Marco Polo 2026 / a US-China biotech conversation, on a mountain

​China's rise has changed the calculation for anyone building a biotech company in the US. If this is your world, we want to hear from you -- founders, early-stage investors, academics, people working on patent law, trial regulation, or basic-science funding. Especially if you've been to China recently to see their biotech ecosystem firsthand.

​We're curating a small group for a half-day hike up Mount Tamalpais, through Steep Ravine and out to the coast, with a picnic on Stinson Beach afterward.

​No talks or slides. We'll be running it quasi-unconference in style: a few opening questions, then have conversation continue on the trail. Door to door, 8:30am to 3pm.

​Itinerary

• ​8:30am - Breakfast, then board a shuttle in the city.

• ​9:00am - Over the Golden Gate and up Panoramic Highway. We'll open with the day's questions and quick introductions.

• ​9:45am - Trailhead at Pantoll. Short briefing, water and layers.

• ​10:00am - Into Steep Ravine for about two hours. Down through the redwood canyon, over the ladder in the boulders, then up to the coast. Some motivating questions for discussion:

  • ​What would you change about how the US funds/regulates drug development, if you had the pen?

  • ​What kind of company do you most want to see get funded that isn't getting funded?

  • ​For anyone who's been to China recently: what did you see there that changed how you think about drug development here?

• ​12:15pm - Down to Stinson Beach.

• ​12:45pm - Picnic on the sand. We close with one question: if you had the pen Monday, what would you do?

• ​1:45pm - Shuttle back.

• ​~3:00pm - Back in SF.