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RESI on MaRS Innovation Challenge – Check Out the Winners

12 Apr

By Chris Cummings, Senior Marketing Manager, LSN

On April 10, more than 600 entrepreneurs and investors entered the exhibition hall at MaRS Discovery District in Toronto. They were greeted by 30 Innovation Challenge finalists across therapeutics, medical device, diagnostics, and healthcare IT sectors. The 30 companies, hand selected by LSN’s scientific and commercial review team, competed directly on merits of innovation and commercial viability. We wish all our finalists the best in bringing their products forward toward commercialization, but there could only be 3 top prize winners.

First Place: Neurescence

Neurescence has developed and commercialized a miniature microscope initially targeted to the neurology research market. Our Quartet™ system gets implanted in multiple regions of the brain and spine and follows the activities of 100s of neurons in each region for months while the subject freely moves around. Our hardware-software suite is the only technology that allows establishing a causal connection between the effect of the treatment, such as a drug, on both the neuronal micro-circuitry and the disease phenotype. This extremely powerful approach takes the process of discovering and developing treatments from a trial and error method to an intelligent design.

Lucy Parkinson, VP of Investor Research, Life Science Nation | Yasaman Soudagar, Founder & CEO, Neurescence | Dennis Ford, Founder & CEO, Life Science Nation | Ying Tam, Managing Director, Health Ventures, MaRS

Second Prize: Acorn Biolabs

People’s own cells have and will continue to become the foundation of the most important future biomedical therapeutics and regenerative medicine strategies. Aged cells, however, are highly mutated and deteriorated versions of our current cells. Precisely when people will need high-quality cells the most, their cells at that time will be at their worst. Acorn Biolabs has developed a novel non-invasive at-home kit to collect and viably transport cells. Acorn cryopreserves these cells as a way to ensure people will always have access to their own young therapeutically-capable cells. The value potential is immense; customer’s preserved cells are a life-long living resource, retrievable for direct use with advanced cell-based therapeutics, and analyzable for personal genomics, epigenomics, proteomics and beyond.

Lucy Parkinson, VP of Investor Research, Life Science Nation | Steven ten Holder, Founder & COO, Acorn Biolabs | Drew Taylor, CEO, Acorn Biolabs | Dennis Ford, Founder & CEO, Life Science Nation | Ying Tam, Managing Director, Health Ventures, MaRS

Third Prize: Therachat

Therachat is a mental health platform which simplifies homework in therapy for therapists & psychologists & their clients. Therapists & psychologists can customize the homework experience for their clients via a simple web application and their clients can do their homework on an easy-to-use, HIPAA compliant, mobile application. We believe that homework needed a simpler way and that’s what we have built! Check http://www.therachat.io to find out more!

Sajid Reshamwala, Director of Design, Therachat | Kouris Kalligas, CEO & Founder, Therachat | Dennis Ford, Founder & CEO, Life Science Nation | Ying Tam, Managing Director, Health Ventures, MaRS

If you missed out on the opportunity to compete in the RESI on MaRS Innovation Challenge, we’d be happy to take your application for our upcoming Boston event on June 4th.

Apply for RESI Boston Innovation Challenge Now!

 

 

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RESI Toronto Innovation Challenge Finalists Announced

29 Mar

By Cole Bunn, Director of Research, LSN

cole-wp

We are excited to showcase the top 30 RESI Innovation Challenge startup applicants, who will be taking part in the poster presentation showcase at the third annual RESI conference held in Toronto, as a part of the Toronto Health Innovation Week. These handpicked companies represent the key sectors of the healthcare space including therapeutics, medical devices, diagnostics and digital health, and were selected based on their scientific/technical merit and commercial viability.

The Innovation Challenge companies will compete for each attendee’s RESI Cash tokens throughout the day, which serves as a vote of their potential. The top 3 companies will win additional RESI tickets to events of their choosing and a feature in the LSN newsletter (20,000 readership), giving them access to hundreds of additional investors and ultimately enhancing their likelihood of securing an investment. Make sure to visit the exhibition hall to meet the RESI innovators and “invest” in your favorites!

Therapeutics

MedTech Device

Diagnostics

Digital Health

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RESI Innovation Challenge Puts Many Scientists/Entrepreneurs in the Funding Circle

1 Mar

By Chris Cummings, Senior Marketing Manager, LSN

RESI is heading to Toronto for the third time, and LSN will soon be reviewing applications to the RESI Innovation Challenge. This is an opportunity for entrepreneurs to win a display space at RESI and make their mark at Toronto Health Innovation Week. You have until Friday March 2nd to apply – that’s tomorrow!

The RESI Innovation Challenge covers startups in therapeutics, medtech, diagnostics and healthcare IT from around the globe. All applicants will be vetted based not only on the quality of the company’s scientific work, but also on the strength of the management team and how well-positioned the company is to receive investment.

