Inside biotech dealmaking

Experts break down strategies for business development at BIO 2026

Experts explained how to make the most of the exceptional partnering opportunities at the BIO International Convention, the world’s largest annual gathering of biotechnology stakeholders.

Why it matters: With 20,000 participants, the BIO International Convention, running June 22-25 in San Diego, will offer insights into the current state of biotech—and unbeatable networking. The 2025 Bio International Convention hosted 66,308 partnering meetings through the BIO Partnering™ platform.

Explaining how it’s done: Leaders from prospective licensees and biotech companies seeking investors shared their experiences with finding partners at past BIO International Conventions during a May 6 online webinar, part of a series of webinars on business development presented by BIO.

Seeking a “strategic fit”: While some participants hope to invest in innovations, and others are selling ideas, all webinar panelists said they are seeking a “strategic fit”—a partner at an appropriate stage of development whose line of business matches their own.

Getting to a second meeting requires clear data and honesty about challenges from companies, and an indication of real interest in the project from potential investors, panelists said.

The BIO Partnering™ platform, the main tool for partnering at the BIO International Convention, is designed to ensure more successful meetings. The bespoke system allows partners with matching needs to find one another and schedule meet-ups before BIO 2026 begins. New features added this year make BIO Partnering™ even more convenient.

Read more on Bio.News.

Register for BIO 2026.

Read: BIO Partnering™

Watch the webinar.

PDUFA: Why it matters for biotech innovators, FDA, and patients

Next year, Congress will reauthorize the Prescription Drug User Fee Act (PDUFA), which enables the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to collect user fees from the biopharmaceutical industry, allowing for efficient and more predictable reviews.

Why it matters: This law has provided critical stability for the agency and for the innovative companies navigating the review process. And it has enabled rigorous and efficient review of new treatments, bringing breakthroughs to patients sooner and bolstering U.S. biotech leadership.

How it works: Under PDUFA, companies pay two types of user fees to the FDA: an application fee for each New Drug Application or Biologics License Application they submit, and a program fee for each approved application they already hold. User fees support a wide range of FDA activities essential to bringing innovative treatments to patients.

Patients benefit: PDUFA has dramatically improved the speed and consistency of the drug review process, ensuring patients get access to innovative medicines sooner. The law has also made the United States a leader in approving new medicines.

Bottom line: Put simply, PDUFA provides patients with access to innovative treatments. Without it, the FDA would be less predictable, slower, and have fewer resources—resulting in fewer new therapies reaching patients.

Read more on Bio.News.

What Else to Read

Positive results for mRNA vaccines. Moderna’s influenza vaccine using mRNA technology performed 26.6% better than a standard flu vaccine in a phase 3 clinical trial involving 40,703 adults 50 and older, researchers reported May 6. This news came a week after a phase 1 trial on an experimental pancreatic cancer vaccine using mRNA enabled a 90% five-year survival rate among those who responded to the vaccine in a phase 1 trial, though the typical five-year-survival rate is 13%. Genentech is sponsoring a phase 2 trial.

Boot camp helps families seeking to drive rare-disease drug development. Filling a need described by advocates, Ultragenyx, a biotech advancing development of treatments for rare and ultra-rare conditions, seeks to provide families and patient advocates tools and resources for discovering a treatment. “Twice a year the company hosts Rare Bootcamp, a multi-day forum that helps families learn about conducting rare disease research and the important steps that go into developing a new drug. It also lets them connect with others going through a similar experience,” CNBC Cures reports. Read more here.

Beltway Report

Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Commissioner Martin Makary, MD was scheduled to testify on May 13 about the FDA’s 2027 budget request before the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies.

The Senate Homeland Security & Governmental Affairs Committee and Judiciary Committee are expected to mark up a resolution on a reconciliation bill to fund U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). A full Senate vote on the resolution could come next week.