For those who may not have heard, BIO recently launched a new initiative: BIO BizLink . Powered by OnDeckBiotech, BIO BizLink is a valuable resource for connecting biotech and pharma with an unparalleled community of service providers - including pre-clinical and clinical Contract Research Organizations (CROs), Contract Manufacturing Organizations (CMOs) and regulatory consultants. On BIO BizLink, vendors maintain a no-cost company profile, including an overview of services, reviews provided by past clients, introductions to key personnel and background documents such as brochures and facility tours, and it’s free for biotechs and pharma companies to use.To provide you with more information on this initiative, we’ll be participating in an exciting new event with the science publication, Chemical & Engineering News (C&EN). On Wednesday, September 24, they’re hosting a free virtual conference, the C&EN Virtual Symposium: Advances in Drug Discovery and Development. You’ll find familiar names in their speaker roster, such as Matthew Herper of Forbes, Alexander “Sasha” Kamb of Amgen, Deborah Dunsire of Forum Pharmaceuticals, Martin Leach of Biogen Idec, and other great panelists from universities, hospitals, and biopharma alike. Click here for the full 9/24 agenda. What exactly is a virtual symposium? It’s a live, streaming conference delivered to your desktop, and contains all the usual elements you’d find at an onsite event. BIO BizLink will be featured in the exhibit hall, which you can visit to find resources on the service, and speak directly to one of our customer service representatives. The networking lounge allows you to click around a virtual lobby, chat with other attendees and speakers, and of course, the panels will discuss the latest and most innovative technologies and advances in this important biotech landscape.As mentioned, the event is free to attend for all, and currently has over 5,200 attendees signed up. You can register online at: bit.ly/1teDItu Finally, for a preview of the event and further insight into drug discovery, read up on C&EN interviews with their panelists , including Greg Verdine of Warp Drive Bio and Jennifer Leeds of Novartis Institutes for BioMedical Research . We look forward to seeing you next week!