Next Phase Newsletter

By Rory McCann, Marketing Manager & Conference Producer, LSN

The Innovator’s Pitch Challenge (IPC) is an opportunity for early-stage companies to pitch to a live panel of active investors in their sector, but the pitch session is only a small part of the challenge. A large amount of thought, creativity, and effort goes into the data and presentation of a company’s pitch materials that will be hosted on a dedicated webpage, and the time put into their longer recorded pitch goes beyond the average 4-minute video. The IPC is meant to be one stop along the way to preparing companies for building strategic partnerships with well-matched investors. I chatted with the Life Science Nation research team to learn more about how companies can truly take advantage of this unique opportunity and make it work for them long-term.

What is the greatest value of pitch sessions like the Innovator’s Pitch Challenge?

The pitch session is a unique opportunity for companies to get a great deal of exposure to a large investor audience. With their marketing collateral available on a dedicated page along with a pitch video, all conference attendees can find out more about the company and what makes it unique. Furthermore, the live Q&A session allows the companies to interact with investor judges who are in their sector, along with a live audience to watch their pitch, which often includes other investors interested in learning more about their technology. While there is a great opportunity to find investors who are a fit, more than anything, the IPC is a way to hone your pitch, to make sure you are fully prepared for any questions you may get asked when you are in an initial investor meeting.

What makes a strong pitch page and video?

A strong pitch page and video are centered around good marketing collateral and a company’s ability to tell their story in a concise and cogent manner. A good pitch video should cover these points:

1. What the company does/what is the technology
2. What makes the company unique
3. What is the target market and its size
4. What milestones you have achieved, and what milestones you are looking to meet with this fundraise

What should companies do to prepare for their live pitch?

Companies only have one minute to refresh the memories of the investor panel before the Q&A starts, so they should make sure to highlight the key value proposition of their company in that minute. It takes practice to give a clear description of their company in so short a time – they should practice! Also, they should think about all the questions an investor may ask, and they should remember, they won’t necessarily all be about the technology. Investors are also interested in a company’s exit strategy, go-to-market strategy, any regulatory hurdles that may exist, etc. An investor needs to know a lot more than just the science, and their decisions won’t be based solely on that either.

What makes a company stand out in a live pitch?

A company stands out by making a clear elevator pitch, followed by clear and cogent responses to investor questions. A company needs to make sure to really listen to the question, and to address it fully. Also, a company should try to avoid bluffing their way through a question they may not have the answer to – investors can tell. It’s OK not to always have all the answers, if the company needs to look into something further, and it’s better to acknowledge that. More than anything, these live sessions are a great way for entrepreneurs to show the passion they have for their companies.

What advice would you offer a company to make the most of their pitch session post-conference?

After each live Q&A session, the RESI team connects all of the companies and investors who participated in their assigned session via group e-mail. The company should make sure to follow up with the investors who were on the panel, to get any tips and feedback they can provide. This may lead to fruitful conversations, a referral to another investor they know who may be interested, or even just some great feedback. This is an excellent opportunity to find out what works and what doesn’t, and to see what questions the company is asked frequently, to know what information they may want to prepare ahead of time or add to their existing collateral. Cultivating and maintaining these relationships will help companies grow their industry network, enabling them to connect with more investors and industry experts in the future.

Are you interested in joining the IPC? Join us for RESI Partnering Week, September 13-17, and join a session that’s a fit for you!

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

Life Science Nation (LSN) returns with RESI Partnering Week, September 13-17! RESI Partnering Week will feature three events, including Digital RESI September (9/13 – 9/15), RESI AI (9/16 – 9/17), and RESI Longevity (9/16 – 9/17). We are excited to announce the agenda for the 5-day partnering experience:

Digital RESI September will feature panels and workshops highlighting a broad range of topics, including different investor types and relevant industry trends. RESI panels will feature active investors and strategic partners to discuss their perspectives and insights about investments, early-stage fundraising, and more. RESI AI and RESI Longevity feature panels highlighting early-stage partnerships between startups and their investors. The panels will center around the secrets to a successful partnership, with spotlights on companies working within specific sub-sectors and indications.

In addition to panels, RESI Partnering Week features the Innovator’s Pitch Challenge (IPC), RESI’s take on virtual company presentations featuring multiple live investor Q&A sessions, which has quickly become popular among all RESI attendees as a unique and differentiated way to engage with novel innovations.

Whether you are a fundraising entrepreneur, investor or strategic partner seeking new deal flow, or a service provider offering valuable products and services in the early-stage life sciences ecosystem, you do not want to miss the opportunity to join the upcoming RESI Partnering Week. Super Early Bird rates apply until July 9, so sign up today to save $100!

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

Digital Redefining Early Stage Investments (RESI) June ended on a high note last week, again providing a valuable platform for early-stage life science companies and investors/strategic partners to connect and start dialogue.

This RESI also featured the largest number of Innovator’s Pitch Challenge companies, with almost fifty companies participating. Each company was assigned to one of ten live Q&A sessions featuring investors and industry partners, based on sector/technology.

Attendees voted for their favorite companies throughout the three days of the conference. Check out the winners below!

1^st Place – Throne Biotechnologies

Throne is an American therapeutics company aimed at commercializing a novel stem cell technology that can fundamentally reverse diabetes, alopecia areata and other autoimmune diseases through immune education. The patented technology is recognized as the leading “practical cure project” for type 1 diabetes among 594 global projects (JDCA 2020). Stem Cell Educator therapy is a single dialysis-like treatment that fundamentally “resets” a patient’s immune system and corrects the underlying autoimmunity. 200+ patients between the ages of 3 and 70 have been treated in 10 years of clinical research in Spain, China, and US. 70% of type 1 and type 2 diabetic patients demonstrated clinical efficacy. Many patients reduced insulin dosing and some have become insulin independent. This technology has been successfully tried in more than 10 autoimmune diseases including alopecia, lupus, fibrosis, and scleroderma. This therapy is ready to use and is approved to begin three FDA phase 2 clinical trials (type 1 diabetes, alopecia areata, COVID-19). Throne is looking to raise $5M to complete US FDA phase 2 through to commercialization. Throne is open to partnerships, joint ventures, investments, and license arrangements.

2^nd Place – Praetego

Praetego is a pre-clinical stage pharmaceutical company with a mission to improve the health and longevity of diabetic patients. Praetego is developing novel small molecules (Amadorins) to alleviate serious diabetic complications, starting with peripheral neuropathy. Amadorins are first-in-class molecules able to inhibit a primary driver of diabetic microvascular disease and are derived from a clinically proven prototype.

3^rd Place – Nano PharmaSolutions

A proprietary drug delivery nanotechnology that generates poorly soluble drugs as nanoparticles for better bioavailability. Our NanoTransformer(TM) technology can generate drug nanoparticles through phase transfer method without using any chemicals or solvent. We work with (1) preclinical stage drug developers for animal study formulations and (2) innovative generic companies for generic nanodrug development. We are at revenue stage and our revenue forecast is $150M in 2026 (our target exit time frame).

Congratulations to each of the winners, who have received free tickets to future RESI conferences to boost their fundraising efforts. Thank you to all finalists, judges, and attendees who make the IPC an exciting and powerful part of RESI! Interested in joining a future IPC? Applications are open for RESI Partnering Week September, featuring three separate RESI conferences! Select the logos below to learn more!

Super early bird rates apply until July 9. Sign up now to save $100!