Two dozen life science startups affiliated with the University of California at Berkeley were on display this week during the 42nd Annual J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference.

The conference, which kicked off Monday and ran through Thursday, is billed as the health care industry’s largest investment gathering and inspires hundreds of concurrent satellite conferences and events.

One such event Tuesday served as an introductory gala for the UC Berkeley life science entrepreneurs.

“The first-ever Berkeley Bio Startup Showcase featured 24 of the most exciting startups from Berkeley from campus partners Bakar Labs, the Bakar Fellows Program, the Innovative Genomics Institute, Berkeley SkyDeck, and the LSEC Venture Grant Program,” said Darren Cooke, executive director of Berkeley’s Life Sciences Entrepreneurship Center, which hosted the event.

“[W]e hosted 250 in-person attendees, but because of limitations on venue size, over 500 people were left on the waitlist, and unfortunately we had to turn away many interested parties who arrived without a ticket.” Darren Cooke, executive director of Berkeley Life Sciences Entrepreneurship Center

It was a chance for Berkeley scientists and innovators to hobnob with potential investors, partners, UC Berkeley alumni and “biotech enthusiasts,” according to the organizers’ website.

“As evidence of the popularity of the event, we hosted 250 in-person attendees, but because of limitations on venue size, over 500 people were left on the waitlist, and unfortunately we had to turn away many interested parties who arrived without a ticket,” Cooke said.

Some of the startups that participated are working on things like obesity treatments, drug delivery systems, new cancer treatments, gene therapies and sleep disorders.

A complete list of participants can be found online.

“San Francisco and the Bay Area are dynamic and innovative business centers. That is why we’re so thrilled to be hosting the J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference here for our 42nd year,” said Michael Gaito, JPMorgan Chase & Co.’s global head of healthcare investment banking. “We’re excited to be back and welcome the global healthcare industry and business community to our city.”

Kiley Russell writes primarily for Local News Matters on issues related to equity and the environment. A Bay Area native, he has lived most of his life in Oakland. He studied journalism at San Francisco State University, worked for the Associated Press and the former Contra Costa Times, among other outlets. He has covered everything from state legislatures, local governments, federal and state courts, crime, growth and development, political campaigns of various stripes, wildfires and the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.