Speaker Profile
Chief Business Officer, Specie Bio
Biography
Will Ferguson is a seasoned life sciences executive and Chief Business Officer (CBO) at Specie Bio, bringing over two decades of experience driving commercial growth, corporate strategy, and high-impact partnerships across the genomics and biopharma landscapes. Prior to joining Specie Bio, Will served as Vice President of Pharma/Biotech Collaborations at Illumina, where he led business development and strategic drug discovery partnerships. Throughout his career, he has held key executive and commercial leadership roles at companies including Agilent, Complete Genomics, Genuity Sciences, and BlueBee, demonstrating a proven track record of scaling global sales organizations and executing go-to-market strategies across life science tools, enterprise software, and discovery cohorts. A recognized dealmaker in the multiomics space, Will co-led the formation of the landmark Alliance for Genomic Discovery (AGD)—a 10-biopharma partnership sequencing 313,000 whole genomes—and directed the groundbreaking 1 Billion Cell Atlas initiative alongside AstraZeneca, Eli Lilly, Merck and Formation Bio.
Talk
Unlocking the world's untapped biospecimens and biodata
Patients contribute millions of biospecimens and biodata to research, yet many sit unused. BioExchange’s AI matches researchers with global providers holding over 8 million banked samples. Hear how BioExchange helped a top pharmaceutical company complete external comparator arm (ECA) studies by finding rare biomarker-matched patient samples and EMR data.
AI and Data Sciences Showcase:
Specie Bio
Specie Bio connects researchers to biospecimens and biodata across a global provider network with 8 million+ banked samples and 100 million+ annual patient visits, accelerating therapeutic and diagnostic development. BioExchange won the 2026 New Innovation Product Award from ISBER, the international biobanking society.
Session Abstract – PMWC 2027 Silicon Valley
The PMWC 2027 AI Company Showcase will provide a 15-30 minute time slot for selected AI companies to present their latest technologies to an audience of leading investors, potential clients, and partners. We will hear from companies building technologies that expedite the pre-clinical and clinical drug discovery and development process, accelerate patient diagnosis and treatment, or develop scalable systems framework to make AI and deep/machine learning a reality.
Davos of Precision Medicine
PMWC 2027 Program
January 27–29, 2027 · Santa Clara Convention Center
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In a few words.
PMWC is indeed The Davos of Biotech
PMWC Hall of Impact
Previous Speakers Include
Nobel laureates, technology founders, regulators, CEOs and scientific pioneers who have taken the PMWC stage.
