Inaugural OUTbio on Capitol Hill

Last week, I had the opportunity to join OUTbio’s first reception on Capitol Hill – an event that brought together OUTbio, the biotech industry’s largest LGBTQ+ professionals group, members of Congress, and many friends to elevate and empower biotech professionals and honor congressional champions.

This impressive community came together to support the next generation of LGBTQ+ leaders in biotech and I was grateful for the opportunity to share my own story of why I’m passionate and proud to represent OUTbio and the biotech industry. Here’s what I shared with those in the room:

I came out as gay teenager in 1991 in San Francisco. Little did I know then that my life and career would be shaped by an epidemic and a society that feared the LGBTQ+ community. 

When I came out, I was deeply impacted by the countless faces of young men who were listed weekly in the obituary pages of the Bay Area Reporter newspaper due to the HIV/AIDS epidemic.

Then one day, in the summer of 1998, I remember the tears in my eyes as I read the front page, “NO OBITS TODAY.” Today HIV/AIDS is managed as a chronic disease with men and women expecting to live a full life.

That is the impact of advocacy and the life sciences. The fact that we can now treat HIV/AIDS as a chronic disease is because of fearless and courageous advocates that gave voice to this community, because of the incredible collaboration between government and this industry, and because of the accelerated approval pathway which was born out of the HIV/AIDS crisis.

And yet, today, the LGBTQ+ community faces fear and hatred. In fact, I see the same fear and hatred against this community that I saw 30 years ago when I marched on Washington for gay rights in 1993.

OUTbio is essential to ensure that our community has a place to feel safe while we work toward new treatments for diseases that affect all people. OUTbio gives visibility to the hundreds of companies in biotech who are passionate about human rights. The need to deliver on pressing health issues remains today; issues like microbial resistance, issues like health equity, and issues like kidney disease that disproportionately affect the LGBTQ+ community, as well as rare cancers like the one I was diagnosed with as a young man.

I believe in the science and the innovation that this industry and future leaders will bring because I’ve seen in the span of a decade despair turn to hope.

I believe that we can help address the challenges we face as a society if we take the opportunity we have to work together and learn from the lessons of an earlier generation – with a focus on collaboration and advocacy.

That’s why I’m so proud to be the founder and one of the co-sponsors of OUTbio San Diego because I see the future generation passionate about addressing health issues. I am proud as a CEO to be working to transform care for rare diseases – and I see a glimmer of hope in the eyes of the rare disease families for the work that we do.

As an unapologetic advocate, I urge everyone in this room to support the next generation of biotech leaders who are looking to make this world healthier and brighter for all.

We’ve come a long way, and we have a long way to go. I have no doubt that with leaders and advocates like Congresswoman Angie Craig, co-chair of the Congressional Equality Caucus and one of the nine openly LGBTQ+ members of the US House of Representatives, who was recognized as OUTbio’s first Congressional champion– we are well on our path to delivering even more innovation, together. Congresswoman Craig was recognized for her support of the LGTBQ+ community, her leadership on the Equality Caucus, and her work to support innovation in healthcare and public health policy.

I also want to thank Congressman Scott Peters who came up with the idea of bringing everyone together for this event, Paul Hastings, president and CEO of Nkarta, Inc and founder of OUTbio San Francisco, Ramsey Johnson, founder and president of OUTbio, and the Biotechnology Innovation Organization for bringing this inspiring group of people together on Capitol Hill. #OutonCapitolHill #OUTbio #BIO