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BIO 2025 didn’t feel like just another conference. It felt like an industry-wide test of resilience.  And we passed with flying colors.  

From the very beginning, there was electricity in the air. Smiles everywhere. Eye contact that held purpose. Conversations that felt like they could change something. There was something positively cathartic about seeing the industry coming together, from global pharma to local researchers. With attendees from as close as the other side of the Charles River to as far afield as Europe, Japan, Korea, Brazil, and the UAE, Boston’s Seaport was flooded with brilliant minds here to commit to our collective future. 

For LabCentral and our resident companies, the week launched with a spark. We hosted a new event, Luminescence: Rise & Fun(d), at BioMed Realty’s Seaport Science Center. More than 400 members of our community joined us to celebrate, network, and learn about the 37 resident companies presenting the diverse array of work they’re undertaking. Countless connections were made that morning, and together with our partners — CKD Pharm ($50K), Takeda, and Bayer (joint $200K LabCentral Lightning Pass) — we awarded $250,000 in lab space credit to remarkable early-stage biotech companies already doing the work. It wasn’t just an event. It was an ignition. 

The new format was a vision we’d been shaping for months. There was no guarantee it would land. But it did. And the energy in the room and the deep scientific engagement helped unlock something bigger: momentum. 

Then the floor opened. 

The Main Event — Optimism, Energy & Complexity 

I could feel it right away. The meetings were strong, deliberate, and charged with optimism. Everyone wanted to be there. LabCentral had over 30 scheduled meetings for the week, and more than a dozen that would happen naturally — spur-of-the-moment, high-energy, and high-value. People were ready. They weren’t just talking. They were building. 

Even as we collectively experienced that constructive energy, a truth was quietly setting in: the problems we came here to solve weren’t going to yield to optimism alone. We went in looking for how industry could step in differently — how partners could reshape their role to help early-stage biotech. And what we found was more complicated — a mix of desire, willingness, and strain. Industry partners — particularly suppliers, manufacturers, and service providers — are under pressure, too. Many are struggling in ways that aren’t always visible from the outside. The reality of the collective impact hit hard. 

And yet, within that complexity, there were signals of something bold. One meeting in particular stood out: a pharma company proposed an idea so closely aligned with something our team has been exploring for months that it felt like they must have reviewed our strategy deck. That moment — that alignment — was a bright spot. A reminder that there’s vision out there. Shared vision. 

Well, the market...  

Tuesday arrived. 
Same place. Same people. Different air. Almost every conversation began the same way: 

“Well, the market…” 

That phrase hung over the day like fog. It was in the eyes of founders, funders, and suppliers. Everyone knows what we’re up against. There’s no pretending anymore. The optimism of Monday had collided with the real, unrelenting pressures biotech is facing right now. Capital is tight. Companies are stressed. And even those who serve the ecosystem — equipment suppliers, research partners, and catalyzers like LabCentral — are digging deep to chart a course. The desire to move forward was still there. But it was heavy. 

And then came Tuesday night. 

The Termeer Institute hosted an event that became a turning point — not just for the week, but for the mood. It was full of current and alumni Termeer Fellows, many of them LabCentral residents. There was an interview with George Church, who, when asked a seemingly simple opening question, replied: 

“It’s complicated.” 

Those two words embodied the entire week, the challenges, the partnerships, the market, and the way forward. 

It’s all complicated. 

What happened next was powerful. We heard fellows speak candidly about the promise of collaboration toward a common goal. We saw the energy of a room full of people who still believe — who know that when we come together, when we help each other, when we stay close and focused, there’s no challenge we can’t meet. 

The energy in that room reignited the entire Seaport with life. 

Aligned to a Common Goal  

Wednesday carried that flame. Fewer smiles. More eye contact. People were locking in. It was the last full day for many, and the urgency was real. Every conversation felt like a decision point: 

What’s worth building? 
Who do we trust? 
What can we do together? 

There was no more hedging. Just a willingness to get things done. 

Thursday brought relief. 

We had done what we came to do. At LabCentral, we represented our resident startups. We shared their stories. We listened and responded. We found new ways to help them navigate what’s ahead. 

Over the course of BIO — before, during, and after the official conference — more than 300 people came through our doors at 700 Main Street in Cambridge. Delegations. Industry leaders. Future collaborators. And every one of them saw the same thing: a community that still works. A system that is still creating momentum. A network that hasn’t given up. 

BIO 2025 made something else clear: people were looking to LabCentral not just for partnership, but for perspective. 

“If LabCentral’s companies are struggling, what does that say about the rest of the sector?” 

“If you’re still standing, what’s working?” 

“What can we learn from what you’re seeing?” 

We’re not the sole solution; we are a signal. And people are listening. 

The Main Takeaway | Let’s Get to Work 

For me and the broader LabCentral team, the main takeaway is this: 

If we only try to mitigate losses, we will lose. 

If we act — even when the action is hard — we have a chance. 

Because innovation is a team sport. And return on innovation only happens when we invest in each other. 

This isn’t a time for watching. This is a time for doing. 

And biotech — for all its complexity — knows how to do hard things. 

BIO 2025 was a pressure test. 
What it revealed wasn’t fragility — it was fortitude and commitment. 

We know the stakes. We know the headwinds. 
And still, we show up. 
We believe in what’s possible. 

Because the world needs what we do. 
The future still needs biotech. 
And biotech still needs us to support each other. 

This moment won’t be solved without risk. Or challenge. Or loss. 
But the return on innovation is still there — if we build for it. 

Let’s get to work.