Previous Innovation Challenge participants have proven to be successful entrepreneurs; we have seen as many as 50% of companies selected to participate in an Innovation Challenge receive funding within one year of the conference. Top competitors are able to find a balance between utilizing both the structure of RESI’s partnering system, and the ad-hoc nature of the Innovation Challenge.

On April 10th, RESI on MaRS’s expected 700 attendees will receive “RESI Cash” to allocate to the entrepreneurs whose technologies they expect will be most influential. The capital invested will be tallied up and the top three winners will receive prizes and be featured in our RESI newsletter recap that will go out to LSN’s 20,000 newsletter readership. Don’t miss the opportunity to apply.

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LSN Launches RESI on MaRS Innovation Challenge with an All New Application Portal – LSN Sourcing & Ranking Expert System

25 Jan

By Samuel Rubin, Business Development Manager, LSN

After receiving some excellent feedback from past applicants, the RESI Innovation Challenge Review Team has re-tooled the online application to create a standardized and efficient Sourcing & Ranking Expert System. For years LSN has been evaluating technologies for government organizations, large pharma, and other groups using this system to vet biotech, medtech, diagnostics, and healthcare IT companies based on their science and “invest-ability”.

LSN believes the RESI Innovation Challenge application process will now be more logical and easier to navigate, streamlining the process from beginning to end. The application has now launched online. The deadline to apply for RESI on MaRS is Friday March 2nd. We look forward to reviewing all of your impressive applications!

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RESI San Francisco Innovation Challenge – Check Out the Winners

11 Jan

By Nono Hu, Director of Marketing, LSN

RESI San Francisco 2018 was the biggest Redefining Early Stage Investments event yet. In a highly competitive RESI Innovation Challenge we saw novel technologies represented from the therapeutics, medtech, diagnostics, and healthcare IT verticals – we know it was tough for RESI attendees to choose how to allocate their 5 RESI “investment” tokens! We wish all our finalists the best in bringing their products forward toward commercialization, but there could only be 3 top prize winners.

First Place: CorInnova

With a $6 million lead investment from the UK-based Wellcome Trust ($26 billion in assets), CorInnova is developing an innovative minimally invasive cardiac assist device to treat heart failure. The collapsible soft robotic direct cardiac compression device, deployed minimally invasively into the pericardial space around the heart, does not touch the blood. The device should reduce hospital length of stay from 30 to 4 days and adverse events vs. LVADS by 40%. It will expand the eligible patient population 3 to 4X to an addressable market of up to $14 billion. CorInnova has a world-class team. First-in-human trials are anticipated to begin in 18 months. Three similar cardiac companies with only 10 patients’ data sold for $250 to $400 million in cash.

Boris Leschinsky, Vice President of Product Development,CorInnova | Dennis Ford, CEO, Life Science Nation | William Altman, CEO, CorInnova | Keith Svagerko, Vice President, Business Development, CorInnova

 

Second Place: ImmunoBiochem Corporation

ImmunoBiochem is a privately held biopharmaceutical company solving the problem of tumor heterogeneity by targeting unique proteins enriched in the secretomes of cancer cells with Antibody Drug Conjugates (ADCs) – a promising class of biological anticancer therapeutics. ImmunoBiochem has identified a class of molecular targets that are secreted by cancer cells, but not healthy cells, and possess unique properties enabling the highly-selective delivery of toxic payloads to cancer cells, while leaving normal cells unharmed. ImmunoBiochem’s next-generation biologics aim to offer a superior safety profile and broad therapeutic window. Lead candidate, IMB-212, is aimed at a well-characterized cancer biomarker supported by a wealth of clinical data, and is being developed for Triple-Negative Breast Cancer (TNBC) – an aggressive disease for which no targeted biologics treatment options are available.

Dennis Ford, CEO, Life Science Nation | Anton Neschadim, CEO, ImmunoBiochem | Lucy Parkinson, Director of Investor Research, LSN

 

Third Place: Biorez

Biorez is an early-stage regenerative medicine company developing a bioresorbable scaffold for ACL reconstruction. Despite over 400,000 procedures each year, current surgical options are limited to autograft tissue, which requires a patient to sacrifice their own tendon, or allograft tissue, which is harvested from cadavers and has a higher failure rate. There is a large, unmet clinical need for a consistent, off-the-shelf device for ligament regeneration. The Biorez device provides the necessary strength to support physical activity, while its highly porous, proprietary structure facilitates a patient’s own cells to follow the scaffold and regenerate new functional tissue. The company is supported by early-stage VC investors, world-class scientific advisors, and a dedicated team to commercialize this exciting technology.

Dennis Ford, CEO, Life Science Nation | Kevin Rocco, CEO, Biorez | Lucy Parkinson, Director of Investor Research, LSN

Thank you to all who competed in the RESI JPM Innovation Challenge, and to all the RESI attendees who took part by investing their votes in their favorite competing companies. Welcome to join our upcoming RESI on MaRS event on April 10th, register now.

