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

Life Science Nation (LSN) and the Sino-American Pharmaceutical Professionals Association – Greater Philadelphia (SAPA-GP) are announcing a joint event, bringing the SAPA-GP Venture Forum together with the Redefining Early Stage Investments (RESI) conference, taking place at the Convene in Philadelphia on June 3rd, 2019. The combined event will bring the global RESI investor and channel partner network together with the SAPA-GP community, creating a unique conference that is greater than the sum of their parts.

RESI conferences are established go-to events for fundraising CEOs, early-stage investors and channel partners that foster a fit in terms of stage of development and product with vetted investor mandates. RESI provides a matching platform to enable the vital flow of capital from investors and thereby helping emerging life science companies bring their products to market at a faster pace. RESI events are held throughout the year at major innovation hubs around the world.

RESI Philadelphia will feature a SAPA-GP Track with panel discussions, Start-up Roadshows, VC-Startup networking and Open-Table Consultations. RESI attendees will have access to this unique content, while SAPA-GP Venture Forum attendees can take advantage of the RESI panel and workshop tracks, as well as gain access to the unique RESI Partnering Forum.

LSN and SAPA-GP hope to see you at RESI Philadelphia! For any questions about SAPA-Track, please reach out to Candice He at c.he@lifesciencenation.com or WeChat: CandiceHe1028.

About SAPA-GP 

Sino-American Pharmaceutical Professionals Association – Greater Philadelphia (SAPA-GP) is to serve the fast-growing community of pharmaceutical and biotech professionals in the Greater Philadelphia area. With a significant concentration of global pharmaceutical companies, biotech companies, and academic institutions, the greater Philadelphia area has been a center of life science discoveries and pharmaceutical innovations. Founded in 2002, SAPA-GP has established a broad-based membership and become one of the region’s premier professional organizations. It strives to bring venture investment from the U.S. and China to support the growth of the local life science entrepreneurship.

About Life Science Nation

Life Science Nation (LSN) accelerates fundraising using its matching platform to create highly compatible relationships between early-stage scientists/entrepreneurs and emerging technology investors. LSN researches and curates market intelligence on two industry sectors: The first is emerging biotech and MedTech companies, which by their ephemeral nature are challenging to find and track. Second, LSN tracks ten categories of early-stage life science investors and identifies who is filling the void left by venture capital. LSN owns and operates the Redefining Early Stage Investments (RESI) conference series, which brings together global early-stage biotech and MedTech companies with early-stage investors. Learn more at www.lifesciencenation.com

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

On March 25th, LSN will hold the inaugural RESI Europe life science partnering conference.  Please review the program guide below, which showcases the dozens of senior investors speaking on RESI’s panels, and the startup finalists who are bringing their novel technologies to RESI’s Innovation Challenge and Pitch Challenge.

RESI is a dedicated early stage investor and channel partner conference. The event is cross silo, and brings together investors and strategic partners seeking drugs, devices, diagnostics, and digitals health technologies.  RESI is unique in that we have a one-to-one investor to fundraising CEO dynamic.

If you want to participate in the first ever RESI Europe, there’s still time to register online and participate in RESI Partnering.  We are looking forward to seeing you in Vienna on Monday.

By Karen Deyo, Investor Research Analyst, LSN

Despite the relatively short span of time digital health, as a sector, has been in existence, there has been an explosion in technology and applications in recent years. The increase in digital applications and services, for providers, payers and consumers, is so pronounced, that governments are scrambling to keep up and provide some sort of regulatory framework that can apply to these cutting-edge technologies. From patient disease management to AI-powered diagnostics to EHR management to care coordination, the diversity within digital health can make it difficult to speak to the sector as a whole.

Addressing some of these questions at RESI Europe, the speakers on the Digital Health Investors panel will share their expertise in this area. The panel will take place from 9:00-9:50 AM, and we recommend that anyone interested in an investor’s perspective on the field of digital health attend!

