Category: Redefining Every Stage Investments (RESI)
The Redefining Every Stage Investments (RESI) Conference is an ongoing conference series that provides an international venue for life science companies across Biotech, Medtech, Diagnostics and Healthcare IT and to source investors from around the globe, create relationships, and eventually, secure funding.
At every RESI event, the RESI Innovation Challenge helps promising startups gain exposure with investors – many past finalists have spoken of how they used the Innovation Challenge as an opportunity to speak to more investors and form more relationships, using their participation as a catalyst. Companies participating in the Innovation Challenge are selected based on their innovativeness and their commercial potential, among other criteria, and finalists are provided with a poster presentation spot at RESI, in addition to being featured in the LSN newsletter and in the program guide. The portal to apply for Innovation Challenge for RESI Boston is now open, so we invite any companies interested in participating to apply now! The participating companies will compete to receive ‘investments’ of ‘RESI cash’ provided to all attendees, and the top three participants will receive prizes.
In addition to the RESI Innovation Challenge, participating tech hubs from the First Coast can have their constituents apply to participate in the First Coast Innovators’ Pitch Challenge. The top 8 companies from participating tech hubs will be selected to pitch to a panel of investors, giving them a chance to hone their pitch and receive valuable feedback.
The deadline for both the Innovation and Pitch Challenges for RESI Boston is August 7th – we look forward to receiving your application!
By Dennis Ford, Founder & CEO, Life Science Nation; Creator of RESI Conference Series
I used to teach an entrepreneurial sales class at a local university in Boston. The first day of my class I would pose a question right out of the box: ‘OK class, show of hands please! How many of you would jump out of an airplane without a parachute? Simple question, show of hands please.’ Inevitably in every class I would have one or two who for one reason or another may be considered on the margins (as entrepreneurs can be) would raise their hands. I would point out that there are one, maybe two, hands, the rest are just sitting there looking confused and anxious. At that point I would say ‘OK! Thank you class, the two that raised their hands can stay and the rest of you can go.’ This would lead to more confusion and fidgeting and finally, I would say, ‘let me give it to you all straight – you have joined this class because you have an idea or a company that you want to start. Taking an idea and starting you first company is the equivalent of jumping out of an airplane without a parachute.’
Yes, you may figure out something on the way down. Yes, you could somehow miraculously survive the fall. But, realistically the odds are, you are probably going to hit the ground and die. That is the world of the startup. It’s a learning process. It’s getting experience in something totally new and different. It’s learning from your mistakes. And then I would say ‘You are all welcome to stay, and now we have to figure out how not to kill your company.’
That is precisely the chances of you getting your first startup off the ground. The odds are stacked against you from the get-go. There is so much to learn and know. The good news is, if you have tried a few times and learned lots along the way, the better chance you have of figuring it out and surviving your next company. The message here is of course you will strike out the first few times you get up to bat, but if you persist, you adjust and eventually you make it, you get there. I’ve done about a dozen startups over the years: the first one died and the last one is heading into its seventh year.
RESI’s panel and workshop sessions explore many topics in early stage life science funding. At RESI Philadelphia, the Investing in Cell & Gene Therapy panel took an in-depth look at how investors approach the most complex new therapies.
The panel was moderated by Shyam Patel (Associate Director, Portfolio Development and Review, California Institute of Regenerative Medicine), and the panelists were:
Jane Hollingsworth (Managing Partner, Militia Hill Ventures)
David Xu (Chief Business Officer, Viva Biotech)
Peter Young (Venture Partner , Pappas Capital)
Hannah Shen (Associate Director, BridgeBio)
While the cell and gene therapy space is still at the cutting edge of life science technology, the field is inching closer to mass adoption. As Shyam Patel says, following recent landmark drug approvals, there is now a huge pipeline of potentially transformative cell therapies and gene therapies in development, with a thousand clinical trials ongoing right now, and $13 billion in investment in this space last year. “There’s a lot of money, a lot of products, and a lot of choice for both investors and companies.”
However, these therapies present unique challenges for investors. Peter Young noted the difficulty for traditional VC investors of managing a fund with a 10-year life cycle and investing in science that takes a generation to mature to the point where it’s it’s suitable for routine use. Additionally, the industry needs time to adapt to these new technologies, in terms of regulation, manufacturing and reimbursement.
According to David Xu, manufacturing is a key piece of the puzzle. How can a company consistently and effectively produce a cell therapy or a gene therapy? As an investor, he pays attention to this technical angle, along with the unmet need involved. “If you are addressing a problem in which the unmet medical need is not obvious and you don’t have a new angle addressing the manufacturing/technical side of the problem, it’s probably not a good project to look into.” By investing in technical improvements, it will also be possible to reduce the cost of these therapies, which at present can run to over a million dollars per treatment.
