Next Phase Newsletter

By Lucy Parkinson, VP of Investor Research, LSN

There’s a common perception that if you’re raising money to finance a life science startup, your best bet is to fundraise from local investors, such as a nearby angel group or a regionally focused VC.  While these groups are valuable in supporting innovation, it’s vital to look globally for potential investors for your company, because global investors are increasingly looking for you.

Life Science Nation’s core mission is to bring early stage startups together with early stage investors, strategic players and channel partners, and we are finding increasing traction for these efforts at a global level.  LSN’s Investor Research team speaks to investors all over the world about what areas of life science they are focused on investing in and what criteria they have, including geographic restrictions.  Of the investors from whom LSN has gathered active mandates, nearly 40% have no geographic restrictions at all; many more invest across continents, such as cross-border investors who focus on both Asia and North America.

It’s no coincidence that LSN is increasingly speaking to these groups; to cite one specific cross-border situation, in 2017 and 2018 investors from China accelerated their allocations to US-based biotech companies, according to Pitchbook. 

To serve this increasingly international community, LSN held our first RESI Europe event in March, bringing together hundreds of investors and startups – not just from across Europe, but also from the USA, Asia and beyond.  In November, we will be hosting our first RESI Asia events.  As LSN’s global ecosystem becomes richer due to these efforts, an increasing number of international investors are coming to all of our RESI partnering events, including the upcoming RESI Philadelphia.  This means that startups attending RESI can tap into this vast pool of international capital that’s looking for novel healthcare technologies, and can make global connections face to face in RESI Partnering.

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

I cannot tell you how important it is to be authentic in the world of a startup, especially if you are going to try and raise capital or find partners who have channels for your product. The big challenge for most scientist entrepreneurs is that they are typically deep into their chosen field of endeavor and being so “deep in” causes some to lose perspective with their positioning in the current market. Let’s just say that this form of tunnel vision can leave you lopsided when you need to be balanced in your perspective when in dialogue with future partners.

It is understandable that the entrepreneur becomes overly engrossed in their products and technologies and is quite common – no one is going to be more passionate about your product than you are, and investors want to see passion. However, being in too deep can leave you out of context. I cannot tell you how many times I have meet a startup CEO who has a challenge carrying on a conversation outside their domain of expertise. They are so engrossed in all things relating to their technology and have difficulty adjusting or normalizing to the level of a non-expert. Try to remember that always going “deep in” makes the conversation one-sided and not understandable to the listener. This leaves the listener just trying to guess what this person is saying, with the entrepreneur potentially unaware that they have lost the listener and both are out of context. An entrepreneur has to maintain a balance, giving a technical explanation, but doing it in a way that a non-expert can understand. Also, appearing too absorbed in your technology can have other negative side effects – investors need to know that you can impartially determine the value and marketability of your products and that you can put together a team that can build a company, not just continue to do research.

All this begs the question: can you be too authentic? The answer is yes – if you lose perspective and stay totally absorbed in your technology, you will not be able to get out of your own way. Part of the conundrum is that to get to a point where you have a breakthrough product or technology, you have to commit and immerse yourself into the arena. However, you cannot go so far down the rabbit hole that you wind up in your very own entrepreneurs wonderland.

Perhaps now you can see why I decided there is a need to have this type of seemingly esoteric conversation with thousands of founders who are scientists and engineers “deep in”. Being deep in means you are authentic with your knowledge and expertise, but the other side of the authenticity coin is being able to honestly translate your knowledge and visions to the rest of the world with the proper perspective and complete business understanding. It is one of the key challenges you, the entrepreneur, will face. To bridge the inventor’s world with the rest of the world is to find your entrepreneurial voice.

By Claire Jeong, Director of Research, Asia BD, LSN

As with last year, it is a great pleasure to announce Life Science Nation (LSN)’s partnership with Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency (KOTRA) in preparation for the Redefining Early Stage Investments (RESI) Philadelphia conference on Monday, June 3^rd, 2019.

