FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact:

Nono Hu, Marketing/PR Manager

(617) 580-5011

m.hu@lifesciencenation.com

LSN Announces Life Science Fundraising Accelerator

BOSTON (June 19, 2014) — Life Science Nation (LSN), in collaboration with the UMASS Boston Venture Development Center (VDC), announces Life Science Fundraising Accelerator, a program designed to fill the void in the procurement of early stage life science capital. Currently, the scientist-entrepreneur struggles to go “the last three feet” and get in front of an investor, create a dialogue, build a relationship, and secure capital allocations.

The Life Science Fundraising Accelerator is a 90-day program that:

• Prepares start-ups for a global fundraising campaign
• Educates the founding team on the basics of raising capital in today’s competitive landscape
• Packages the founding team for a fundraising campaign, creating the necessary branding and messaging, including a logo, tagline, elevator pitch, executive summary, PowerPoint presentations, and investor-centric website
• Provides tactical, hands-on, assistance in executing fundraising campaigns, including setting up a cloud-based infrastructure to manage a list of investor prospects and the required follow-up that’s associated with an outbound direct-marketing campaign

This kind of acceleration is only available today to the largest biotech and pharma companies that work with top-tier investment banks in preparation for the all-important road show before an IPO.

Initially, the ideal candidates for the Accelerator program will be emerging biotech and medtech companies that have entered (or are preparing to enter) clinical trials. These start-ups have significant animal data, and possibly even some human data, and are likely seeking $1 million to $20 million to further develop an asset through the clinical-trial process.

Dennis Ford, CEO of LSN, noted that scientist-entrepreneurs experience a conundrum when it comes funding their entity. “Everybody understands their marching orders, but hardly anyone has been given the training and tools to carry out the mission,” Ford stated.

The Accelerator has two business aspects. The first is a traditional fee for service. The second is an evergreen grant initiative. The latter program hopes to recruit incubators into the program by having them nominate scientist-entrepreneurs who are ready for a fundraising campaign. The Accelerator program will provide these scientist-entrepreneurs with an evergreen grant (details to follow). This aspect of the program intends to be a self-funding vehicle so that other entrepreneurs can have the same opportunity.

William Brah, Director of the UMASS Boston VDC, said, “LSN and the VDC have been successfully piloting a version of this program for about a year. Early discussions with the incubator community show vigorous support for the project. The Massachusetts life science community has been working closely together for years and hopefully this program will garner traction quickly.”

Life Science Nation (LSN) accelerates the business of early stage life science through a Match.com-like sourcing platform. LSN researches and curates market intelligence on global early stage investment, tracking ten categories of life science investors. LSN also manages the Redefining Early Stage Investments (RESI) conference series, which brings together global emerging biotech and medtech companies with early stage investors. LSN recently published a book, The Life Science Executive’s Fundraising Manifesto.

UMASS Boston’s Venture Development Center (VDC) was created to pursue new knowledge and train next-generation inventors. It is a mixed-use incubator designed to support technology and life science entrepreneurs. The VDC has a reputation for building community among life science entrepreneurs and delivering business tactics that help propel resident firms forward to commercialization.

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By Tom Crosby, RESI Conference Manager, LSN

There’s a lot going on in early stage venture-capital investment, and everyone is trying to follow the bouncing ball. In light of reports that venture-backed life science and biotech deals are off to their hottest start since 2007, LSN is pleased to announce the venture capital panel for the upcoming RESI Conference: Re-envisioning the Traditional Venture Model.

The panel will have representatives from some of the biggest global VC firms. Moderated by Bernadette Adamo of Silicon Valley Bank, the audience will hear from Kush Parmar, Partner at 5AM Ventures, Jayson Punwani, Partner at Pappas Ventures, Jerel Davis, Operating Partner at Versant Ventures, and Kiran Reddy, Associate Partner at Third Rock Ventures.

Though life science VCs have faced many challenges in the past decade, this adaptive investor class has reached an inflection point of late. The delegates featured on the upcoming RESI VC panel will speak about trends they’re seeing in today’s marketplace, and their thoughts on the future of venture investments.

 

By Michael Quigley, Research Manager, LSN

There is a common perception in the industry that direct medical-device investment has all but frozen over the past few years. As a fundraising entrepreneur, this is an easy kickstand to lean on when you have trouble securing financing for your proprietary technology. Data gathered over the past nine months by the research team here at LSN paints a different, much more positive picture, however. After reaching out to thousands of investors throughout the life science industry, we have identified and interviewed more than 300 qualified investors actively seeking to allocate to the medical device space.

Many may argue that 300 investors represent the marketplace as a whole, not the investors interested in early stage, higher-risk opportunities. However, the chart below shows the highest level of investor interest lies in the venture stage, which LSN defines as companies that have raised at least one round of financing outside of friends and family but have yet to reach commercialization for their product. And while interest in the growth stage does outweigh seed, there are still a large number of investors with capital looking to invest in compelling seed-stage opportunities.

Analyzing this data further, we find that the investors looking into this space are very diverse. (See the chart below)

The interest in the medtech sector is also reflected in PWC’s MoneyTree Report, which shows that 25 deals accounted for total early stage medical-device funding increasing by 11% in Q1 2014 to $216 million, as compared with $194 million from 29 deals in Q1 2013. The average investment for early stage device firms also reached an all-time high of $8.6 million.

