Clust-ER Health at BIO International 2025: Growing ecosystems, connecting innovation

From 16 to 19 June 2025, Clust-ER Health participated in the BIO International Convention 2025, held this year in Boston, inside the Italian Pavilion coordinated by ITA – Italian Trade Agency – Los Angeles. A strategic opportunity to talk about projects, infrastructures and future visions that are making Emilia-Romagna a European point of reference in innovation for health, biotechnology and life sciences.

BIO International is one of the most important events at a global level for the sector: the 2024 edition had registered over 20,000 participants from more than 70 countries, 8,000 companies represented, and more than 57,000 one-to-one meetings organised through the official partnering platform. Also in 2025, the event confirmed its scope, configuring itself as a privileged showcase for companies, institutions, universities and clusters eager to get in touch with investors, international partners and policy makers.

During the four days, Clust-ER Health represented the regional ecosystem not only as a connection node between the different actors in the territory, but also as an active promoter of the BioHubs strategy, through which Emilia-Romagna is strengthening a network of infrastructures and skills to accelerate innovation in the biotech, pharmaceutical and medical sectors.

The speech held on Tuesday 17 June inside the Italian Pavilion allowed us to illustrate this systemic vision, which focuses on:

• public-private partnerships
• structured technology transfer
• development of digital and clinical skills
• support for personalised and sustainable medicine

A model that aims to strengthen the competitiveness of the territory, attract investments and consolidate the region’s positioning as a European hub for applied health research.

At the fair, the Clust-ER was also able to strengthen the dialogue with regional stakeholders present in Boston, such as Valpharma Group, a leading company in the pharmaceutical sector, and enhance the indirect participation of numerous cluster members, whose projects and technologies were discussed during networking moments, presentation pitches and B2B meetings.

BIO indeed represents a unique opportunity for:

• increase the international visibility of projects funded by the Emilia-Romagna Region
• explore scientific and industrial partnerships
• present to an international audience the value of regional innovation policies
• generate new business opportunities for innovative SMEs and university spin-offs

In a global context that increasingly requires integration between technological innovation, sustainability and public health, the participation of Clust-ER Health has strengthened the message of an ecosystem capable of getting involved, speaking the language of open innovation, and networking to grow.

We thank ITA – Italian Trade Agency for the excellent coordination, as well as the institutional, scientific and entrepreneurial partners who made it possible to participate in this international event.

We return from Boston with new contacts, ideas and suggestions that will enrich our daily work alongside members and territories.

The road to smarter, more personalised and sustainable health also passes through here.