Author: Next Phase Admin

Hot Longevity Mandate: UK-Based Family Office

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The firm is an active early stage venture fund based in the UK and Switzerland. The team is composed of experienced professionals in funding, entrepreneurship and therapeutic development. The firm has historically invested in computational biology, next generation tools for protein analysis and cell and gene therapy manufacturing technologies. Majority of technologies in the firm’s portfolio are relating to oncology, but going ahead the firm will consider any indication, if they find technology compelling. Firm has invested primarily in the UK and is willing to consider companies based in the broader Europe and in Switzerland in particular.

The firm is especially interested in companies developing therapeutic approaches, such as state of the art cell therapies that need local manufacturing, cancer vaccines, precision oncology medicine and novel therapies for autoimmune diseases. Delin Ventures is primarily interested in early stage, pre-clinical breakthrough technologies seeking seed investment.

The firm takes an active role with the companies in which they invest. The firm frequently leads rounds, and supports and mentors the early stage companies, often either taking a board seat themselves or finding an expert to serve on the board. Apart of building companies, the firm is also interested in the investment in the existing companies, syndicating with other investors

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

Hot AI Mandate: Newly Established California-based VC Invests In Digital Health and AI-powered Healthcare Solutions

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A newly established venture capital firm was founded in 2020 and is based in San Francisco, CA. The firm is expecting to close their first fund this year, targeting $100M. The firm is seeking to invest in Seed to Series A companies. The firm expects to make about 80% of their investments in North America, but has a global outlook and has evaluated opportunities from Israel, Japan, Europe, Asia, etc.

Within life sciences, the firm is most interested in digital health technologies, including Digital Therapeutics, AI-powered healthcare solutions, smart devices, and tech-enabled services. The firm will be extremely selective about medical device companies without a digital component. The same applies for traditional therapeutics and diagnostics sectors as well. The firm likes to see early traction (i.e. paying customer engagement), but is open to pre-revenue companies.

The firm is open to working with all kinds of management teams. The firm is capable of leading seed rounds and can act as either lead or co-investor. If you are interested in more information about this investor and other investors tracked by LSN, please email RESI@lifesciencenation.com.

Hot AI Mandate: Boston-based VC Focuses on Early Stage Healthcare IT and Service Companies

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Based in Boston and founded in 2006, a venture capital firm is currently investing from its fourth fund of $300 million closed in 2019. The firm typically is the lead or co-lead in the first institutional or Series A rounds in early-stage companies in the enterprise information technology (IT) space, including digital health. The firm’s equity investment size ranges from $3-7 million. The firm is most active on the US East Coast and would consider opportunities from across the US. The firm plans to make 5-7 new investments in the following year.

Within digital health, the firm is seeking systems, technologies, and services that support clinical delivery to improve outcomes and efficiency of clinical care. The firm is not interested in consumer-facing products, genomic analytics, or life sciences software – the focus is healthcare IT and services. The firm is looking for innovations that have demonstrated product-market fit in the form of recurring annual revenue of $1M or more. Pre-revenue companies may be considered if there is a strong fit with its investment thesis. When it comes to digital health investments, the firm often syndicates with strategic co-investors who understand the risks in the healthcare system, such as healthcare providers and payers.

The firm is looking for competent and experienced management teams with sector expertise. The firm brings in real-world experience, industry knowledge and networks, and company-building skills to its portfolio companies. The firm takes a board seat post-investment.

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

Hot AI Mandate: California-based Venture Capital Invests in Data-driven Technologies that Leverage AI, Machine Learning and IoT

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A venture capital firm was founded in 2012 and is based in San Diego, CA. The firm invests in a wide range of data-driven products that integrate AI, machine learning, and IoT. The firm is backed by a management team with a long, successful track record of building tech companies. The firm invests in the company’s early stages with an initial check size of $250 K with follow-on investments as the company matures, with equity and convertible loan as the preferred capital structures. The firm focuses on US-based companies, but may consider international companies with strongly innovative products that they can bring to the US market.

The firm will look at a range of verticals in the life sciences sector as long as there is a strong data-driven component in the company’s product. Sectors of interest include healthcare IT/digital health. The firm will not consider therapeutics or medical devices unless there is a heavy data component. The firm’s previous investments include an AI-driven image analysis platform for cancer detection, a computational DNA analysis platform for personalized cancer treatments, and a DNA amplification technology based on electric field-induced pH changes. The firm has their own AI Lab of top data scientists, so the company does not have to have the AI experts as long as they have the data, know how to get the data, and what information would be valuable to retrieve via machine learning applications.

The firm will work with companies backed by founders with deep domain expertise. The firm prefers deploying the venture studio model to help co-found companies, deploy their AI Lab experts, and will always take a board seat in their portfolio companies.

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

Top 10 Challenges for Startups Raising Capital and Seeking Licensing Deals

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By Dennis Ford, Founder and CEO of Life Science Nation, Creator of the LSN Partnering Conference Series

Check out a recent list of the top challenges startups face when entering the early-stage fundraising arena. Each challenge is linked to an article tackling these and similar issues.

  1. Migrating from regional mindset to global partnering arena
  2. Understanding that deals take 9-18 months and identifying vehicles that can assist in partnering campaigns early
  3. Defining and understanding their competitive landscape
  4. Compiling a global target list (GTL) that is a fit for product and stage of development
  5. Understanding the cost of launching and executing a global partnering campaign ($60K-$90K)
  6. Developing branding and messaging that highlights unique company value that is clear, concise, and easy to understand
  7. Implementing a CRM to activate and organize global campaign, which includes ongoing curation of partner list, outreach initiatives, and tracks status and to-do list for all meetings
  8. Hitting the road with phone and email canvassing, as well as traveling to conferences to engage partners
  9. Learning the art of follow-up (99% of all startups fail here)
  10. Learning how to efficiently partner at a partnering conference

Life Science Nation is committed to facilitating well-fitting meetings between founders with innovative assets and the capital and channel partners who seek them. Our Redefining Early Stage Investments (RESI) conference returns in a virtual format June 7-9. Register today and save $300 on super early bird rates by April 15!