Moderator: Jonas Jendi (Investment Manager, Industrifonden)

Jonas Jendi is an investment manager at Nordic VC Industrifonden (Stockholm), focused on the life science sector. Industrifonden is one of the largest VC funds in the Nordics, focusing on both tech and life science. The €500m evergreen fund invests in early-stage ventures. The Industrifonden life science team currently has a portfolio of 14 companies, from medtech to biotech, both private and publicly traded. Jonas joined Industrifonden in May 2017, bringing onboard recent experience as an independent board member, angel investor and equity analyst. Between 2001 and 2010, Jonas was CEO at Cogmed, a start-up in the field of evidence-based cognitive training (clinically validated software), based in Stockholm and later in the US. Jonas took the company from the research phase at Karolinska Institute in 2001 to acquisition by Pearson in 2010, then managing the Cogmed integration into Pearson. His background also includes strategy work with The Boston Consulting Group.

Lara Koole (Principal, Philips Health Technology Ventures)

Lara leads the European venture capital activities for Philips, includes running the business-independent Philips health technology venture fund focused on investments in early-stage digital health companies to drive strategic value-add relationships with Philips. Looking for driven entrepreneurs that are passionate and capable to address (part of) the quadruple aim in healthcare, improving outcomes and lowering costs while increasing patient and staff satisfaction. Passionate about technology, strategic investing and working together with great teams to scale their companies bringing strategic and industry expertise of Philips to the table.

Tony Chang (Associate, M Ventures)

Tony Chang, PhD, MBA, is an Investment Associate with the New Businesses team at M Ventures. In this role, Tony is focusing on the early stage venture deals in health-tech and digital health, with a particular attention on digital therapeutics deals. Tony has developed substantial experience in assessing digital health deals for both in-clinic and out-of-clinic applications. Prior to M Ventures, Tony was a technology commercialization officer at the University of Western Cape in South Africa where he was responsible for the development of several industry research collaboration and licensing deals. Previously, Tony was a consultant at the strategy practice of EY in Johannesburg.

Thomas Walbert (Digital Health Innovation Manager, weXelerate)

Stephen Kearney is a medical doctor, working with Hannover Re, one of the world’s largest reinsurers. Stephen’s medical speciality is surgery, with experience in academic pathology via lecturing and research, having specialised in cancer genomics and medical informatics. Approximately half of Hannover Re’s business is in the life and health (re)insurance space. Within these verticals, Stephen’s responsibilities include identifying and developing both internal and external innovation opportunities, including in the area of genomics. Besides medicine, Stephen also has academic qualifications and experience in computer science, data analytics and pharmaceutical business, and an undergraduate degree in biochemistry and physics from University College Dublin (UCD).

Stephen Kearney (Innovation – Life & Health, Hannover Re)

Thomas Walbert is the Digital Health Innovation Manager at weXelerate, where he is responsible for building the Health-Cluster program for fostering digital health innovation and managing a network of mentors and experts. Previously, Thomas was a Start-up Consultant at INiTS, a high-tech incubator based in Vienna. He is a start-up enthusiast who is experienced in building environments and networks where corporations and high-tech start-ups can launch revolutionary business models, products, and services.

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

While the life sciences industry is constantly subject to dynamic changes and trends, oncology/Immuno-oncology continues to be one of the most popular areas to invest in. Though some firms shy away from the indication due to it being an overcrowded space, there are many firms who strongly – or even solely focus – on oncology. From relatively traditional modalities such as small molecules (such as the $1B Celgene partnership with Triphase Accelerator/FACIT that happened earlier this year) to rapidly emerging approaches like oncolytic viruses and cell/gene therapy, there are still many promising therapies and novel approaches that have not yet come to light.

The Oncology Innovation panel at the upcoming RESI Europe Conference in Vienna, will highlight 5 speakers who actively seek investment opportunities in oncology. The panel will run from 1:00 – 1:50 pm on the day of RESI Europe, Monday, March 25^th, 2019, so if you are a company attending RESI who is working on innovative oncology therapies, you would not want to miss out on this panel.