South Korea’s biotech ecosystem continues to thrive – recently, the government has announced that they will spend over $419M USD to support the pharmaceutical and biotech industry of South Korea, a remarkable increase from last year’s pledge of $328M USD (1). The number of venture capital firms focused on life science investments is continuing to increase and more companies are seeking opportunities to enter the global market, hoping to find key strategic partners and investors to support their growth. Major companies like LG Chem and Samyang Biopharmaceuticals has opened offices in Boston within the last year to foster open innovation, and the presence of Korean companies in biotech hubs like Boston will continue to grow.

This year, KOTRA, partnered with Korea Biotechnology Industry Organization (KoreaBIO), Korea Institute of Marine Science and Technology Promotion (KIMST), and Bluepoint Partners, has jointly established the “K-Startup Meetup 2019 Philadelphia” program. This program aims to showcase some of the most promising startup technologies from South Korea across key life science sectors (therapeutics, medical devices, diagnostics, digital health) and support their participation in the RESI Philadelphia conference. Among many applicants, the top 10 companies were selected to participate. The K-Startup Meetup program consists of multiple sessions, covering topics such as understanding the global market, effective partnering strategies, refining marketing collateral, and more.

Last week, I joined the very first session of the K-Startup Meetup program in Pangyo, South Korea, to introduce the RESI Conference to the participating startups. Another aspect of RESI that I covered included the “Korea Pitch Challenge”, a 50-minute session sponsored by KOTRA. During this session, participating Korean companies will present a short ~5 minute pitch followed by a ~5 minute Q&A session from a panel of investor judges, providing constructive feedback that will prepare them for future pitching opportunities.

On behalf of everyone in LSN, I am very excited to work with these organizations to help support the early-stage life science ecosystem in South Korea. Concurrent with the BIO International Convention, we anticipate RESI Philadelphia to be a highly global event as usual, and we hope you could attend to meet promising companies from South Korea and many, many more!

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

This is a first installment in a series aimed at helping the scientist/entrepreneur become familiar with a natural way to get their message out by working on telling a compelling story. Telling a story starts with finding and getting the storyteller in context themselves first and then on to their audience.

The Real You

Being the real you. Being authentic. Finding your voice. That is what really matters in life and in business. For me, basically where it all starts in the world of the entrepreneur is finding and connecting with your inner voice and allowing that voice to tell your very own personal story. You will find in business that the most successful players are always the best storytellers. Don’t worry about storytelling – it is in your DNA; it is a deep part of every culture. It is how we teach and learn. Hopefully, this article will begin to help you get in touch with your voice and your story, as it relates to you building your business. It isn’t easy. It’s hard work. Above all, it takes practice. As the joke goes: ‘How do you get to Carnegie Hall? Practice, practice, practice!’ Make no mistake about the art of storytelling – it is a craft honed by practice. So, if you are not a natural bon vivant, raconteur, story teller, you best better get after it. The good news is: you can do it, but it starts with getting and thinking about your basic story.

Believe me, there are a lot of theories on how to make it in business. Every self-loving, self-proclaimed, teacher and consultant of the how to be a successful entrepreneur is pitching their latest gimmick and scheme. There are wheelbarrows full of preconceived notions about how entrepreneurs are supposed to be, supposed to act and build their image. You already have an image that you are currently portraying to the world and it is important to take a look at what you are actually broadcasting out there. Be aware of your image and be aware of what your projecting to the world. Know who you are and how you come across. It may sound funny, but you are “the package” when you are out speaking about your technology and company. It is always good to think about what you are portraying to the market. When you see the high profile players in the media they are all out there with a good idea of who they are, what their appearance is and how to tell their story. These are the basics I am imploring you to think about and be aware of.

