Next Phase Newsletter

By Lucy Parkinson, VP of Investor Research, LSN

Continuing LSN’s series of video interviews with life science thought leaders, Dennis Ford recently sat down with John J. Ratey, Associate Clinical Professor of Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School.  John’s career has focused on the role exercise can play in treating psychiatric conditions such as ADHD, depression, anxiety, addiction, and stress.  In this 12-minute interview, John talks to Dennis about how he began to focus on this connection, even as an ever greater proportion of the population adopt sedentary lifestyles.  John explores the possibility of ‘rewilding’ society to incorporate more movement and human connections to improve our mental health, and the tantalizing possibility that ‘AI coaches’ could help us reach this goal.

By Dennis Ford, Founder & CEO, Life Science Nation; Creator of RESI Conference Series

Historically, Taiwan has been a technology powerhouse with a ubiquitous presence in microelectronics that reach into the personal devices, homes, offices, and cars of consumers around the world.  Taiwan has established its presence in the life science industry and is a premier player in Asia, and is now making a mark on the global stage.

Taiwan is reaping the benefit of having a clear life science vision and then mastering the execution of that vision by building a world class life science innovation ecosystem.  Taiwan’s stand-out performance in life sciences begins with a well-protected IP and legal environment. Taiwan has also developed comprehensive biomedical clusters and supply chains that lead the way for the Pacific Rim players.  For drug developers, few countries can compete with their healthcare and clinical trial infrastructure. Not to mention, in 1996 they digitized the country’s 23M patient records.  When you add in their world-class NHIA database and the Taiwan Biobank, it all adds up to a superior environment for healthcare development and clinical trials.  To top it off, the government of Taiwan leads the way with holistic support and regulation, making Taiwan the go-to country for life science development.

Over the last two years, I have spent some time delving into the life science landscape of Taiwan. I always talk about the tsunami of technology surfacing around the planet. I have witnessed firsthand how Taiwan is placing itself at the forefront in the life science arena, with cross-border partnerships in the academic and private sectors producing  great results.  Taiwan has a rich entrepreneur base that is creating dynamic technology silos within drugs, devices, diagnostics and digital health. Taiwanese startups and the Taiwanese governmental programs have made Taiwan one of the top healthcare technology hubs on the planet. I have met with Taiwanese entrepreneurs who are developing next generation micro-machine technologies that will impact the way we treat and diagnose patients in a wide range of diseases. I have seen these developers using custom silicon-based medical devices that will monitor patients both inside and outside the body, feeding a new generation of data to a bevy of new AI applications.

There is so much more going on in Taiwan you really need to go there and see for yourself. Best-in-class therapeutics, robotics, medical devices and digital health…it’s all there sitting in Taiwan as we speak. LSN is helping these entrepreneurs get from a regional mindset to a global strategy for partnering and commercialization of all this technology.

Life Science Nation has partnered with Ministry of Science and Technology (MOST) and NARLabs to organize an inaugural RESI Conference in Taipei, Taiwan on November 14^th.   Attending RESI Taipei will be a great chance for LSN’s global partners to get plugged into the Taiwan’s rising life science ecosystem and meet emerging startups, both local and drawn from RESI’s global network.

By Nono Hu, Director of Marketing, LSN

Last week, LSN released the first part of a two-part interview with Chuck Stetson, CEO, Stetson Family Office and Founder of the Global Family Office BioForum (GFOB). Part two interview continues the discussion of family office investment in early stage life science companies. Chuck will be representing GFOB at RESI Shanghai on Nov. 12^th and RESI Taipei on Nov. 14^th, hosting a Fireside Chat at both events to discuss the strategies GFOB employs to help promote early stage investing by partnering family offices with regional angel groups and incubator programs.

To register for RESI and check out the amazing content click here!

By Lucy Parkinson, VP of Investor Research, LSN

Cross-border investment is a growing theme in early stage life science, with investors forming global syndicates and moving new technologies toward market in multiple regions simultaneously to maximize their returns.  However, this creates significant complexities at the legal level, both from an investment perspective and also a regulatory one, not to mention creating concerns about IP protection.  Entrepreneurs are often in need of expert advice on these complexities that arise from acting globally.

RESI Shanghai Agenda

In conjunction with RESI Shanghai, our sponsors McDermott, Will & Emery are holding the 3rd China Life Science And Health Care Outbound Legal Symposium at the Ritz Carlton Pudong on November 12th.  This full day track of content from legal experts, focused on cross-border activities and investment topics, will be open to all RESI Shanghai attendees.  Additionally, McDermott, Will & Emery will present a half-day of expert legal content at RESI Taipei on November 14th.

Interview with Chuck Stetson, CEO of Stetson Family Office

By Dennis Ford, Founder & CEO, Life Science Nation; Creator of RESI Conference Series

Click to see part one of a two part interview with Chuck Stetson, CEO, Stetson Family Office and Founder of the Global Family Office BioForum (GFOB). Chuck, who is the third generation running the Stetson Family Office, is an entrepreneur, venture capitalist, and philanthropist. GFOB helps make more high quality investments in the life science arena by connecting regional family offices with regional angel groups, incubators and accelerators – essentially helping family offices around the globe participate in the funding of early stage technology assets located in their local healthcare tech hubs.

This interview, conducted by Dennis Ford, CEO, Life Science Nation and Creator of the Redefining Early Stage Investments (RESI) Conference Series, is a deep dive into how a family office views and participates in funding startups.  Chuck will be representing the GFOB at both RESI Asia events – Shanghai, November 12^th and Taipei, November 14^th. Click here to register for the events.

By Lucy Parkinson, VP of Investor Research, LSN

When LSN decided to bring RESI to Asia, we aimed to provide far more than a regional networking hub. Through our relationships with investors and technology hubs worldwide, we knew that many investment firms are looking to Asia as a source of new technologies – and conversely, many investors and major corporations based in Asia want to meet early stage startups from other parts of the world.

Due to the outreach LSN’s team has performed to technology hubs and early stage companies, RESI Asia is building up to a global showcase of early stage drugs, devices, diagnostics, and digital health innovations. We hope you can join us in Shanghai and Taipei to meet these entrepreneurs face to face.

 

 

 

And More…