You should be hearing a lot about 311 – and we don’t mean the Omaha, Neb. rock band or number to access non-emergency municipal services.

#311 refers to the Minnesota Pavilion number at BIO 2015, June 15-18 in Philadelphia. Already, 20 biotech champions will participate at #311 with DEED and the University of Minnesota and Mayo Clinic/DMC, both premier sponsors, to tell the powerful Minnesota story. The Minnesota contingent will be a force to be reckoned with.

BIO represents more than 1,100 biotech companies, academic institutions, state biotech centers and related organizations across the U.S. and more than 30 other countries. BIO members are involved in the research and development of innovative healthcare, agricultural, industrial and environmental biotech products.

Here’s why you should seriously consider attending: “I always get something from BIO – and it continues to give all year long,” said Mill Creek Life Sciences president and co-founder. “There’s no other venue like it for meeting people from the state and all across the globe. I signed a major supplier I met at lunch at BIO. There’s no other way I could have found this supplier other than through BIO.”

BIO makes it easy to meet potential partners. Minnesota exhibitors will be given free access to the BIO Partnering System, which you can use to set up private meetings with potential partners and customers. That’s just one of the benefits of attending.

Basically, there’s no other venue like it, you’ll meet and potentially make key partners, and the connections you make will help your startup grow.

Minnesota companies have given the world many life-saving, life-improving, and life-changing firsts (the implantable cardiac pacemaker, mechanical heart valves, and implantable infusion pumps to name a few) in no small part because of the emphasis companies and educational institutions put on research and development. Minnesota's international reputation as a leader in the biosciences goes back decades.

Today, some of the world’s most innovative medical device companies, like Medtronic, St. Jude Medical and Boston Scientific, have a significant presence here, and some are top employers in the state.  Minnesota exported $3.7 billion in medical and optical equipment and supplies to countries around the world in 2014. China (at $469 million), Belgium (at $461 million) and Japan (at $411 million) were top country markets for these products in 2014.

Continue the tradition and sign on. Questions? Contact Sarah Walbert, Minnesota Trade Office, at Sarah.Walbert@state.mn.us or 651-259-7482.