By Dennis Ford, Founder & CEO, Life Science Nation; Creator of RESI Conference Series
LSN’s Redefining Early Stage Investments (RESI) conference series is a unique one-of-a-kind partnering conference. RESI is a 100% dedicated investor and channel partner conference. By leveraging LSN’s best-in-class Investor Database, RESI regularly delivers highly qualified global early stage life science investors with vetted investment mandates to a bevy of early stage CEOs seeking capital for the latest drugs, devices, diagnostics and digital health technologies (RESI is cross domain) that they are developing. The RESI conference series has created a unique format that runs every few months, allowing both the fundraising CEOs and the investors to incorporate RESI into their month-to-month business schedules as a vehicle to start and continue dialogues and relationships, making RESI very sticky. LSN employs a high-touch partnering system, allowing investors and companies to search for partners who are a fit for them based on multiple citeria, making RESI partnering meetings extremely compelling and efficient for both the buy-side and sell-side.
Here are the key attributes of a RESI conference:
RESI Innovation Challenge – LSN has developed an expert system that stack-ranks technology assets, assessing their ‘investibility’ based on multiple criteria across many areas. Those who apply, and are selected, are featured in the exhibit hall of our RESI conference and tend to get amazing exposure with the investors and partners that attend. As a matter of fact, more than 50% of the RESI Innovation Challenge winners have been funded!
Partnering is key. RESI is a dedicated partnering conference and will have 1400 meeting in one day. What is the salient difference between RESI and other conferences when it comes to partnering? RESI does not do the tradition “pay to pitch” on the podium to an unknown audience. We have found that the audience winds up being a mix of potential partners, other CEOs looking for competitive info and service providers wanting to sell their services. At RESI, when you sign up in our partnering system, investor profiles are highly detailed and tagged, allowing companies to perform searches and find the right investors and partners who are a fit for the companies’ stage of development and product set. This means you have a very high percentage of meetings because the RESI investors know that the firm making the request is a fit for their investment mandate. Most companies who go to RESI partnering have 8-10 direct face-to-face meetings and usually a half dozen or so ad hoc meetings.
Investors with vetted mandates. At LSN, we do our best to ensure that those who attend as investors are direct investors, not investment banks or broker-dealers, making sure. These global, cross-border, early-stage investors come to RESI. Seed, grants, angel, series A and series B level investors from all over the world use RESI conferences to source technology assets for their pipelines and portfolios. RESI has helped over 350 companies raise over $500mm in the last three years. Click here to see who has already signed up.
My book, The Life Science Executive Fundraising Manifesto can help fundraising CEOs and scientist-entrepreneurs prepare for a fundraise and really help get ready for a RESI event. Here is a free PDF copy, feel free to distribute.
Click here for LSN Exec Summary
Acusense has developed a patch-sensor technology that can detect leakage of intravenous devices such as drug delivery or dialysis. This type of complication can lead to sever injury or death, and there has been no good system to detect leakage to date. Acusense’s technology is incrementally superior to its single competitor on the market.
A novel approach to monitorization in Critical Care and the OR which uses sound to address the problem underdiagnosis of lung-related complications. The technology detects sounds in the chest that can indicate certain complications that could be life-threatening and that would otherwise go undetected, and alerts staff at the monitoring station.
Above Care is developing a sensor-device to detect complications on venous shunts used in patient groups that require a permanent venous access, namely diabetics. Stenosis is a common issue for this patient group and can be resolved in a cost-effective manner when detected early, which avoids costly emergency surgery.
PressureDot is a novel medical device which is swallowed by the patient and is able to accurately and continuously monitor intrabdominal pressure to help diagnose sever conditions like pancreatitis and potentially lower the high associated mortality rates.
Preclinical development of selective HDAC6 inhibitor, MPT0G211 and Phase II clinical development of pan-HDAC inhibitor, MPT0E028 for solid tumors and various neurodegenerative disorders.
WeMED is developing a light-based technology to address the unmet need of distal interlocking of intramedullary nails for the treatment of fractures of long bones. Current procedures for this indication have major drawbacks, and WeMED’s solution is both simple and effective.
Point Robotics is developing a navigation and robot-aided surgery platform for use in high-risk surgical applications, beginning with spine surgery. It is unique in that it is a hand-held device that provides both accuracy and pressure sensing technology. The approach is also unique in that it permits minimally invasive robotic-guided surgery (MIS) and minimal radiation exposure.
AllBio Life is developing a next-generation gene sequencing technology that will provide precision medicine recommendations to caregivers in order to prescribe the right drugs in the right dose at the right time, by predicting patient response to different therapy options. The clinical recommendations will include guidelines for other factors like nutrition. They are also developing a digital health platform for patient management (drugs, lifestyle, nutrition, etc.).
Taipei Bio is developing tissue regeneration technology that is incrementally superior to products on the market today. In comparison to the most widely used bone substitute products containing Demineralized Bone Matrix (BMP), Taipeibio’s products contain no cytokines, associated with increased risk of cancer. The use of this technology for cartelage repair would address an untapped market worth billions.
Ultron is developing a robot-like device that aims to compliment care for the elderly, both in the hospital setting and in the home, by engaging patients using voice recognition technology and interacting in activities like exercise, taking meds, games for mental acuity and direct communication with care providers or family members.
An unique innovation joining hollow fiber assay with novel Microtube Array Membrane providing unprescendented accuracy and cost reduction compared to patient-derived xenograft for personalized cancer treatment and oncological drug R&D.
David Narrow is co-founder and CEO of Sonavex Inc., a venture-backed commercial stage medical device company spun-out of Johns Hopkins University. The company develops and commercializes ultrasound products for surgeons, including a technology for detecting post-operative blood clots. His first venture, MonoMano Inc., provides rehabilitative, general health, and social benefits to stroke survivors by making cycling accessible for those with functional use of a single arm and leg. David previously worked with multinational medical device companies to commercialize their technologies and provide long-term business strategy as a healthcare consultant at Health Advances LLC. Narrow earned his B.S. in Biomedical Engineering with Highest Distinction from the University of Rochester before receiving his Masters from Johns Hopkins University. Narrow was named 30 Under 30 in Healthcare by Forbes in 2016 and 40 Under 40 in the Baltimore Business Journal in 2017.
Kasper Roet is CEO and co-founder of QurAlis Corporation, is an experienced entrepeneur and worked both in industry and academia. Kasper has relevant expertise in ALS and other neuro indications. He received his PhD at the Netherlands Institute for Neuroscience working on gene therapies for paralysis. He co-founded Netfase, was BD and alliance manager at the Harvard Stem Cell Institute and fellow at the Boston Children’s Hospital. He worked at Janssen Vaccines as adjunct technical integrator and assay development lead.
