By Greg Mannix, VP, EMEA Business Development, LSN

When we think of a partnering conference like Redefining Ever Stage of Investment (RESI), we often envision cutting-edge life science startups pitching their technologies to investors and licensing partners – whether through one-on-one meetings or in the Innovator’s Pitch Challenge (IPC). While this is certainly a key aspect of the event, it’s important to note that about 20% of the scheduled and ad hoc meetings at RESI are between investors themselves!

So, why is RESI such a prime venue for investors from around the world? Because cross-border alliances and syndicates are not just common – they’re becoming essential. Consider these key trends:

• Syndicates are the new normal: Single-investor participation in funding rounds is now rare. More often, deals are made through syndicates, which help spread risk and allow investors to tap into broader networks and expertise.
• Expanding geographic horizons: Investors who restrict their focus to just one region may struggle to compete for the most innovative technologies. As a result, many are looking beyond their comfort zones to find the best opportunities.
• The global capital gap: European companies often find it difficult to secure the capital needed for larger rounds within Europe, creating a growing need to partner with US and Asian investors.

On March 30th, right before RESI Europe in Barcelona, LSN will host an exclusive Investor-only  Networking Event, bringing together investors from North America, Europe, and Asia for an evening of tapas, drinks, and new connections. For more information, contact resi@lifesciencenation.com.

By Sougato Das, President and COO, Life Science Nation (LSN)

The buzz among biotech execs and investors gathered at RESI JPM 2025 was if the last year of pharma deals falling to a decade-low was reversing with a rapid-fire source of new lower-risk drug candidates: China. With one-third of the therapeutic molecules bought by pharma coming from China last year, including the better-than-Pembro hopeful of Summit Therapeutics licensed from Chinese Akeso, US investors including Atlas, Bain, Forbion, General Atlantic and RTW are making major investments in Chinese biotech. Merck, Novartis, GSK, Gilead and other large pharmas have inked a slew of Chinese deals and have indicated they will do more, mainly in the areas of obesity, cardiovascular, immunology, liver diseases and oncology, many with novel MoAs. With relatively dry organic venture funding in China, Chinese companies are aggressively seeking Western suitors. China’s out-licensing is accelerating, with $46B in 2024, $38B in 2023 and $28B in 2022.  

Of course, the first question is how is Summit’s drug candidate going to get FDA approval with Chinese-only studies? The strategy here is to reduce risk by licensing ‘biobetters’ that have shown clinical success in China and then running late-stage clinical studies in the US for approval. Chen Yu, formerly of Vivo Capital, was quoted as saying. “Why would we do any early-stage development in the U.S. anymore? Why wouldn’t we just get clinical PoC in China and then bring it over to the U.S. for the expensive clinical development when we actually know the drug works? …that could be a revolutionary new way for our industry to become more efficient.” 

Not to be outdone, Merck announced it would license a competitive asset to Summit’s – and it was also from China. 

Clinical trials in China can recruit faster than US-based trials with less cost, allowing a startup to go from formation to clinical trials in less than 18 months due to: 

• Large populations that have not taken drugs for their disease are available at a multitude of regional hospitals 

• Obtaining experimental drugs for free is a strong incentive for patients to enroll 

• Less tightly regulated investigator-initiated trials are rapidly proliferating 

• Regulatory flexibility and lesser fees/overhead 

Investment and licensing is not the only Western-Chinese deal types being made. M&A has been on the rise. Examples include Genmab’s acquisition of ProfundBio ($1.8B) and BioNTech’s of Biotheus at ($950M). 

With the speed of early-stage development in China, US startups may face new challenges. Alex Borisy, founder of Curie.Bio, cautioned that the usual process of publishing or presenting/postering at scientific meetings could “launch a thousand ships” in China, and advised early-stage biotechs to author patents in such a manner as to make it difficult to do so. 

What could all this mean with a pro-tariff Trump presidency? That is TBD. However, Paul Hastings, CEO of Nkarta and former BIO Board Chair, remarked that it would be hard to imagine that raw materials and innovation would be exempted from future tariffs. 

One of the best places to meet with early-stage Chinese companies is RESI. With Life Science Nation’s copious reach into the Chinese market, RESI conferences feature a multitude of attractive Chinese firms, eager to partner and pitch their technologies. 

This article is a summary/digest of various general and biotech news articles; it is not original journalism.