Cure
Overview
From JPM Week and BIO to ASCO, AACR, and HIMSS, these biotech and life sciences events are where founders, investors, and industry leaders will connect and spot emerging trends in 2026.
Annual conferences offer a direct way to connect with the people shaping the biotech and life sciences industry. They expose you to emerging science and new technologies while also providing insight into market trends and opportunities to build relationships with potential partners, investors, and top talent.
“Conferences are one of the best resources to meet or renew relationships with individuals from across the industry-specific business lifecycle, from investors, service providers, customers, and strategic partners,” said Carter Caldwell, MBA, an entrepreneur, investor, and the Penn Medicine Co-Investment Program Director at the University of Pennsylvania. “Because most events are highly focused, either by sector or business stage, they bring together the right people—those deeply engaged in biotech and life sciences. This concentration makes it far easier when key individuals are in the same room.”
For founders, life cycle–specific conferences, such as those geared toward startups or growth-stage companies, offer direct access to investors actively seeking new opportunities, he added. “These events reduce the reliance upon finding the right warm introductions, because they create an environment where meaningful, and potentially valuable, conversations can begin organically.”
According to Caldwell, The primary biotech/life science gathering is the annual JP Morgan week. “It’s a behemoth of a week and there’s no need to secure one of the few invite-only tickets to the actual JP Morgan conference because an estimated 175,000 biotech and life science professionals come to the city for all the various satellite events that last from morning to night each day. With some advance planning, the JPM week magnet presents entrepreneurs with an ideal opportunity to meet face to face with industry-specific contacts.”
Caldwell said there are several other conferences that are extremely valuable, including BIO and RESI. “When you have identified a specific target indication, then there can be even more targeted gatherings, like the American Society of Hematology’s ASH Annual Meeting for cancer-focused research and drug development, the American Society of Clinical Oncology’s annual ASCO conference, and the American Association for Cancer Research’s annual AACR event, provide good opportunities.”
Even rare diseases have indication-specific events, he said, such as the National Organization for Rare Disorder’s NORD Rare Disease Summit, and the annual World Orphan Drug Congress.
How to Prepare For an Upcoming Conference
Attending a conference is about more than just showing up, though. According to Caldwell, preparation is critical. “If attendee lists are available, use them to identify investors who fit one’s stage and sector. If not, research the investors and service providers likely to attend based on the region or event focus. This makes life a lot easier because you can be laser-focused on tracking down the specific target investor, as opposed to treading water trying to connect with every investor when many don’t focus on a specific stage or sector.”
After the advanced research, Caldwell said preparing the elevator pitch is vital. Also, try doing a dress-rehearsal with multiple people who can identify pitfalls well in advance of the conference. This will give you time to revise and practice, he said.
“I’ve been a VC for 19 years focused on technology and biotech/life sciences, and the elevator pitches vary wildly,” said Caldwell. “Start with the real-world results of the product immediately followed by which companies (or user-group) are customers or pilot customers. When you are in the seed stage, the best elevator pitch starts with what the research shows, name the target indication, and recent exits in that industry. You can do that in 30 seconds and capture an investor’s attention.”
J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference
The J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference is the premier annual gathering for the global health community. The event is designed to connect biotech executives, investors, and healthcare leaders for networking and strategic deal-making, as well as to showcase industry innovation. The conference plays an outsized role in shaping industry conversations each year, from where capital is flowing to how new technologies are influencing drug development and care delivery. Because attendance at the main event is invite-only, many founders and operators focus on the surrounding satellite meetings and off-site gatherings. These events create meaningful opportunities to connect with investors, partners, and peers who are already in town, making the week valuable even without direct access to the core conference.
