Next Phase Newsletter

By Nono Hu, Senior Manager, Branding & Messaging, LSN

This Monday, RESI came to TMCx, the Texas Medical Center’s 100,000-square-foot accelerator space. RESI @ TMCx featured approximately 150 investors, 250 biotech, medtech and healthcare IT entrepreneurs, and 60 service providers.

In the exhibit hall, 34 of the most innovative early stage life science companies at the event were chosen to participate in a virtual investment contest – The RESI Innovation Challenge, showcasing cutting-edge life science technologies in poster displays and competing to raise the most RESI Cash. Without further ado here are the top 3 contestants!

First Prize Winner: Redox

Redox is the modern API for healthcare integration. Redox helps developers integrate with EHRs and health systems manage their connections to the cloud. The Redox Engine de-risks software implementations by enabling turnkey EHR integration with any application you choose to work with.

As a first prize winner, Redox will receive complimentary subscription to the LSN Investor Platform.

Alejandro Zamorano, Director of Business Development, LSN | Niko Skievaski, Co-founder, Redox | James Lloyd, Co-founder & CTO, Redox | Michael Quigley, Director of Research, LSN

Second Prize Winner: NeuroFx

NeuroFx has developed an innovative, cell-free therapeutic factor concentrate derived from adult adipose (fat) stem cells that has demonstrated great potential based on animal testing to not only reduce brain injury caused by stroke, but in addition promote regeneration and repair of brain tissues. The founders of NeuroFx, together with its management team, have extensive experience in stem cell research and development and/or the necessary backgrounds in product commercialization to bring this therapeutic asset to market. NeuroFx will pursue development of additional indications for its products by partnering with pharmaceutical, regenerative medicine or medical device companies.  The funding NeuroFx is seeking is to support its IND application and complete a Phase 1 trial.

As a second prize winner, NeuroFx will receive two complimentary RESI tickets.

Alejandro Zamorano, Director of Business Development, LSN | Wade Lange, CEO, NeuroFx | Karen Momper, Director, Business Development, NeuroFx | Michael Quigley, Director of Research, LSN

Third Prize Winner: TeVido BioDevices

TeVido BioDevices uses innovative 3D bio-printing of a woman’s own living cells – to develop custom grafts for breast cancer reconstruction.  The first product is targeted to improve nipple reconstruction, where current procedures often flatten and fade over time.  TeVido has a platform technology that addresses a significant unmet need in the broad field of reconstructive and aesthetic surgery, a market estimated to be $6B globally.

As a third prize winner, TeVido will receive one complimentary RESI ticket.

Alejandro Zamorano, Director of Business Development, LSN | Laura Bosworth, CEO & co-founder, TeVido BioDevices | Scott Collins, CTO & VP of Research and Development, TeVido BioDevices | Michael Quigley, Director of Research, LSN

By Shaoyu Chang, MD, MPH,  Senior Research Analyst, LSN

Our body is home to millions of microorganisms that form a symbiotic, ecological community, known as microbiome. With the development in genomics and microbiology, the crosstalk between microbes and the body has been gradually deciphered. Potential new treatments have emerged, with some coming close to fruition. This week we have decide to take a dive into the Life Science Nation (LSN) Company Platform to get a snapshot of the current landscape in this field.

Figure 1 | Source: LSN Company Platform | Data as of June 11, 2015

While microbiome research is still in its infancy, through the LSN Company Platform we were able to find 40 companies currently working on new technologies in the microbiome field. As shown in Figure 1, the United States is the leading country in terms of number of microbiome-related companies, while Western European countries including France, Sweden, the United Kingdom, and Netherlands also have significant activity.

The majority of companies we identified are working on at least one microbiome-based therapy or diagnostic tool. Fecal microbiota transplant (FMT) is arguably the most promising product of microbiome research field. FMT transfers bacterial colonies from healthy individuals to patients with recurring Clostridium difficile-associated disease and has shown consistent efficacy [1]. Other researchers are exploring microbiome-based therapeutics for a wide range of conditions including acne, diabetes, and autoimmune diseases.

The microbiome therapy pipeline is comparatively small but shows promise. We have identified 31 microbiome-related therapeutic assets from the LSN platform as of June 2015 (Figure 2). Over 90% of these assets are in preclinical development through phase 2 clinical trials, with only one in phase 3. No microbiome drug has ever received market approval to date. As one would expect, infectious and parasitic diseases are the leading therapeutic field in terms of number of assets, followed by diseases of the digestive system. Endocrine, nutritional, and metabolic diseases such as diabetes have also become targets for microbiome therapies.

