Archive | May, 2017

RESI Partnering Opens Monday 5/22 – The Early Entrepreneur Gets the Meetings

18 May

By Michael Quigley, VP of Market Research, LSN

mike-2RESI Partnering goes live on Monday, enabling fundraising life science executives and the investors who fund them to request meetings with one another on the basis of mutual fit. By getting into the system on day one you have the opportunity of being the first to request meetings, thus increasing your chances of being considered and getting the best meetings possible.

Powered by LSN’s proprietary investor data, the RESI partnering platform offers you something no other conference provider can, qualified forward-looking data on what investors are looking for. This data is one of several ingredients in RESI’s secret sauce that enables us to make so many meaningful connections (over 1500 per event!) between fundraising executives and investors.

Just getting in early isn’t enough to secure the most meaningful meetings as possible. We have been studying our partnering analytics since RESI 1, and after 12 RESI events we have proved that….big surprise….the more meeting requests you send out, the more meetings you will secure. The chart below shows the relationship between requests sent and meetings confirmed at a previous RESI event. Science and data minded folks, see for yourself!

And if all that isn’t enough to get you sign up, note that if you sign up by Friday May 19th you can beat the $200 price increase. I hope to see you all buzzing in the partnering hall in San Diego this June 19th.

Click Here to Register Now

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Proposed Changes by China’s FDA Hold Major Implications for the Early Stage Life Science Space

18 May

By James Huang, Research Analyst, LSN

james-wpThe CFDA released a set of proposals on May 11th regarding major reforms in the Chinese regulatory and approval system. The series of proposals is designed to accomplish four major goals:

  1. Acceleration of Drug/Medical Device Review/Approval Process
  2. Reform of Clinical Trials Management
  3. Implementation of a drugs/medical devices lifecycle management system.
  4. Protect drug and medical devices innovators’ rights and interests.

From the many proposals presented, two key points stand out as potentially having a major impact on life science startups outside of China:

  • NHFPC will issue a rare diseases list and drugs/medical devices targeting these diseases will be eligible for a clinical trial waver and accelerated review. Drugs with orphan approval overseas will initially receive conditional approvals in China and only need minimal additional trials for full approval by the CFDA. Additionally, if investigational therapeutics or devices in the rare disease space show early clinical efficacy and predictable therapeutic benefit, they may receive conditional approval.
  • Applicants who submit CTA/INDs may proceed with clinical trials if the Chinese Centre for Drug Evaluation (CDE) does not send comments or a rejection notice within 60 working days.

The first proposal regards approval and use of orphan medications in China. The CFDA is currently proposing to establish an orphan and rare disease list and, additionally, therapeutics and devices that treat life-threatening conditions on this list can receive conditional approval if early or mid-stage data can predict clinical benefit for these therapeutics and devices. Furthermore, the CFDA also proposed that conditional approval be given to orphan therapeutics and devices that have already received approval in foreign countries, even if they have no clinical trial data in China. Instead, these therapeutics and devices would have to conduct confirmatory trials as directed by the CFDA to keep the conditional approval. Fierce Biotech delves a bit more into the implications of these changes here.

The implications of these changes for both investigational and marketed therapeutics and devices in the orphan space are huge since, if approved in their present form, these proposals would make it easier to access the Chinese market, a process which has been both time consuming and financially prohibitive historically.

The second proposal focuses on the review process.  A key highlight is the proposed change to allow Phase I clinical trials in China to begin if no comments or rejection has been received from the CFDA review committee 60 working days after the application has been submitted. This change combined with the orphan therapeutics change mentioned above means that orphan therapeutics can be sure to get on a fast track to testing and on the market very quickly.

However, whether all these proposals will be approved in their current state remains to be seen. Keep your eyes peeled for the CFDA’s announcement coming in June.

RESI San Diego: Venture Philanthropy Panel Announcement

18 May

By Christine A. Wu, Senior Research Analyst, LSN

chrsitine

Investors in venture philanthropy, such as foundations and specific family offices, have deep expertise that is often overlooked. Many venture philanthropic groups have a specific mission in a disease area that provides them enormous capacity to bring forward more than any entrepreneur can realize. Along with funding, venture philanthropic investors can provide patient access for underserved populations, specialize in assessing and tracking “positively impactful” technology in their particular field, and utilize their own relationships with traditional ventures in creative ways, among other initiatives.

LSN is pleased to announce a panel of five expert venture philanthropic investors for the RESI San Diego Conference on June 19th. The audience will have an exclusive opportunity to hear from:

Venture philanthropy investors maintain the genuine purpose of moving forward in the field of life science. Non-traditional investors such as these groups are great funding sources with incredible knowledge in their fields, while also taking inspirational strides to achieve their goals. Be sure not to lose track of the mission in life science, and not miss the opportunity of hearing how these panelists can help you with your philanthropic mission.

Register by Friday to save $200, be the first to request investor meetings on partnering, and hear from this fantastic panel!