Some entrepreneurs find their own entrepreneurial idols, create their own fan clubs and try to emulate and copy the image they think works. It gets even darker, take Elizabeth Holmes, founder of Theranos and the alleged Steve Jobs connection. Others create unique personas or try on multiple new personas looking for contrived versions of themselves or who they think they should project to the world. The message here is clear: don’t over-work and over-think the process. ‘Fake it till you make it’ doesn’t work. Where is this little diatribe is heading? Despite what all those offering well-meaning advice will tell you…to be a successful entrepreneur you need to be yourself, work on your unique story of how you, your team and your technology arrived at this point in time and where you are hoping to take it.

By Karen Deyo, Investor Research Analyst, LSN

LSN is gearing up for our next RESI on June 3^rd in Philadelphia. The conference will feature two RESI panel tracks, with panels designed to provide fundraising CEOs with advice on what investors and strategic partners are seeking, as well as tips on how to approach them. Panels will range from discussions by different types of investors, such as Corporate Venture Capital, Angels & Family Offices and Asia Corporates & Strategics, to those focused on particular areas, ranging from general topics such as Medical Device Investors and Early Stage Therapeutics to AI in Healthcare and Mental & Behavioral Health. Join us at RESI Philadelphia to hear the speakers below share their expertise.

Zishan Haroon, Julz Co., Aisa Therapeutics

Dr. Haroon brings over two decades of experience in venture, private equity, corporate/business development and academia (with direct transactional and operational exposure of 15+ years in China) to lead Julz, a US based fund focused in healthcare opportunities worldwide. Julz has offices in NC and Suzhou China to exploit the tremendous opportunity offered in healthcare in both US and China. The investment spans all facets from innovative drugs, devices to services such as hospitals and diagnostic labs.

Somjeet Dey, Otsuka Pharmaceuticals, Asia Therapeutics

Somjeet has been working with Otsuka’s Business Development department since 2013 and he presently leads the company’s business development operations in the US for drugs, devices and diagnostics. Somjeet believes in Otsuka’s “big venture” spirit and is committed to strategically building a product pipeline that would sharpen the company’s long-term competitive edge. Consequently, he engages regularly with academia, accelerators and VCs to explore growth opportunities for Otsuka. He played an active role in the buy-side due diligence and negotiations for Otsuka’s recent acquisitions of Neurovance, Inc. and Visterra, Inc. Before joining Otsuka, Somjeet developed and implemented technology solutions for financial institutions across Asia, Africa, Europe and North America. He received his MBA degree from The Ohio State University.

Sohaib Siddiqui, Kettlebeck Developments, Digital Health

Dr. Sohaib Siddiqui is a managing partner at Kettlebeck Ventures, which is a family office based in Toronto, Canada.  The company maintains a diverse portfolio of investments in land, tech and healthcare.  Sohaib leads the healthcare strategy which aims to conduct impact investing in life science.  As part of the company’s healthcare thesis, the group aims to advise early stage start-ups, help them network in the healthcare ecosystem and make strategic investments.

Sohaib has a Bachelor of Science in Biology from Queen’s University.  He also studied at the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland where he has received degrees in Medicine, Surgery, Obstetrics and Gynecology. He loves working with start-ups in order to provide strategic capital and insight to tackle challenging problems in healthcare.

Richard Gordon, Inova Strategic Investments, Digital Health

Rick Gordon is an expert on technology investing, business strategy and early-stage venture development. He is a leader with more than 25 years’ experience in providing organizations with strategic growth.

Rick is a Director at Inova Health System’s Personalized Health Accelerator, the health system’s seed investment organization.

Rick formerly served as founding Managing Partner of MACH37, a cybersecurity market centric accelerator supported by a community of industry leaders. MACH37 invests in entrepreneurs and helps them develop into thriving cybersecurity companies. Rick was previously CEO of Tovaris, a specialized encryption software development company, and was also a technology investment banker at Bear, Stearns & Co.

Rick served as a submarine officer in the U.S. Navy. He received his MBA from The Darden School at the University of Virginia and his BS in Engineering with Merit from the U.S. Naval Academy.