Date: January 12-15, 2026
Location: San Francisco, CA
Purpose: Invite-only event connecting companies, investors, and healthcare leaders
Scale: 8,000+ attendees; 550 global healthcare companies Cost: Not applicable
Biotech Showcase
The Biotech Showcase is an investor conference that is designed for private and micro-mid-cap biotech companies in platform technologies, therapeutics, digital health, devices, diagnostics, and more. This conference gives these companies the opportunity to connect with investors and biopharmaceutical executives. Meanwhile, the more than 400 presenting companies range from seed-stage startups to established multinational corporations.
Date: January 12-14, 2026
Location: San Francisco, CA
Purpose: Designed for investor–biotech partnering
Scale: About 3,200 global biopharma leaders, including 1,200+ investors and over 6,000 one-on-one meetings Cost: $1,500 and up, depending on category (investors and press may not have a fee)
RESI Conference
RESI Conference (Redefining Every Stage of Investment) is a series of regional events meant to connect start-ups, investors, and strategic channel partners in multiple categories including drugs, devices, diagnostics, and digital health. Both the earliest stage start-ups—those seeking grants, seed, and angel capital—and the early-stage start-ups seeking series A and B funding will find this conference useful.
Date: January 12-13; March 23; June 22; September 22-23
Location: San Francisco, CA; San Diego, CA; Boston, MA; Europe
Purpose: Early-stage life sciences funding
Scale: 1700+ investors and strategic partners; 1300+ startups and fundraising executives; 250+ service providers and tech hubs Cost: Starts at roughly $795 for an audience pass and goes up depending on location and package (investors may not have a fee)
AGBT General Meeting
AGBT General Meeting brings together researchers, innovators, and global leaders. During the meeting, significant scientific advances are announced and showcased. It also fosters partnerships, investments, and acquisitions. Overall, heads of labs, institutions, businesses, financial analysts and other stakeholders come together to advance the field and drive innovation.
Date: February 23-26
Location: Orlando, FL
Purpose: Connecting those in genomics, sequencing, and omics
Scale: 1,000+ attendees; 150+ universities and governments; 280+ companies Cost: There is a waitlist for 2026 but you can also submit a late breaking abstract
Festival of Biologics USA
Festival of Biologics strives to bridge the gaps between the life science community, academia, and industry by bringing together senior biologics professionals to showcase their research, collaborate on challenges, forge new connections, and advance the industry to improve patient health. To accomplish this, the conference offers interactive workshops, panel discussions, and keynotes.
Date: March 4-5
Location: San Diego, CA
Purpose: Focuses on antibody engineering and biologics R&D
Scale: 2,000+ attendees; 300+ speakers Cost: $1,495 to $3,995 depending on package
HIMSS Global Health Conference and Exhibition
The HIMSS Global Health Conference is arguably the world’s largest event for healthcare information and technology. It brings together clinicians, executives, policymakers, and tech vendors to explore digital health innovations, share knowledge, and build partnerships. The conference, which focuses on AI, health equity, data, and interoperability, provides education, networking, and new solutions to solve global health challenges.
Date: March 9-12
Location: Las Vegas, NV
Purpose: Designed for those focusing on data, workflow, AI, and more
Scale: 25,000 healthcare pioneers from 88 countries Cost: $1,495 to $2,095 for early bird pricing
AACR Annual Meeting
The American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) Annual Meeting is the world's premier cancer meeting, covering the entire spectrum of cancer research as well as an opportunity for scientists, clinicians, other health care professionals, survivors, patients, and advocates to come together and share the latest advances in cancer science and medicine. Overall, this annual meeting highlights everything from population science, prevention, and cancer biology to clinical studies, survivorship, and advocacy.
Date: April 17-22 Location: San Diego, CA
Purpose: Discovery-to-translation oncology forum
Scale: 23,000+ attendees Cost: Cost varies from $80 for students to $2,300 for industry non-members
SynBioBeta
SynBioBeta brings together bio entrepreneurs, engineers, and investors for three days of talks, deal-making, and hands-on exploration of programmable biology. The goal is to discover the latest technologies and business trends and to build partnerships. They offer structured 1:1 meetings, round tables, and networking receptions to connect directly with investors and Fortune 500 leaders while also exploring cutting-edge AI models, DNA synthesis, automation platforms, and biomanufacturing breakthroughs.
