ERBI, the not-for-profit membership company for international life science and healthcare companies, and the London Biotechnology Network (LBN), the business network for London-based life science organisations, have recently, announced a merger. To operate under ERBI name for a while, the combined group will launch a new identity soon at the ERBI Annual Conference on 2nd June. With the merger of the organisations a combination will be made comprising of ERBI's 350+ members with LBN's network of over 400 organisations across a wide range of life science industry sectors. The network represents a powerhouse of commercial, clinical and academic interests with at least 60% of the UK's life science industry base, four of the UK's five Academic Health Science Centres and three of the world's top six universities. The merger is to result in member benefits like a significantly larger pool of companies to support business-to-business interaction; a membership of a cluster of international size, relevance and visibility; and so on. The merged organisation is to have offices in both Cambridge and London, with Harriet Fear as CEO.
