Built with Biology 2022

Events

Apr 26

I'm back from this year’s Built with Biology conference.

Here's a few key takeaways from people I saw on stage and spoke to:

"We all have a shared interest in the success [of biotechnology.] As we mature, we need to revisit the ideas necessary to be bold about building with biology. We need to make sure everyone can participate and learn. We must have constant conversations to show we and our solutions are trustworthy." - Megan Palmer, Ph.D., Building Global Leadership in the Age of Biology

“The pandemic showed the biotechnology industry could mobilize in a huge way. Despite [government] neglecting biology and pandemics, the biotech community understood the pandemic could be solved. Our response would have been inconceivable 5 years ago. Now, let's help policymakers see their problems through the lens of biology so we can offer our transformational responses.” - Ryan Morhard, Ginkgo Bioworks

"For the past 5 years, the question was: Could you scale? Today the question is: Do we have the capacity to do what we've demonstrated in the lab, at pilot, at demo scale, and at the big scale necessary for food and nutrition." - Alex Lorestani, Geltor

"The scale and impact of biotechnology is larger than people can imagine. It can solve problems that appear unsolvable and will generate millions of jobs. Enormous industries are being disrupted, and the ones being disrupted will fight the hardest. But they will end up losing." - Eric Schmidt, ex-CEO Google, Founder, Schmidt Futures

"Livestock agriculture yields are abysmal and terrible for the environment. We approached cultured meat as farmers, looking for ways to cut costs while growing cells in a small space. Today, we can maximize yields and lower costs by a factor of 100. Our [meat] product is safe, yummy, and affordable." - Niya Gupta, Fork & Goode

“To win the race agains the climate clock, we need ideas, diversity… and engineered biology to stop climate change and feed the planet, the same way we worked to stop the pandemic.”
- Ivan Jaubert, Dupla Helica

"Synthetic biology is demonstrating real benefits beyond the innovation narrative. The next few years will prove this more clearly." Andras Forgacs, Modern Meadow

"What are our positive dreams? We need to talk about the positive dream. The better we are at articulating where we want to go and what we want to leave behind, the sooner we get there." Drew Endy, Ph.D., Stanford University

The mood was extremely positive and upbeat. It was great to see the progress being made and to catch up with friends.

If you want to dig in beyond the conference, you might want to read The U.S. Bioeconomy: Charting a Course for a Resilient and Competitive Future or A Guide to DeSci, the Latest Web3 Movement (which I’ll admit to only having skimmed and will likely report on in the near future).