Date: May 4-7
Location: San Jose, CA
Purpose: Developing partnerships and creating visibility for synthetic biology and biomanufacturing
Scale: 2,000+ attendees; 6,000+ one-on-one meetings; 200+ speakers Cost: $495 expo pass, $1,595 conference pass, $9,995 premier pass
Bio-IT World Conference & Expo
Bio-IT World Conference & Expo is a global event designed to showcase technologies and analytic approaches, accelerate science, and drive the future of precision medicine. It brings together leaders from biopharma, clinical research, healthcare, informatics, and technology to exchange ideas, showcase solutions, and build collaborations. With 200+ sessions, the conference offers opportunities to explore everything from AI, generative AI, and machine learning to multimodal and real-world data strategies, FAIR/Open Source practices, pilot programs, new product launches, and biotech investment trends.
Date: May 19-21
Location: Boston, MA
Purpose: Designed for AI/ML, computational biology, digital research and development
Scale: Nearly 3,000 attendees; 200+ sessions Cost: $299 to $2299, depending on classification
ASCO Annual Meeting
As the largest clinical oncology meeting in the world, the ASCO Annual Meeting will feature over 200 sessions complementing Dr. Eric Small’s Presidential theme, The Science and Practice of Translation: Improving Cancer Outcomes Worldwide. Attendees will have access to the Plenary Session, featuring the meeting's most practice-changing and clinically relevant abstract presentations and discussions. There will also be Oral Abstract Sessions, Rapid Oral Abstract Sessions, and Clinical Science Symposia. The meeting also features Case-Based Panels and poster presentations.
Date: May 29 - June 2
Location: Chicago, IL
Purpose: Designed for innovators in oncology
Scale: 44,000 attendees Cost: $255 to $1935 depending on date registered, membership status, and classification
BIO International Convention
Touted as the largest and most comprehensive event for biotechnology, the BIO International Convention includes the full ecosystem of biotech. Organizers explain that it is the place to reconnect with your “why”—or the place where you remember your goal is to improve lives. It also fosters building relationships and making connections through their proprietary BIO Partnering meeting-scheduling platform, which is available with the Premier Access registrations.
Date: June 22-25
Location: San Diego, California
Purpose: Global biotech partnering
Scale: Approximately 21,500 industry leaders from around the world
Cost: Starts at $600 to $3,950 depending on membership, access, and date of registration
ADLM Clinical Lab Expo (formerly AACC)
ADLM, which is the leading association for laboratory professionals, holds an annual clinical lab expo to discuss the latest science and prepare for what's next in the field. Attendees have the opportunity to connect with leaders in clinical chemistry, molecular diagnostics, mass spectrometry, translational medicine, lab management, and other areas of laboratory medicine. These connections and information sharing is done through lectures, plenary sessions, scientific sessions, and roundtable sessions
Date: July 26-30
Location: Anaheim, CA
Purpose: Focuses on clinical diagnostics and lab tech for diagnostic startups, CLIA partners, assay validation, etc.
Scale: 800+ exhibitors; 200+ new products/services; 250 educational opportunities Cost: Registration fees will be announced in February when registration opens
HLTH USA
HLTH USA brings together professionals from pharma, tech, AI, health systems, and more to showcase healthcare and wellness innovation and how it may transform health. This year’s event will focus on ROI and accelerating goals. The overall goal of the conference is to bring together the healthcare ecosystem while creating “micro-experiences” tailored to participants.
Date: November 15-18
Location: Las Vegas, NV
Purpose: Go-to-market, partnerships, and exposure for healthcare innovation, life sciences, digital health, etc
Scale: 12,250 attendees; 4,300 c-suite executives; 500+ speakers Cost: Pricing for 2026 to be announced