The investors also explored the regulatory issues involved, and noted that the FDA are adopting policies that enable innovation, such as being open to trials that involve fewer patients. But there’s a challenge for startups in terms of getting the right regulatory expertise. Per Jane Hollingsworth, “The regulatory part is difficult as there are only so many people out there who really know this space from an FDA perspective. The FDA is overwhelmed as the result of the successes of this sector. Now there are many clinical trials taking place and it’s incredible how busy they are. They want to work with people who understand the pressures they’re under in this sector. It’s important to attract the right regulatory consultants who can help your company navigate the FDA.”
Circling back to the issue of how an investor’s fund structure can make investments in new fields difficult, Hannah Shen described how her firm BridgeBio has found benefits from using a different structure, in which a subsidiary company is created for each of the assets they invest in. Hannah says that one benefit of this model is that it makes it pososible for the firm to focus on rare disease programs as part of the portfolio.
So how do investors find the right opportunities in cell and gene therapy? The investors’ dealsourcing methods include referrals, conferences like RESI and also scientific conferences, tech transfer outreach and academic collaborations, and of course inbound inquiries. David said that of the pitches his team received, half didn’t pass initial screening. As his firm (Viva Biotech) is a very early stage investor, they focus on the quality of the team and the market potential of the product. For dealscreening at BridgeBio, Hannah Shen focuses on the scientific understanding of the asset, and whether BridgeBio’s resources are a good fit for moving the product forward.
Jane Hollingsworth went into depth on Militia Hill Ventures’ strategy – and said that issues like manufacturing and pricing are not as important in their consideration: “Either we identify a problem and look for the best way to solve it by gathering the best scientific expertise around the world, or alternatively, a really hotshot scientist comes and tells us the problems they’re working on. It’s always the problem and the people. If those two factors get through our screening, then manufacturing is just a detail – and reimbursement is even less so. If it’s an unsolved problem that gene therapy could solve, and the best team in the world is working on it, and scientifically it looks viable, we’re going to assume that if it’s successful it will be paid for.”
So will these new technologies become a significant piece of the biopharmaceutical market soon? Shyam Patel has some pause. “I would differentiate between clinically promising and commercially promising projects. The most clinically advanced projects that CIRM [California Institute of Regenerative Medicine] has supported are focused on diseases with small patient populations, and it’s not clear if these projects will be commercially successful. That’s where they see the most clinical success right now. What’s commercially promising could be something completely different.” Nevertheless, the investors continue to look for revolutionary new technologies in this space that could become success stories for their portfolios.
Boston is the home town of Life Science Nation (LSN) and the RESI conference series, and RESI has never officially been part of “other” events going on in Boston that week. LSN relishes being independent, bringing over 350 global investors to Boston, with a unique one-to-one investor to CEO ratio in RESI Partnering. LSN’s annual RESI Boston event typically brings over 5 billion in vetted early stage investment mandates to the RESI Conference.
The RESI Boston event is September 11th at the Westin Copley Place, and LSN is proud to announce we already have signed up many top life science venture capital firms including NEA, ARCH Venture Partners, 5am Ventures, Bain Capital Life Sciences, and Deerfield Management. Once again, LSN will be bringing the First Coast Innovators’ Gathering which showcases technology hubs, incubators and accelerators from the Boston to DC corridor this year we will feature a bevy of the top hospital, university, state and federal early-stage technology innovators. Last year RESI Boston held over 1200 meeting between fundraising CEOs and investor channel partners. You can review the agenda here. Early sign up offers are available – register now.
RESI’s focus is on gathering hundreds of investors together to meet with entrepreneurs. In addition to one-on-one RESI Partnering meetings, RESI’s panel tracks provide entrepreneurs with the opportunity to hear advice and candid insight on the fundraising process directly from experienced investors.
You can view the agenda below – this RESI event provides the opportunity to hear from medical device exit partners in Medtech Strategics, a panel of Impact Investors who seek opportunities to have a positive social outcome as well as financial return on their investments, a gathering of First Coast Tech Hubs that will explain how they support the earliest stage companies up and down the East Coast, and a new special session on the complex field of China Cross-Border Partnerships. Join us at RESI Boston to see these and other exciting panels and workshops!
By Dennis Ford, Founder & CEO, Life Science Nation; Creator of RESI Conference Series
As I stated in a previous installment, the story is the be-all-end-all in the life of an entrepreneur. Here is the challenge for the folks developing the story: It has to be good enough, and bulletproof enough, that the story on its own can make an impact. Of course, the person who delivers the story will never be truly separate from the story, as the teller is part of the storytelling dynamic…it just doesn’t work that way. However, I do believe that once you get the story crisp enough that anyone in the company can give a lucid and cogent version of THE STORY, the message will be heard.
The past articles in this series we can covered how an entrepreneur has to be up and running from the get-go. You must be ready to take on all comers in the journey of getting your company launched. Predictably, you’re in for the fight of your life, so you better be ready to defend yourself. This also means going on the offensive and attacking, too. Please notice the words we are using here are not fluffy, namby-pamby, kind of, sort of, maybe words. On the contrary, these words are solid, committed and meaningful. I’ll take my idea, my passion, my invention and dedicate my life to it and go for it. Just do it. I’ll fight for it. So this is the crux of the matter: What does “go for it” mean to you? Is your idea of going for it and my idea of going for it the same? Maybe it is, and maybe it isn’t. Read on and hopefully I can help you answer that question. Are you in? Will you fight for it? Or, are you out?
