Ropes & Gray at 2025 BIO International Convention

Event
June 17, 2025

Join Ropes & Gray for our annual reception during the 2025 BIO International Convention in Boston. Connect with fellow life sciences industry leaders for an evening of networking and delicious food and drinks.  We look forward to seeing you there!

Woods Hill Pier 4
300 Pier 4 Blvd.
Boston, MA 02210

Tuesday, June 17, 2025
4:15 PM-5:15 PM EST


We are pleased to announce that Hannah England will be a panelist in the following breakout sessions at the BIO Convention. We encourage all attendees to participate.

Bridging the Biodata Gap: Revolutionizing AI's Impact in Biopharma by Creating ”Digital Twins” of the Natural World

Date: Tuesday, June 17
Time: 4:15 PM-5:15 PM

Biopharma’s ability to create new drugs has depended, from the start, on our collective knowledge of Earth’s genetic biodiversity. While many existing datasets have sought to describe the world, they have traditionally remained small and unrepresentative. This has put a hard ceiling on what AI can achieve in biopharma. Some companies, though, are going big, REALLY big – creating “digital twins” of the natural world at scale. This is an entirely new approach to data collection in biopharma. By applying new classes of foundational models, these companies are capturing a universe of hidden biological signals once invisible to biopharma. In turn, this has resulted in the design of genomes and proteins with unprecedented novelty, controllability, and performance. In this panel, the participants will explore the revolutionary impact, from the lab to new IP, of these new platforms in bridging the AI data gap and how biopharma is being transformed.

Panelists:

  • Hannah England, Partner, Ropes & Gray LLP
  • John Finn, PhD, Chief Scientific Officer, Basecamp Research
  • Patrick Schwab, PhD, Senior Director of Machine Learning and AI, GSK
  • Ashley Zehnder, DVM, PhD, Co-Founder and CEO, Fauna Bio

Moderator:

  • Chelsea Sumner, PharmD, NALA Healthcare AI Startups Lead, NVIDIA

Structuring Partnerships for Success in Vaccine Development

Date: Wednesday, June 18
Time: 10:15 AM-11:15 AM

What makes a partnership work in vaccine development? When is it the right stage to partner programs? How do you identify strategic partner fits? With its own unique ecosystem, vaccine development and partnerships can bring a set of challenges not always seen in the broader biopharma space. A handful of companies are taking on these challenges and laying the groundwork for success. In this panel, vaccine partnering veterans and leaders will answer key questions on the highlights of and obstacles with vaccine development partnerships and investments based on their vast experience. They will provide invaluable strategic insights on how companies, large and small, can partner efficiently for success in developing and commercializing vaccines to help protect global health.

Panelists:

  • Tom Davidson, Vice Chairman, Co-President, and Global Co-Head of Investment Banking, Leerink Partners
  • Hannah England, Partner, Ropes & Gray LLP
  • Laurie Gery, Head of Business Development & Licensing, Vaccines, Sanofi
  • Elaine O’Hara, EVP, Chief Strategy Officer, Novavax
  • Ryan Spencer, Chief Executive Officer, Dynavax

Moderator:

  • Health reporter, TBC