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Hot Investor Mandate 1: Multi Family Office Makes Crossborder Investments in Digital Health

18 May

A multi family office based in Singapore and California invests in early-stage technology companies from pre-Series A to Series B, but has occasionally participated in later financing rounds. The firm’s typical allocation size ranges from $500K to $5M, but the firm has invested as little as $100K and as much as $15M. The firm is looking to make 3-5 investments per year with a preference for US-based companies especially in New York or Silicon Valley. However, the firm has made some investments in Asia and will look globally for innovative technologies.

For companies earlier than a Series B, the firm’s work as a VC is identical to that of any other leading VC, and the getting global element has more to do with helping founders get knowledgeable about global opportunities. At the Series B stage, market entry strategies become more relevant and the firm can help with both its partners’ experience and its networks with governments, enterprises and consumers.

The firm is most interested in tech-enabled startups and will consider digital health/healthcare IT start-ups within the life sciences sector. The firm looks for companies with an established product and some market traction. Within tech-enabled start-ups, the firm has primarily focused on companies with enterprise SaaS, consumer subscription, and marketplace business models.

The primary focus for the firm is finding management teams with which it has strong chemistry, as the firm expects to maintain a close relationship in an active role with its portfolio companies. In earlier stage investments, the focus on the strength of the management team is further magnified (as opposed to market or traction), as the product itself can be expected to change significantly at this stage. Additional founder traits that the firm focuses on include a history of achievement in some area, humility, grit, a growth mindset, and complementary skills (for example, as a hacker or a designer). The firm’s strong preference is to lead or co-lead deals, taking on a board role and working closely with founders.

If you are interested in more information about this investor and other investors tracked by LSN, please email mandates@lifesciencenation.com

Hot Investor Mandate 2: China Private Equity Firm Invests in Medtech Worldwide

18 May

A private equity firm that was founded in 2004 and is headquartered in Shenzhen, China, provides venture capital and growth capital to growth-stage companies across various industries, including life sciences, Internet, consumables, software, and high technology sectors (i.e. drones). The firm is interested in all types of life science companies except drug development. The allocation size will vary, but the firm has the capability to allocate up to $40 million per company, depending on the opportunity. The investment is typically in form of equity, but convertible loan will be considered as well. The firm has an emphasis on technologies and products, and it is currently seeking new investment opportunities globally. Companies with a China angle will be a big plus.

The firm is currently seeking to invest in medical device, diagnostics, biotech R&D services and healthcare IT sectors. The firm is very opportunistic in terms of subsectors and indications. Currently the firm will not invest in companies targeting drug development. The firm will consider companies at all stages of development, from pre-clinical stage all through to commercial stage; however, the firm prefers companies in the business proven stage, where the product is on the market and may already have customer feedback.

The firm primarily invests in growth-stage private companies. The firm does not have specific requirements for companies’ management team or revenues. The firm will take a board seat post-investment.

If you are interested in more information about this investor and other investors tracked by LSN, please email mandates@lifesciencenation.com

Hot Investor Mandate 3: Pharma Firm Seeks Drug Assets in Oncology, Immunology, Respiratory and Cardio

18 May

A pharmaceutical company headquartered in Beijing, China is interested in collaborations with biotechnology companies through a variety of collaboration structures including co-development, in/out-licensing, co-promotion, M&A, and joint venture. The company highly prefers products from mature markets like Western Europe and North America.

The firm currently seeking therapeutic opportunities in Oncology and immunotherapy, Respiratory Diseases, Cardiovascular, CNS, Gastrointestinal, and metabolic disease. For small molecule drugs, the company is interested in in-licensing and co-development of assets in phase 2 trials. Earlier assets may be considered but would require closer scrutiny. For biologics, the company is interested in forming joint ventures.

The firm is looking to partner with companies that seek to enter the Chinese market.

If you are interested in more information about this investor and other investors tracked by LSN, please email mandates@lifesciencenation.com

Hot Investor Mandate 4: Multi Stage VC Invests in Medical Devices and Digital Health

18 May

A venture capital firm based in Israel focuses on medical and healthcare technology and primarily makes early-stage investments. The firm will also make late stage investments. The firm has raised three funds to date. The firm can allocate as little as a few hundred thousand dollars in seed financing to as much as $3M or more for early to later stage deals. The firm primarily invests in Israeli companies but will consider exceptional opportunities in the US and Europe. The firm is actively seeking new investment opportunities.

The firm seeks to invest in medical devices, HCIT, as well as digital health and connected devices. For medical devices, the firm is opportunistic in terms of subsector and stage of development. The firm primarily invests in early stage devices and will consider devices as early as pre-prototype stage. The firm is focused on the cardiovascular space but is also open to all indications.

The firm seeks to be a hands-on investor and will require a board seat following investment. The firm looks for management teams with strong track records and is comfortable working scientific founders.

If you are interested in more information about this investor and other investors tracked by LSN, please email mandates@lifesciencenation.com

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