Last Monday at MassBio’s Digital Health Impact 2019 event, Gov. Charlie Baker announced a new biotech investment initiative totaling $6.7 million. The $6.7 million in grants will be awarded through the Massachusetts Life Sciences Center to nine biotech projects focused on imaging, cancer, neuroscience, and drug discovery research.
Gov. Baker also hinted at a new legislation to help further efforts to create a digital health record database. The $6.7 million in investments in “data-driven, cross-sector” projects is the “first step in this particular direction,” Baker said.
Among the recipients are Brigham and Women’s Hospital, where Dr. Kevin Elias is researching neural networks for early diagnosis of cancers in women, the Broad Institute, where researchers are trying to use big data sets to improve approaches to cardiovascular diseases, and a UMass Medical Center study into the use of artificial intelligence for high-resolution neurovascular imaging to improve stroke treatment.
Gov. Baker also shared the news that the HLTH conference, a national health innovation conference, would be leaving Las Vegas for Boston in 2021. Conference organizers first announced the move earlier this summer, and Baker said it will help Massachusetts expand its footprint in the digital health sector.
According to the website of the conference, its 2019 edition is planned for October at the MGM Grand Conference Center and at Caesars Forum in 2020, but it will move to the Boston Convention & Exhibition Center in October 2021.
Massachusetts is “an ideal location for digital health firms” because of health institutions, academic research and development centers and access to venture capital, Baker said. McKinsey estimates the digital health sector will grow to become a more than $350 billion industry by 2025, according to the administration.
Another exciting news announcement from the 2019 Digital Health Impact conference was the public release of a report on digital health prepared by the Digital Health Council (created by Gov. Baker and chaired by Housing and Economic Development Secretary Michael Kennealy and Vertex CEO Jeffrey Leiden). The report tracks the progress of the Massachusetts Digital Health Initiative, a public-private effort launched in January 2016 to boost the rapidly growing sector that sits at the intersection of healthcare and technology.
Baker called the report the administration’s “roadmap” for helping the diverse digital health industry grow in Massachusetts. And as the digital health sector grows, so does Boston’s ability to host top-level Biotech events. The city is a desired destination for a growing number of meetings and conventions with a focus on life sciences and high tech thanks to its incredible concentration of industry leaders and uniquely rich base of professionals to support their programs. In 2018 alone, we hosted 54 high tech and 40 medical/health care events at the BCEC and the Hynes and many of them achieved record-breaking attendance.
To learn more about the medical and biotech industry in Boston, check out our industry profile fact sheet in the Meeting Planner Toolkit. Or discover more Wicked Good Reasons to bring your event to Boston in the Boston section of our website.
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