On the heels of Philadelphia’s second-largest convention of the year, the Wayne-based Pennsylvania Bio is celebrating success in luring the $43 million, nearly 16,000-strong BIO convention back in 2019.

Philly beat out bids from other biotech hubs like Boston, San Francisco, San Diego and Washington, D.C. to host BIO again much sooner than in the past. The city has hosted BIO in 1996, 2005 and 2015.

“The competition for such a large convention is strong and truly international,” Pennsylvania Biotechnology Association President and CEO Christopher P. Molineaux said in a Philadelphia Business Journal report. “Philadelphia is the right city to host [BIO] because of the vast and diverse life sciences presence in Pennsylvania.”

Among its tens of thousands of attendees and tens of millions in economic impact this year, the convention represented 47 of the 50 states and 69 countries across the world. It also hosted a record 29,279 partnering meetings during its seven days.

The Pennsylvania Convention Center will host BIO 2019 in June of that year.

Read more about BIO 2015 and plans for BIO 2019 in the Philadelphia Business Journal here.

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Top photo credit: Philly Nights via photopin (license)