Digital RESI March IPC Winners

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By Claire Jeong, Chief Conference Officer, Vice President of Investor Research, Asia BD, LSN

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Another Digital Redefining Early Stage Investments (RESI) conference is in the books! At Digital RESI March, nearly 40 life science and healthcare startups participated in the Innovator’s Pitch Challenge (IPC), a unique pitching opportunity for early-stage companies in therapeutics, medical device, diagnostics, digital health, and R&D/services sectors.

The IPC has a voting component on which all registered attendees – from fellow startup executives to active early-stage investors – can vote for their favorite companies based on the materials displayed on their dedicated landing pages (pitch video, slide deck, executive summary, etc.) as well as their performance in live Q&A sessions, in which founders pitch directly to and participate in a subsequent Q&A with investor judges.

Life Science Nation is pleased to share the winners of last week’s IPC who received the most votes during the 3-day conference. Congratulations to the winners! Check them out below and see the full list of finalists. The IPC returns June 7-9 and applications are open! Apply today and save $300 by April 15!

Embrace Prevention Care (1st Place)

Embrace is a leader in geriatric preventive care, providing an integrated suite of telehealth, pharmacy and behavioral change services to improve health and reduce costs. We help older adults with chronic conditions take meaningful actions to reduce hospitalizations and extend safe aging in place. Our local nurse practitioners partner with physicians to help their patients implement care plans and follow medication regimens, creating new practice revenue and reducing the complex patient burden.

Bold Therapeutics (2nd Place)

Bold Therapeutics Inc. is a clinical-stage oncology company founded in 2018 by a team of biopharma industry veterans to develop and commercialize BOLD-100, a first-in-class anti-resistance therapeutic. BOLD-100 significantly enhances the activity of a wide range of other anti-cancer therapies by disabling a critical and previously untargeted cancer resistance, survival and proliferation pathway. Based on compelling preclinical and early clinical results, Bold Therapeutics is focusing its development efforts on some of the most challenging cancer indications where existing therapies are largely ineffective, resulting in a significant unmet medical need.

CoolSpine (3rd Place)

CoolSpine LLC was spun out of Yale University and is developing two neuroprotective medical devices that induce localized hypothermia to address injuries from spinal or cerebral ischemia. The patented devices cool the Cerebrospinal fluid in either the brain or the spinal cord to levels known to be neuroprotective (32°-35º C). By using the CSF to induce hypothermia, the devices uniquely cool the targeted areas while maintaining systemic normothermia, a significant benefit that avoids the complications of systemic hypothermia. The devices are incorporated into ventricular or intrathecal catheters, standard products for brain or spinal protection and therefore require no additional invasive intervention. CoolSpine’s primary targets are spinal cord and cerebral ischemia.

National Institute on Aging Launches Startup Challenge

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By Candice He, Vice President of Business Development, Global Investment Strategist, LSN

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Life Science Nation is pleased to share an exciting opportunity for the longevity and age-tech startup community: The National Institute on Aging is hosting a startup challenge, The Healthy Aging Start-Up Challenge and Bootcamp to Foster Diversity and Accelerate Innovation, and applications are open! Apply by May 23 to win a cash prize, one-on-one mentoring, and access to an entrepreneur bootcamp!

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About the Challenge

The Healthy Aging Start-Up Challenge and Bootcamp to Foster Diversity and Accelerate Innovation invites applications from diverse researchers and entrepreneurs with a demonstrated need for entrepreneurial resources. Applicants should have innovative ideas for science-driven technologies and products that aim to promote healthy aging or address aging-related diseases or conditions, including Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias. There is special interest in participants and ideas that have the potential to increase the diversity of NIA-funded small business research and development. NIA strongly encourages applications from researchers and entrepreneurs from groups underrepresented in the U.S. biomedical sciences and in life science entrepreneurship.

Up to 20 finalists will be selected to participate in a 4-month entrepreneurial bootcamp designed to provide resources to help overcome barriers to launching a start-up and obtaining funding. The bootcamp will include entrepreneur workshops, mentorship, networking opportunities, and grant application skill building. Participation will be mostly virtual and will require finalists to commit approx. 4-6 hours per week plus one 3-to 4-day in-person networking event scheduled for September 19-22, 2022 in Boston (travel expenses paid by NIA). At the conclusion of the bootcamp, finalists will pitch to be selected as one of up to five winners to each receive a $60,000 cash prize. 

Applicants are encouraged to attend the Pre-Application Webinar scheduled for April 20, 2022, at 2 PM ET to learn more about the Challenge.

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Calling for Mentors

Mentorship is a critical component of this program. As participants will be learning to refine their idea, develop a pitch deck, identify markets and investors, and launch a new life science venture, the NIA is seeking volunteer mentors with an interest in diversity who are passionate about sharing their expertise in areas like entrepreneurship, investing, product development, digital health, and/or science and technology related to aging and Alzheimer’s disease. Mentoring relationships with individuals of shared backgrounds and experiences are especially beneficial to mentee success, so the NIA is especially excited to recruit mentors with unique or underrepresented backgrounds. Please share the link below for mentors with anyone who you feel may be a good fit.

Mentor applications are due May 2, so apply today!

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