Here is our lineup of panelists:

Claus Andersson, General Partner, Sunstone Life Science Ventures (Moderator)
Claus Andersson is General Partner in the Life Science group and has been with the team since it was established. He has been engaged with more than 18 companies and has held either chairing positions or board memberships to share his experience from the last 16 years of working with entrepreneurs, co-investors and consultants in life sciences. Claus has extensive experience in strategy execution and technology development from various parts of the Life Science ecosystem: both as an entrepreneur, venture capitalist, scientist, and corporate manager. He holds a Master’s degree in Civil Chemical Engineering from the Technical University of Denmark (DTU) and a PhD in Mathematical Statistics from the University of Copenhagen and the Humboldt University in Berlin.

Toshiyasu Shimomura, Senior Investment Director, Taiho Ventures

Toshi Shimomura is Senior Investment Director at Bay Area-based Taiho Ventures, the corporate venture capital of Taiho Pharmaceutical. With $300M under management, Taiho Ventures invests in early stage oncology companies. Prior to Taiho Ventures, he worked for Taiho Pharmaceutical for 7 years as Early Development Team Chair of TAS-117 (a small molecule AKT inhibitor) being evaluated in Phase I study as well as Biology Project Leader at Taiho’s Tsukuba Research Institute. Before Taiho, he worked for Banyu Pharmaceutical, a subsidiary of Merck & Co. for 10 years. As Project Leader, he developed two clinical development candidates of Aurora A kinase and contributed initiation of Phase I clinical studies. He was also involved other kinase inhibitor programs. He received PhD in Biological Science from Nagoya University, Japan in 1999, where he learned molecular biology, cell cycle and DNA damage checkpoint regulation.

Hakan Goker, Senior Investment Director, M Ventures

Hakan Goker (Ph.D.) is a senior investment director at M Ventures, corporate venture arm of the biopharmaceutical division of Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany. Hakan has been investing for the past 12 years and joined Merck Ventures in 2013. Previously Hakan was a partner at Aescap Venture and prior to that worked at Atlas Venture. Since 2006, Hakan was instrumental in the creation, financing, and corporate strategy of multiple biotechnology companies globally including Artios, Asceneuron, Storm, Bicycle, and F-star. Hakan received his PhD in cancer biology from the Institute of Cancer Research/ University of London and continued his scientific career with post-doctoral work at the Breakthrough Breast Cancer Centre/Royal Marsden Hospital. He gained his BSc Honours, from University College London. Hakan currently is a board member at Artios Pharma, Asceneuron, Forendo, Macrophage Pharma, Tocopherx, Synaffix, Storm Therapeutics, Raze Therapeutics and is the chairman of iOnctura.

Mark Krul, Partner, Aglaia Oncology Funds

Mark has been involved in anticancer drug development since 1993 and has a background in molecular biology and immunology. Before founding Aglaia Oncology Funds in 2004, Mark was Program Director of the NDDO Research Foundation. He held several positions at NDDO Oncology BV (formerly the EORTC New Drug Development Office) with respect to oncology drug development strategies (1997-2002). From 1993 till 1997 Mark has been Research Manager of the European Cancer Center and headed the Department of Molecular Virology at the National Institute of Public Health and Environmental Protection from 1989 till 1993.

Katherine Cohen, Venture Partner, Panacea Venture

Dr. Katherine Cohen is a venture partner at Panacea Venture. From 2011-2016 Dr. Cohen served as CEO at Hookipa Biotech AG (now

Hookipa Pharma Inc), where she led the company founding, Series A and Series B venture financing, and developed the company from early science to clinical stage. Prior to Hookipa, Dr. Cohen served as Senior Vice President for Corporate & Business Development at Intercell AG (now Valneva SE) and participated in the growth of the company from a start up to a successful public/commercial stage enterprise. Prior to her biotech entrepreneurial career, Dr. Cohen worked in academic research and industrial development at Sandoz/VIRCC. Dr. Cohen earned her Ph.D in Biology at the City University of New York and she is a qualified European Patent Attorney.