Figure 2 | Source: LSN Company Platform | Data as of June 11, 2015

Developmental challenges exist, such as lack of knowledge of cause-effect relationship and difficulty in defining the right combination of therapeutic microbes. As the scientific community overcomes these barriers and the field matures, we expect the number of microbiome-related assets continue to grow and diversify as the science matures.

Pharmaceutical corporations are constantly on the search for new pathways to crack the disease code. Now a growing number of big pharmaceuticals are embracing microbiome as an emerging source of novel therapeutics [2]. Furthermore, a couple of venture capital funds have been established with a declared mandate invest in microbiome [3]. This, combined with the highly anticipated IPO of the frontrunner in this field [4] demonstrates the growing level of interest and activity in this field. The LSN team will keep you informed as we continue to track trends in microbiome research.

1. Fergus Shanahan, Separating the microbiome from the hyperbolome. Genome Medicine (2015) 7:17.
2. Alex Lash, With Vedanta Deal, J&J Marks Big-Pharma Milestone in the Microbiome. Xconomy.com. 13 Jan, 2015.
3. Press Release, Next Closing Brings Seventure Partners’ Health for Life Capital Investment Vehicle to €100m. Seventure Partners website. 19 Mar, 2015.
4. John Carroll, Pioneering microbiome upstart Seres Therapeutics targets a $100M IPO. FierceBiotech.com. 28 May, 2015.

By Michael Quigley, Director of Research, LSN

With just a few days left until the RESI@TMCx kicks off, we wanted to take a look into the partnering system to see what kinds of meetings have been booked. So far, over 550 meetings have been set up through the system. The chart below (Figure 1) shows the meetings booked so far at RESI@TMCx by the types of organizations that are participating.

The sheer number of meetings, however, is not what makes the RESI conference a valuable event; rather, it is the breakdown of who is in those meetings. The chart below (Figure 1) shows the meetings booked so far at RESI @ TMCx by the types of organizations that are participating.

Figure 1 | Source: RESI Partnering Platform | Data as of June 2, 2015

In total, 75% of the meetings booked so far are between investors and start-ups across the sectors of biotech therapeutics, medical devices, diagnostics, and healthcare IT. Start-up–investor meetings are the staple of the RESI conference. Enabled by LSN’s proprietary investor data and partnering platform, these meetings are built around a fit between the company and investor to help foster meaningful connections and lasting relationships.

To take a deeper look into who is meeting with whom, let’s peel back another layer to see the types of investors that are meeting with these start-ups at RESI@TMCx (see Figure 2).

Figure 2 | Source: RESI Partnering Platform | Data as of June 2, 2015

The diversity of investor groups who are taking meetings helps to ensure that entrepreneurs have the chance to evaluate the full spectrum of private funding and partnership options. Large strategic companies in the pharma and medtech spheres along with their corporate venture divisions have taken nearly half of the total meetings. This could reflect the increasing level of interest from these players in identifying external innovation and building relationships early on. Both venture capital firms and angels represent a similar number of meetings taken followed by endowments/foundations and family offices. Understanding the types of active investors for which your opportunity is best positioned is crucial to your success as an entrepreneur, and very few conferences offer the diversity of investors that RESI brings to the table.

RESI also looks to create an atmosphere that leads to a huge number of ad hoc meetings. Whether in a conference room after a panel, at the receptions before and after events, or in the exhibition hall while viewing the RESI Innovation Challenge, LSN attendees have the opportunity to engage with each other in a highly productive environment throughout the day. We are very excited to see everyone in Houston and are looking forward to facilitating new, meaningful connections!

By Scott Parks, Director of Marketing, LSN 

Welcome to the second installment of the LSN Summer Chapter Series. This week we’ll finish up the legal section of The Life Science Executive’s Fundraising Manifesto by covering the rest of the necessary regulatory underpinnings for your fundraising campaign: how to market your offering and potentially tap the crowd for capital.

Chapter 2, “The Legal Landscape — Crowdfunding and IPOs,” was contributed by Robert H. Cohen, Esq. This chapter provides a comprehensive look at the possibilities created for life science companies by the JOBS Act of 2012, including crowdfunding, publicizing a private offering under Regulation D, and new regulations for IPOs. Cohen takes the reader through the nuances of what is and is not permitted in terms of publicizing your offering, and also explains the different types of securities that might be offered.

Click here to download/print the PDF.

We hope you enjoy this chapter. Next week, join us for “Chapter 3: Going It Alone or Choosing a Fundraising Partner.”

