Chamber to Showcase OKC as a Hotspot for Biotech, Retail

Chamber executives, entrepreneurs and local officials are preparing to attend two large conferences and pitch Oklahoma City as a premier destination for biotechnology and retail.

The BIO International Convention, hosted by Biotechnology Innovation Organization (BIO), attracts more than 14,000 attendees from the biotechnology and pharmaceutical sectors. Investors looking for new opportunities and promising partnerships also attend the event. This year’s convention is June 5-8 in Boston.

Once again, the Greater Oklahoma City Chamber is partnering with the Oklahoma Bioscience Association (OKBio) to host an exhibit booth at the event. Oklahoma-based bioscience and life science companies use the exhibit to meet with senior biotech executives, business development leaders, and investors from premier firms around the world.

“This is a fantastic opportunity to showcase the incredible work happening in Oklahoma City,” said Jeff Seymour, executive vice president of economic development for the Chamber. “It allows emerging companies to come face-to-face with people who can take their company to the next level. These types of partnerships are the key to Oklahoma’s continued success in the biotech industry.”

Dr. Henry Shin, co-founder and CEO of Excitant Therapeutics, attended last year’s BIO Convention in San Diego and said he found it extremely valuable.

“To be part of a bigger presence helped me get more exposure for my company,” Shin said. “Some of my new industry connections were possible only because my fellow OKBio participants were making referrals for other Oklahoma companies at the OKBio booth.”

Oklahoma companies and organizations attending this year’s event include:

• Ascend BioVentures, a pharmaceutical accelerator that guides promising drug candidates through the riskiest, early stages of development.
• Progentec Diagnostics, Inc. collaborates with research institutions including Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation (OMRF) to develop state of the art diagnostic tests.
• Echo Investment Capital, the corporate venture capital firm behind Wheeler BIO, is focused on investments in early-stage and growth start-up companies.

Oklahoma City will also have a strong presence at ICSC Las Vegas, the premier event hosted by ICSC, a member association for the marketplaces industry. Attendance for the annual event routinely tops 40,000. The conference brings together mall management firms, specialty leasing managers, retailers, entrepreneurs and store owners. This year’s event will be held May 21-23.

Tammy Fate, the chamber’s senior manager of retail development and recruitment, said ICSC is the best place to meet with retailers and developers looking to expand or relocate.

“Oklahoma City is one of the few places that is growing by leaps and bounds right now,” said Fate. “We’re now the 20^th largest city in the country. We have a strong local economy and a low cost of living. Those are all very attractive to leaders in the retail industry.”

Members of the Oklahoma City delegation will meet with new-to-market developers and retailers as well as existing developers who already have major investments in our market. Those include national firms such as Simon, The Outlet Resource Group (TORG) and Washington Prime Group, operator of Classen Curve.

“It’s important that we continue to cultivate those relationships, share our successes and point out the growth we’re seeing in Oklahoma City,” Fate said.

While at ICSC, the Chamber will showcase the city in its own exhibit space inside the Las Vegas Convention Center. The space includes two large meeting rooms equipped with monitors for business presentations. Oklahoma City Mayor David Holt will also host a lunch with brokers.

Fate said the ultimate goal is to set up a site visit.

“Many of these folks have never stepped foot in Oklahoma. We want to show them all we have to offer. This is a great place to do business and a fantastic place to live, work and raise a family. I’m excited to brag about Oklahoma City.”

Representatives from the Alliance for Economic Development will also attend the conference.