmann said about the influx. “These are all professionals that would like to know who is there, they would like to connect with each other and potentially meet.”
The platform is already live and Kottman is encouraging attendees to sign up and build relationships in advance. Basic functions are free. Any individual can upload a profile, select professional interests and then begin engaging with the rest of the community.
A premium membership, offered for $1,000, unlocks more connecting and searching capabilities and gives the user a variety of perks offline. This includes a table at one.bio’s speed-dating event at JPM.
For some attendees, however, the platform will be of zero use.
Top biopharma VIPs will likely have a Kardashian-style entourage of people dedicated to maximizing their time and networking efficiency during the big events. Others have already committed to more meetings than there are hours in the day.
In lieu of this, the meet.bio community could struggle to recruit many powerful attendees — the people with the greatest deal-making potential.
Kottman said this could occur, but that there remains a strong audience for networking and deals throughout the attendance base.
“We’re not going to sign up the CEO of Pfizer,” Kottman said. “Our primary target is the small- to medium-sized biotech because typically the big guys already have their network in place.”
Kottman also noted the industry trend towards in-licensing and out-licensing by mid-sized biotechs, which he said highlights the need for meetings and deals outside of Big Pharma and the major VC firms.
For many emerging companies that have yet to make a name for themselves, the platform will offer 24/7 support at the conferences and beyond, if they can’t physically attend.
To date, meet.bio has been funded internally by one.bio. Kottman says the eventual aim is to grow the number of premium subscriptions to a point where it can run an annual profit. One.bio is also talking to additional investors — if anyone wants to connect with them during BioWeek.
“J.P. Morgan is kind of a proof of concept,” Kottman said. “There is a lot more to come.”
Additional functionalities, such as a newsfeed and groups are underway, along with a plan to expand beyond the life sciences.