After I wrote my previous blog post about the emerging biotechnology region around Austin, TX, one of the comments I received was about the importance of networking opportunities within a cluster or region.

So I am pleased to have been invited to a medical technology-life science networking event in New York City (NYC) organized six times a year by Ted King of Saddlerock Advisors, Wendy Brown of Merrill Lynch and John Lieberman of Perelson Weiner.

The event, later today, has a format of a featured speaker and presentations by three emerging companies that provides them with the opportunity to network and showcase their technology, new drugs or medical devices to investors, industry partners, academics and researchers.

This evening there is a presentation on the proposed changes to the FDA’s 510(k) clearance process for medical device approval.  This is the route by which the majority of medical devices come to market by showing they are comparable to an existing approved or marketed product.

The three featured companies include BioView (an Israeli technology company involved in cell imaging and automation of genetic testing), Cel-Sci (a Virginia based biotech company that has as immunotherapy product in development about to enter a global phase III clinical trial in head and neck cancer) and PatienTech (a company that develops elastic-sheet, pressure sensing systems that can be used with medical devices).

It will be interesting to see who attends, and whether the presentations by the companies are what I consider to be the typical investor “puff and fluff” presentations, or whether there is any meaningful discussion of science, marketing strategy and new product development.

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