My idea of going for it means putting it all on the line. Commit. Do what you have to do, no matter what. Sell your house? Take out a loan? Get some extra credit cards. Beg for cash from friends and family. All the aforementioned is just the ante into the game; playing the game involves pain, suffering, anxiety, stress, self-doubt, but it is the most exhilarating and empowering time of your life: the ultimate adventure, the stuff your dreams are made of…do this entrepreneurial thing right and become unequivocally empowered. It’s how you feel about being on the edge of the important fundamental aspects of your life. Welcome to the Entrepreneur Elucidated, in all its glory – the good, the bad, and the in-between. I dare say after reading this, a fair number of entrepreneurs may just decide to hang it all up and go back to the safety and security of a stable and meaningful life…please do, as this ain’t gonna be all that much fun, but what true adventure is? It’s always the journey, right?
If you choose to strap in and go for it, the first monster you will encounter in your perilous journey of starting a company is time. Time is not your friend, and time keeps ticking by; it cannot be wasted and will never be recovered. Time owns you, your employees and your company from the get-go. Waste time and you are dead. Adjusting your being around the monster of time is a pivot every entrepreneur has to make internally; they need to start living by the time monster’s clock.
The importance of timing to entrepreneur can be compared to surfing and catching a wave (a market for your product and company). You cannot sit on the sand and catch a wave. You need to learn how to swim and paddle up to the wave and maneuver you and your board through the moving waters. You need to paddle to catch it and then you need to stand up and ride it. Then you need to learn all the tricks of riding the wave to become an adroit surfer. Pick your metaphor and pick your sport…but timing engulfs every nuance and subtlety.
There is the other monster that is always lurking about ready to pounce and that is the Money Monster. So welcome to your two new best friends. Two monsters who will live night and day with you…time and money. No one starts, launches, or grows a company without spending lots of time and capital. No one.
This past Monday, June 3rd, 35 companies representing 9 countries competed in the RESI Innovation Challenge. These companies showcased their exciting technologies, from therapeutics to diagnostics, medical devices to digital health. Taking place at the Convene Cityview in Philadelphia, RESI attendees ‘invested’ their RESI Cash in their favorite companies. We congratulate all finalists selected to participate, and we are delighted to announce the winners – the three companies that received the most RESI Cash. Check them out below!
Soundable Health is a digital health company with leading sound AI technology. Our mission is to help people to understand and manage their health and diseases easily to live with dignity. Our first product, PRIVY™, is a mobile app that records the sound of the urine stream on the smartphone at the bathroom and turns it into clinical-grade urine flow exam results for prostate and bladder patients and their physicians. Through alpha and beta test we launched the open-beta app in the US and Korea and have collected over 4000 actual measurement data and results from users and physicians. Especially, over 100 physicians we met in Korea and in the US notice the possibility of the platform for greatly improving clinical workflow and care process. Including Massachusetts General Hospital, Texas Children’s Hospital and Seoul National University Hospital, 6 clinics/hospitals have been participating in clinical researches since 2017. Also, health insurance companies and pharma companies are very much interested in the world’s first & largest real-world data in urology. We’re planning to start unpaid pilots in private practices and institutional settings from June and aim to expand partners for paid pilots with initial revenue by early 2020.
Drusolv Therapeutics is a clinical-stage drug company based in Philadelphia. We are developing a novel, high-dose statin for early intervention in a blinding eye disease called age-related macular degeneration (AMD). AMD is the leading cause of blindness in developed countries, affecting more people than glaucoma and diabetic retinopathy combined. Unfortunately, there are currently no drugs for intervention before the onset of late-stage vision loss. This is a $4B per year, completely unmet need. Our product, Ocustatin™, was developed at Harvard University. A very successful proof-of-concept clinical trial has shown that early intervention with Ocustatin substantially reduces progression to late-stage blindness. The founder and CEO of Drusolv is a successful serial entrepreneur with extensive experience in AMD.
AIBIOS, CO., Ltd. is a private pharmaceutical company and specializes in the development of novel small molecule drugs for inflammation related diseases. AIBIOS’s mission is to develop novel drugs modulating immune responses to satisfy highly unmet medical needs. AIBIOS is developing an oral drug for inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). The drug candidate, AIB301, has a novel mechanism of action exerting biological effects in modulating immune responses in intestinal mucus, not only the adaptive immune system but also the innate immune system, which distinguish itself from other drugs and drug candidates for IBD treatment. AIB301 is in IND enabling stage with GMP grade drug substance will be delivered in June 2019 and soon will be evaluated with GLP toxicity preclinical studies.
Catherine J Song, Founder & CEO, Soundable Health
John Edwards, CEO, Drusolv Therapeutics
Chao Pin Lee, Chief Operating Officer, AiBIOS
