“Delaware’s DNA” Returns for Third Year: Region’s Most Important Life Science Conference Will

NEWARK, DE (April 10, 2025) – Top global life science industry leaders and the region’s most exciting new companies and innovative researchers will gather on Thursday May 8, 2025, for the third annual Delaware’s DNA: 2025 Life Science Conference.

Hosted by the Delaware BioScience Association (Delaware Bio), the full-day event at the Chase Center on Wilmington’s Riverfront will bring together leading life science sector executives, investors, economic development officials and others to share new technologies and business opportunities and examine how key trends and policies are shaping the industry’s future in Delaware and around the world. This marks Delaware’s DNA’s first appearance in Wilmington’s largest venue.

The diverse program will include rich panel discussions and insightful speakers, a return of the Innovation and Investor Showcase presented by the Innovation Space, and the first-time hosting of the Delaware Prosperity Partnership’s Startup302 life science pitch competition. The Delaware’s DNA Exhibitor Alley will feature 40 organizations and businesses serving the life science sector.

“This year’s exciting conference agenda, participants and partners confirm that Delaware has arrived as a major global life science hub,” said Michael Fleming, president and CEO of Delaware Bio. “We’re particularly pleased Delaware’s DNA will be held in the city of Wilmington for the first time – a perfect opportunity to showcase the innovation and impact our state and regional bioscience community is having on the country and our world.”

Global Leaders Discuss Issues and Opportunities
The event will kick off with a “Conversation with Life Science Leaders” BIO (Biotechnology Innovation Organization) CEO John Crowley and Joris Silon, AstraZeneca’s US Country President, Biopharmaceuticals. John and Joris will share unique insights into the policies, strategies and investments required to ensure the continued success and immense impact of the life sciences in Delaware and beyond.

Innovation and Investor Showcase Powered by The Innovation Space
In partnership with the Innovation Space, this year’s conference will again feature the “Innovation and Investor Showcase” with business updates from some of the region’s most innovative, fast-growing companies including Cellergy Pharma, Livestock Labs, Innovative Precision Health and Unsmudgeable. The Showcase will also include presentations from investors and strategic partners including Xontogeny, New York Blood Center Enterprises and Delaware Health Information Network.

Startup302 Life Science Pitch Competition
In partnership with the Delaware Prosperity Partnership, an exciting addition to this year’s conference will be the final pitches for the life sciences category of the 2025 Startup302 Pitch Competition. In Startup302’s first three years, more than 200 startups have applied, 37 awards have been granted for a total of $643,000. The three finalists Aeromedical Innovations, Fetal Therapy Technologies and Vasowatch, Inc. will compete for the 2025 prize, which includes $3,000-$25,000 in funding and access to mentors and valuable exposure.

Plenary Sessions Focus on Developing a STEM Workforce and Sparking Research-University Collaboration
Delaware’s DNA will feature the fireside chat “Bridging the Divide: Why University-Industry Partnerships Matter and How to Make Them Work” where Nicole Merli, Director of University & Industry Relations for University of Delaware/Delaware Bio, and Dr. John Swartley, Chief Innovation Officer at the University of Pennsylvania, discuss why business partnering with academia isn’t just a nice-to-have but a critical driver of innovation.

A panel discussion on workforce development will explore the creation of BioConnect DE, a new effort to strengthen Delaware’s STEM talent pipeline. Katie Lakofsky, Executive Director of BioConnect DE, Aaron Bass, CEO of EastSide Charter School, Jessica Hunt, Vice President and Head of Reagent Manufacturing of Siemens Healthineers and John Balchunas, Workforce Director of NIIMBL will highlight two signature initiatives, present fresh results of surveys and interviews of Delaware life science employers and address the actionable solutions to address the future talent needs for our industry.

Governor Matt Meyer to Address Delaware’s DNA
New Delaware Governor Matt Meyer is expected to share his vision for the future of the life sciences in Delaware as a driver of economic opportunity and improved public health.

Sponsors and Exhibitors

Leading life science enterprises from global companies to research institutes and economic development organizations are partnering with Delaware Bio to make Delaware’s DNA the biggest, most valuable event of its kind in state history. There is still time to join sponsors and exhibitors including Adesis, Advant-Edge Solutions, Airgas, ANP Technologies, AstraZeneca, Avantor delivered by VWR, Bancroft Construction Company, Beckman Coulter, Biolog, BioConnect DE, Biotechnology Innovation Organization (BIO), The Bonadio Group, Chestnut Run Innovation & Science Park, ChristianaCare Gene Editing Institute, Chubb, Clean Harbors, Cobalt Communications, Delaware Business Times, Delaware Division of Small Business, Delaware Health Information Network, Delaware Prosperity Partnership, Delaware Technology Park, Frontage Laboratories, Incyte, The Innovation Space, Jackson ImmunoResearch Laboratories, Keen Compressed Gas, LabWare, McCarter & English, MRA Group, Nemours, New York Blood Center Enterprises, NIIMBL, Pharma Resource Group, Prelude Therapeutics, QPS, Richards Layton & Finger, Scheer Partners and Whiting-Turner.

For conference agenda details, information on sponsorship and to purchase tickets, go to: https://www.delawarebio.org/page/2025-delawares-dna-life-science-conference

Details
Date: Thursday, May 8
Time: 9:00 am–6:00 pm
Location: Chase Center on the Riverfront, 815 Justison Street, Wilmington, DE 19801

About Delaware BioScience Association
The Delaware BioScience Association (Delaware Bio) is a catalyst for bioscience innovation in Delaware. We serve pharmaceutical and biotechnology firms, medical device manufacturers, agricultural biotech and chemical companies, research and testing companies, hospitals and medical institutions, academic partners and other organizations and companies that support them, with the goal of expanding our state’s vibrant science economy. Our more than 180 member companies and organizations are of every size, from global leaders to small start-ups, directly responsible for more than 12,000 innovation-based jobs vital to Delaware’s economic future.

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