Ronald Dorenbos, Takeda Pharmaceuticals – Materials & Innovation, Medical Device Investors

Ronald is Associate Director at Takeda’s Materials & Innovation team, a group that scouts for new technologies related to drug delivery and biomaterials. During his appointment at the Life Science division of PA Consulting Group, a British Consulting firm, Ronald led projects for some of the world’s top 10 pharmaceutical companies around strategy, commercialization and digital health. At his company BioFrontline he provides management, strategy and commercial advice to life science companies around the world. Ronald received MAs in Biotechnology and Molecular Biology and after obtaining a PhD in Pharmaceutical Biology spent six years at Harvard to study Parkinson’s, Schizophrenia and the genetics of aggressive behavior before making the transition to industry. Ronald is a keen follower of developments in the field of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and regularly invited as speaker to present on topics related to pharma, healthcare and AI.

By Lucy Parkinson, VP of Investor Research, LSN

At the inaugural RESI Europe event, a panel of four investors discussed their focus on Investing in Oncology Innovation.  It’s well know that oncology is a hot area of investment; however with such a wealth of innovation to choose from, investors and startups both face many challenges in finding success.  LSN would like to thank these investors for sharing their advice with RESI’s audience, and we’ve made a short video to provide some of that wisdom to the rest of the world.

The participants were:

• Claus Andersson (Moderator) – Sunstone Life Science Ventures
• Katherine Cohen – Panacea Ventures
• Mark Krul – Aglaia Oncology Funds
• Toshiyashu Shimomura – Taiho Ventures

The field of oncology research is advancing rapidly, partly due to new research tools such as tumor sequencing; immuno-oncology, in particular, represents many of the leading approaches in the cancer field.  However, as moderator Claus Andersson (Sunstone Life Science Ventures) pointed out, it’s difficult for an entrpreneur to differentiate a new company in this space and raise funds.  How difficult?  Mark Krul (Aglaia Oncology Funds) said that his firm invests in about 1% of all the opportunities they see; while there are many promising scientific developments, it’s tough to select the right opportunities.  Katherine Cohen (Panacea Ventures) detailed the problem of differentiation: when you’re pitching to an investor, it’s important to make clear what problem it is that your company is addressing and how you will solve that problem.  The investors can see many unmet needs in oncology – for example, many current treatments have high toxicity, and some patient populations are not able to benefit from new treatments that focus only on certain subtypes (such as high-PD1 tumors).  If you’re addressing one of those unmet needs you need to make both the message and the science that backs it up as clear as possible.

Diagnostics play a key role here; Mark highlighted the role of pathology and molecular level understanding of the mechanisms of cancer in order to understand what patient populations your technology is for.  Investors are more likely to be interested in opportunities involving highly distinct pathways and differentiated patient populations.  Investors stressed the importance of biomarkers throughout the discussion, as targeting the right patients is key to improving response rates to treatment.

Investors also see many opportunities outside immuno-oncology; Toshiyashu Shimomura (Taiho Ventures) described his firm’s interest in undruggable proteins and approaches based on complex molecular biology.  Another area of interest for the investors was combination therapies.  There are promising approaches that involve combining a new idea with an existing treatment in a way that breaks new ground – Katherine gave the example of combining a new delivery technology with an existing CAR-T treatment that could allow that treatment to affect solid tumors.

Finally, the discussion touched on how to find oncology investors and build a strong syndicate.  The investors urged the audience to find investors who are truly a fit for your company’s stage of development and have the right expertise to be a part of your company’s board.  “Try to build as good a story as possible, but be honest,” advised Mark.  Claus added that it is important to be open to investors’ suggestions without becoming defensive.  Katherine stressed the importance of telling a strong story to investors that emphasised how your company stands out from the competition, and what your development strategy is.  Katherine’s final advice was: “Be passionate about what you’re doing.  You’re the first person who needs to really believe what you’re doing.  You’re tackling the most important disease – cancer.”