Partnership with Illinois’ biotechnology industry organization opens up third largest U.S. life science and healthcare industry cluster to global innovation

Chicago, Illinois (April 19, 2023) — Chicago ARC Executive Director Kate Merton and Illinois Biotechnology Innovation Organization president and CEO John Conrad announced a Memorandum of Understanding to connect Illinois’ corporations to top startups through the Chicago ARC venture collaborative. iBIO is the life sciences industry association that represents the 91,000 life sciences employees in Illinois.

The agreement was announced at an event co-hosted by the Israel Economic Mission and the Chicago ARC as part of the Health Information and Management Systems (HIMSS) conference. The partnership aims to make Illinois the U.S. hub for equitable healthcare transformation and grow the state’s biotechnology industry. Together, Chicago ARC and iBIO will promote Illinois as a premier U.S. biotechnology market, integrate and match startups with the iBIO membership and collaborate on equity and inclusion initiatives.

“Accessing the best innovation from around the globe is vital to the competitiveness and growth of our state’s strong biotechnology industry,” said John Conrad, iBIO president and CEO. “Working together with Chicago ARC will attract startups to Illinois and enable iBIO to streamline connecting our significant corporate base to groundbreaking solutions.”

Opening up the nearly $100 billion in Illinois biotechnology economic output to startups adds to the Chicago ARC partner network that represents over 750 healthcare delivery and training facilities across Chicago, Illinois and the Midwest United States.

“Getting access to market and customer feedback is invaluable to health technology startups looking to enter the U.S. healthcare market,” said Kate Merton, Chicago ARC executive director. “Partnering with iBIO and its membership to enable corporate-startup engagement creates a win-win that attracts new companies to Illinois while creating a competitive advantage for Illinois biotech community.”

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