Looking back at life 2026: Connecting the life science ecosystem across regions
One week after life – the biomedical convention 2026, one thing is clear: the conference once again showed how powerful connected ecosystems are in driving biomedical innovation.
Around 500 participants from academia, startups, industry, investment and policy – mainly from the bioRN network, but with a growing number of attendees from beyond the region – made life a central platform for exchange, translation and collaboration.
Content-wise, the program ranged from synthetic biology and new platform technologies to translation and scaling, as well as dual use and societal resilience. The conference showcased not only scientific breakthroughs, but also concrete success stories from the regional and European ecosystem.
A strong signal of this growing connectivity was the presence of our partner clusters BioM Biotech Cluster Development GmbH, biomindz, nanodiag BW Zukunftscluster and BIOPRO Baden-Württemberg GmbH.
The International Investor Panel added a European perspective on the situation of founders, focusing on financing, scaling and internationalisation.
With the Young Scientists Pitch Competition, another core ambition of bioRN became visible: giving young researchers an early stage and increasing the visibility of their ideas. Congratulations to this year’s winner Markus Meier (Max-Planck Institute for Terrestrial Microbiology!
2026 is a special year for bioRN:
30 years of networking
30 years of ecosystem building
life – the biomedical convention as a visible expression of this journey.
See you back in 2027 in our vibrant life science ecosystem!
Hashtag#life2027
3rd February
Heidelberg Congress Center
