Networking in the NYC Biotech Community

Regular readers of this blog know that I regularly attend (and occasionally blog about) networking events I attend. Through networking, I use skills that are different from those I use in the office, I get exposed to new technologies and ideas, I meet great people, and I have formed some long-term friendships.

For several years, one of the events that I attended regularly was LabtoWallStreet. L2WS held quarterly molecular mixers for the NYC area life sciences community. Usually, these events were held at Cacophony, a townhouse in the mid-50s and were attended by investors, tech transfer folks and service providers. On more than one occasion, the events turned into mob scenes overrun by life sciences grad students looking for jobs. It got so bad, students were banned. I met some great people at L2WS and I miss the event.

Last year, I started attending the Health 2.0 and the NYC Bio meetup. Both brilliant for seeing new health care technologies and for networking. The Health 2.0 Meetup focused more on digital technologies applied to health, while the NYC Bio meetup focused on bio-entrepreneurship. In both cases, I’ve met and become friends with some tremendous people.

But here’s the thing: The last L2WS was in December of 2008. The last NY Biotech Meetup was held December of 2008. That means there aren’t any informal networking for biotech any more.

(There are plenty of formal events. The annual NYBA meeting and Interphex are being held as we speak and there are always investor-related bioscience events. Here’s the NYC Bioscience Initiative’s calendar.)

I’ve spoken to the organizers of the Biotech Meetup and one of the sponsors of L2WS to figure out how I can help fill the void. Instead of just complaining about the lack of meeting, I hope to help remedy the situation. Stay tuned.