Enjoyed the preview? Buy now from Amazon.com or Barnes & Noble

By Lucy Parkinson, Senior Research Manager, LSN 

This week, we are featuring four additional investor mandates, focused on Therapeutics, Medical Device, Diagnostics, and Healthcare IT. LSN Research has seen investors from all across the globe looking for investment opportunities and would like to share more of a sample of the types of information that we gather.

1. Therapeutics: US Based Venture Arm of Chinese Family Office Seeking Preclinical Biologic Opportunities

A private investment group that was founded by a single family out of Hong Kong has four operations based in Shanghai, Beijing, Hong Kong and the US. The US-based venture investment arm is actively seeking new investments in the life sciences across the US, and it occasionally invests in companies in Europe. The group focuses on pre-clinical and clinical stage companies. The investment size will vary and typically it ranges from $2 million -$10 million. The group has no set number of allocations over the next 6-9 months.

In the life sciences the firm is looking for new investments primarily in the biotech therapeutics sector. The group will also look at medical devices and diagnostics opportunities, however, which are not their current focuses. For therapeutics, the group is most interested in biologics. The group invests in a variety of therapeutic areas with a focus on oncology. The group generally invests in pre-clinical stage companies without clinical data, and it also syndicates with other investors for clinical-stage investments.

The group invests in privately held life science companies. The group is generally not interested in commercial-stage companies.

If you are interested in more information about this investor and other investors tracked by LSN, please email mandates@lifesciencenation.com

2. Medical Device: Family Office Fund Seeking Early Stage Medical Devices

A family office/venture capital firm based in New York firm manages an evergreen fund that seeks to make seed, venture, and growth equity investments in early to mid-stage medical device companies, but will also consider secured debt to help revenue generating companies with short term cash flow issues. The firm will also consider pre-seed investments. The firm can allocate anywhere from $1M to $10M per company, but generally allocates around $8M. The firm typically does 3 rounds of financing with an initial investment of around $3M. The firm is geographically agnostic, but highly prefers to invest in companies that are based in the US. The firm seeks to make about 3-4 allocations in the next 6-9 months.

The firm is currently looking for medical device companies with a strong emphasis on products with a 510(k) regulatory pathway. In terms of subsectors, the firm is looking for products specifically in the areas of interventional radiology and cardiology, spine/orthopedics and minimally invasive surgery. The firm is generally opportunistic in terms of indication.

The firm is looking to invest in companies with a management team with a track record of success in the healthcare industry. However, the firm is generally flexible and does not require a full management team. The firm can assemble the management team over the course of the investment.

If you are interested in more information about this investor and other investors tracked by LSN, please email mandates@lifesciencenation.com

3. Diagnostics: Global Diagnostics Firm Looking to Make Strategic Investments

A global diagnostics companies is looking to form partnerships and make investments in emerging life science companies. The firm is highly flexible about the structure of its investments, and primarily invests in North America and Europe. The firm looks to act as a long-term, highly activist investor.

The firm primarily invests in the diagnostic imaging sector, including imaging devices and agents, CT and MR technologies, and angiography. The firm prefers to invest in companies at or near the market approval stage but is open to considering investments in earlier-stage companies. In addition to imaging technologies, the firm is also interested in cardiology devices, and other interventional devices including delivery devices.

The firm does not provide passive financing; the firm only invests in companies developing products that the firm would eventually market and sell.

If you are interested in more information about this investor and other investors tracked by LSN, please email mandates@lifesciencenation.com

4. Healthcare IT: VC Arm of Large Conglomerate Seeking HIT and Software Enabled Device Opportunities

The venture and expansion capital arm of a large conglomerate has approximately $270 million in total assets under management. In 2014 the firm closed a fourth venture capital fund at $185 million. The firm is current seeking new opportunities in the life science space. The firm’s initial equity investment range from $3-7 million, but are typically $12-$15 million total through subsequent rounds. The firm will only consider investment into US based firms.

The firm is most interested in the medtech, diagnostics, and information providers spaces. The firm is specifically looking for healthcare IT firms within the information providers space. Medical Devices with a significant software component are also of high interest. The firm is very opportunistic within the areas of diagnostics and medtech, and with that being said the firm would be willing to look at firms that fall within the full gamut of medtech and diagnostics subsectors.

The firm is most interested in early to growth stage companies generally investing in series A and B rounds. For HCIT businesses, the firm typically looks for companies with $3 million or more of revenue. For med tech the firm generally invests in businesses post design freeze and typically does not take product development risk.

If you are interested in more information about this investor and other investors tracked by LSN, please email mandates@lifesciencenation.com