The value of MassBio membership has never been higher. From financial savings through our Purchasing Consortium, to unparalleled professional development and networking events, to our on-the-ground support of early stage innovators and our non-stop public policy advocacy, our members benefit in myriad ways.
In 2018, we celebrated the State of Possible at the BIO International Convention to recognize the incredible contributions of those professionals that make up the Massachusetts life sciences cluster – a theme that will carry through 2019 as we rebrand our Annual Meeting to the State of Possible Conference. But we won’t just look back at our progress, we’ll also tackle the most pressing challenges facing our industry in 2019. We plan to strategize how Massachusetts can lead the future of digital health, and we’ll be convening a series of events and white papers on the Value of Health around prescription drug pricing and access.
Earlier this year, we made history as the first-ever trade association to hire an externally facing Director of Diversity & Inclusion whose job is to help our members plan and implement strategies to improve diversity at their companies. Next year, our D&I strategy will expand while being more focused on measuring progress and holding our members accountable.
We’ll continue to grow our existing support for members by adding new vendors and services to our Purchasing Consortium. We’ve hired a Vice President of Consortium Operations to lead this expansion and to ensure our members receive far more value and savings in the years ahead.
Our Innovation Services team is set to expand as well with more offerings for early stage entrepreneurs and by growing the outreach and engagement with academic medical centers and universities. And our public policy efforts will be more significant than ever as both state and federal policymakers have ramped up the frequency and intensity of their attacks on the life sciences industry.
Together, we’ll work to keep Massachusetts the best place in the world for life sciences and we’ll continue to put patients at the heart of everything we do.
Sincerely,
Robert K. Coughlin, President & CEO of MassBio