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Meet The RESI San Francisco Innovation Challenge Finalists

21 Dec

By Chris Cummings, Senior Marketing Manager, LSN

Happy Holidays! With just under 3 weeks until the 4th annual RESI San Francisco, LSN is proud to announce this year’s crop of innovative new life science companies participating in the RESI Innovation Challenge.

The RESI Innovation Challenge covers startups in therapeutics, medtech, diagnostics and healthcare IT companies from around the globe. All applicants are vetted based on not only the quality of the company’s scientific work, but also the strength of the management team and how well-positioned the company is to receive investment.

Previous Innovation Challenge participants have proven to be successful entrepreneurs; we have seen as many as 50% of companies in a Challenge receive funding within one year of the conference. Top competitors are able to find a balance between utilizing both the structure of RESI’s partnering system, and the ad-hoc nature of the Innovation Challenge.

On January 9th, RESI SF’s estimated 1000 attendees will receive “RESI Cash” to allocate to the entrepreneurs whose technologies they expect will be most influential. The capital invested will be tallied up and the top three winners will receive prizes and be featured in our RESI newsletter recap that will go out to LSN’s 20,000 newsletter readership.

Therapeutic

Medtech Device

Diagnostic

Healthcare IT

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What Makes A Good Innovation Challenge Application?

30 Nov

By Christine A. Wu, Senior Research Analyst, LSN

chrsitine

Every RESI Conference, LSN holds a fun life science competition – the Innovation Challenge. Thirty early-stage fundraising companies with top-tier life science technology exhibit in a poster-board format for a chance to pitch to investor attendees one-on-one and place as one of three winners voted by conference attendees. Out of our hundreds of applications, how do we choose the top thirty? As the Innovation Challenge application deadline draws near (it is tomorrow folks!), the LSN scientific review team has compiled a list of what we look for in a company and its application.

While the following surrounds the Innovation Challenge application itself, the criteria and the tips we provide are also guidelines for companies to use for their fundraising process. Much of our evaluation and the questions we ask are based on standard criteria that entrepreneurs will face when speaking with investors.

What makes a high-score company?

The LSN scientific review team uses a detailed rubric with a 200-point scoring system. Our evaluation process is based not only on scientific merit, but also on how ready the company is to present to an investor (“investor-readiness”). A perfectly scored company would have a transformational technology that can achievably address a high unmet need using a differentiable novel approach or target. Alongside high innovation, differentiation, unmet need, and market fit, the 200-point company would have a broad IP position, an experienced management team and CEO with top-tier advisors, and strategic alliances with manufacturing and clinical partners. The company will also receive high marks for having what we call “investor-ready” marketing material (executive summary, pitch deck, website).

Application Tips

Clearly describe your technology.

Like any marketing material, you need to be clear. Be sure you understand and answer the questions fully. The team has seen unclear responses as to what a company’s technology is and its significance in improvement.

Be honest with your answers.

The team frequently reviews applications that state they have no competitors in the space, when the honest answer is, there are. Novel products do have competitors before them, for established technology does exist in the indication your product targets. Be honest with whom your competitors are, and then address what the key differentiators are to your product. Even if your product is an incremental improvement, be honest and highlight this and it can still be attractive!

For example, competitors for your disease-modifying therapeutic may be symptom-treating therapeutics in the same indication that are either commercialized or being developed. You should identify these symptom-treating therapeutics and highlight your novel target approach that makes your product disease-modifying.

Explain your current standings in detail.

Outline everything you have in terms of your current standing, while also providing your outlook of where you hope to go. Avoid ambiguous statements such as, “CEO is an experienced entrepreneur”. Instead, provide details that highlight the CEO’s experience – years as an entrepreneur, number and names of companies exited, background expertise, etc.

Provide near-future and long-term horizons.

If you do not have certain criteria, such as a strategic alliance or IP, it’s OK. State your current standing and provide what steps you are currently taking to reach that milestone. For Alliances and Collaborations, state your verbal relationships; for IP status, state how many you have filed or are planning to file. Providing us your strategy is better than a simple yes or no.

Put in a balanced effort.

You should not spend 5 minutes on this application, and neither should you spend 5 hours. Your answers should be brief, as well as detailed – we have received hasty, effortless applications in which we quickly discard with a low score. On the other hand, you also shouldn’t spend an excessive amount of time on the application, as these are all straight-forward questions that you should be comfortable in answering and have down pat. Remember, as your executive summary should answer all these questions alone, this application is the backbone of our evaluation process and essentially your executive summary to us.

Send us your marketing material.

If you have marketing material, send it. This includes your pitch deck, executive summary, website, videos – any supplemental material that can boost our understanding of your technology and whether your company is investor-ready. The application provides limited space – while this forces you to get straight to the point, supplemental material explains what an application cannot (i.e. figures, graphs, pipeline, non-confidential data, etc.).

Overall, applying for the Innovation Challenge is great practice for fundraising companies. For those who have yet to apply, be sure to take note of these suggestions and apply here before midnight tomorrow!

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