Next Phase Newsletter

By Lucy Parkinson, Director of Research, LSN

When LSN decided to launch our first RESI NYC event, we knew that RESI would be part of a growing hub of resources dedicated to launching and supporting new biotech and medtech companies. The rise of NYC has been an ongoing story in the biotech world, and we’ve written before about how the city stands among the competitors to become North America’s third great life science hub.

For a long time, the New Jersey area has been a center for big pharma companies, and New York’s universities and research hospitals have long been a significant source of scientific breakthroughs in the life sciences. All told, we counted 80 pharma facilities, and almost all of these are located outside the city. Conversely, of the 32 relevant universities and research facilities plus 40 life science research nonprofits, most were within the city, as you can see in the image below. In the past, it’s been difficult for entrepreneurs to bridge that gulf between the creation of new technology and its commercialization.

Enter the bio-incubators and accelerator facilities, of which we found 16. Many of these are new facilities, as developers respond to the growing need for space to launch a new life science company in New York. The addition of this new infrastructure has made it much easier for entrepreneurs to start their operations – at RESI, our new panel called “Why NYC? Why Now?” will explore how this infrastructure has become a key building block for the city’s life science growth.

The other key factor required for NYC’s biotech scene to bloom? Capital. New York is awash with investment dollars, but in the past, little of that money has been focused on life science ventures specifically. Investors who are interested in biotech startups don’t necessarily have NYC on their map as a place to look for new companies. By bringing RESI to NYC and gathering together investors from all over the world, we hope to put New York firmly on the bio hub tour.

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

Life Science Nation (LSN) and our title sponsors Johnson and Johnson Innovation JLABS, WuXi AppTec and McDermott Will & Emery are excited to bring RESI to NYC for the first time this November.The event has already caught the attention of a wide range of investors. From New York family offices and New Jersey-based pharma to Asia-Pacific funds and major global strategics, RESI will bring a diverse range of early stage life science investors to the rising NYC biotech and medtech hub.

By providing a venue for these global players in the heart of New York’s innovation scene, RESI will create dialogue and relationship building, with the goal of eventual capital allocations. If you’d like the opportunity to join these investors for networking, expert advice and one-on-one meetings, register for RESI now.

Confirmed Investors and Strategic Partners

As of October 12th, 2017

By James Huang, Research Analyst, LSN

On Monday, the China Food and Drug Administration (CFDA) held a press conference to announce a reform to their regulatory review and approval process for medical devices and drugs. The major takeaways from for these policy changes are as follows:

• Faster drug/device approval process
  • China has suggested that data from overseas clinical trials can be accepted for use in the drug/device approval process.
  • The guidelines also suggested that fast-track approval would be granted to drugs/devices targeting diseases without therapies, key projects identified by the government, and orphan drugs.

China’s pharmaceutical market is currently the second largest in the world with growth rates of around 9%. These changes should allow for foreign drug companies to enter that market more easily and as a result, warrants a second look for anyone currently developing new and innovative therapeutics. If China becomes an easier market in which to launch a drug, investors may become more interested in products with a strong potential market in China.

Of course, China’s device market also provides a great opportunity  and with the accelerated approval process applying to both drugs and devices, the Chinese market opportunity for new biotech and medtech products definitely deserves a second look.

The draft guidelines that were released also include a few more interesting suggestions such as:

• Patent Protections
  • The government stated that it would explore a new system to link patent status with the drug approval process.
• Innovation Incentives
  • Part of the draft suggested providing incentives to promote innovation of new drugs and devices within China.

The full draft can be found here (Chinese) and the CFDA press release can be found here (Chinese).

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

I am not saying that Biotech Week Boston was the week that wasn’t, but for the event’s second year, the city of Boston sure didn’t feel like it was on fire. Unless of course you went to LSN’s RESI Boston event, which was certainly a beehive of activity. It seems like the thesis of Biotech Week Boston is to create a JP Morgan-like annual multi-day event in Boston, the hub of global life sciences. This is a solid goal. The problem is, it’s hard to orchestrate and copy an organic phenomenon like San Francisco’s JP Morgan week when a handful of the life science stalwarts of Massachusetts partner with an out of town conference provider and they decide who is in and who is out of Biotech Week Boston.

Don’t get me wrong, there was plenty of compelling content and the event had a dynamic agenda. Unfortunately, there was more that could have been done; many other compelling players and topics were left on the sidelines. Boston is on the edge of the new drug development models; collaborative virtual pharmas abound. Where were all the incubators and accelerators who are grooming the next generation of game-changing drugs, devices, diagnostics and healthcare IT? Where were all the academic labs and research hospitals that are creating the new tech transfer paradigms and manifesting new business models? What about the other local conference providers like LSN’s RESI? LSN brought 300 global early stage investors with $3 billion in validated investor mandates to Boston last week!

My net/net on Biotech Week Boston is that it needs to be more inclusive and encourage ALL the players to get involved. If you don’t, you will have a staid and exclusionary event, and that is not how you replicate San Francisco’s annual JP Morgan week. In the meantime, I’ll be bringing RESI and my early stage investor network to NYC, November 15th at the Marriott Marquis, Times Sq, where oddly enough my Boston based company is welcomed…go figure.