This significant uptick in dollars invested and decrease in deal volume tells us something interesting about the changing landscape: Although the numbers may not be as high as they have been historically (and it is also worth noting that PWC’s findings only include reported financings), a large group of investors are without a doubt staying involved and investing in the medical device industry. However, these investors seem to be more selective, investing more capital into slightly fewer deals. Now more than ever, it is crucial for medical device entrepreneurs to understand which investors might be interested in their specific technology and how to present the opportunity to these firms to best demonstrate value.

Source: http://www.mddionline.com/blog/devicetalk/heres-new-vc-investment-reality-of-2014-for-medtech

 

 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

For more information

Contact: Nono Hu

Marketing/PR Manager, Life Science Nation

(617) 580-5011

m.hu@lifesciencenation.com

 

LSN Releases Book:

The Life Science Executive’s Fundraising Manifesto

BOSTON (June 12, 2014) — Dennis Ford, founder and CEO of Life Science Nation, reveals in his new book released today, The Life Science Executive’s Fundraising Manifesto, the skill sets required to seek capital in the biotech and medtech arenas.

The Life Science Executive’s Fundraising Manifesto was written to help scientists understand the fundamental skills needed to brand and market their companies. It discusses how to use a consistent message to achieve compelling results from a fundraising campaign, and it teaches life science executives how to aggregate a list of potential global investors that are a fit for their company’s products and services. The book also explains how to efficiently and effectively reach out to potential investor targets, start a dialogue that fosters a relationship, and hopefully secure capital allocations.

The Life Science Executive’s Fundraising Manifesto is now available on Amazon.com and Barnes & Noble.com. For more information about the book, please visit http://www.fundraisingmanifesto.com or contact Nono Hu, Marketing/PR Manager at (617) 580-5011.

 

About the Author

Dennis Ford, founder and CEO of Life Science Nation, is a seasoned entrepreneur who has worked extensively with global alternative investors interested in high-growth, early stage technologies. In 2012, Ford brought his expertise into the arena of life science fundraising after spotting an emerging trend: institutional investors and family offices looking to invest directly in life science companies. The need to connect investors with scientists to enable the commercialization of new drugs and medical technologies, and thereby helping to change the world, was the impetus for launching LSN.

Ford is also the author of The Peddler’s Prerogative and The Fund Manager’s Marketing Manifesto, two well-received sales and marketing books.

 

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By Lucy Parkinson, Research Manager, LSN

LSN continually stresses the importance of producing quality marketing materials. Every client is advised of best practices for investor outreach. A poor presentation can hinder even the most disruptive technology from gaining traction with investors.

Recently, an investor responded to a client’s introductory email by saying it was the best he had ever received. So here we dissect that introductory email, using generic details rather than any identifying information.

Our client’s first step was to explain who he was, that he was aware of the investor’s criteria, and why he believes that his company is a good fit.

My name is John Smith, and I am the CEO of ABC Medtech, a partner of Life Science Nation (LSN). After reviewing your investment criteria and mandate with LSN, ABC seems closely aligned with [name of investor’s organization] investment priorities. After reading the brief introduction below, please review our pitch deck for detailed information.

In his first paragraph, our client began to cut through the noise and prove the relevance of his message to the investor. The client also directed the investor’s attention to the email’s attachments.

Next, our client spelled out what he was looking for: growth-stage capital for a product that’s on the market and that has specific, measurable goals for success.

ABC is seeking growth capital to accelerate the production and sales of our game-changing medical technology and to promote our mission of decreasing mortality and reducing surgical errors in [indication area].

Our client then provided a compelling two-sentence description of the product and invited the investor to click through to the company’s website to see photos and videos of the product. By providing this means of engagement, our client was able to get the investor’s interest and obtain feedback via metrics: if an investor clicked through to the website, that’s an indication of interest that’s worth our client’s follow-up time.

In the next part of the email, our client detailed how much capital he was seeking and what the company was going to do with it to further its mission.

ABC seeks to capitalize the business with up to [amount] in capital to scale production, build inventory, accelerate commercialization, and enhance marketing and sales capabilities. 

The client also went on to briefly outline the product’s major customers, the revenue it is generating, and its projected revenue for the near future. These specifics gave the investor a solid picture of ABC Medtech’s position in only a few lines of text.

Finally, our client explained ABC’s strengths as a growth-stage device company and provided a call to action that will provoke a response.

Steady growth can be sustained without capital, but the firm risks losing its window of competitive exclusivity. ABC has limited competition and significant competitive advantages, and it is poised to dominate a rapidly growing medical market.

This email is an example of how to succinctly define an opportunity to an investor. You can’t be generic; a company in a different sector with different key talking points should introduce itself in a completely different way. It’s also important to think about what will compel each investor to act; you might make a different pitch to a charitable foundation than you would to a hedge fund. But whoever you’re speaking to, conveying every necessary detail as concisely as possible is the key to ensuring that your introduction has impact.

What impression will you make on the next investor you email?

By Michael Quigley, Research Manager, LSN

The formation of direct-investment arms financed by insurance companies, hospitals, and healthcare providers is a growing trend in the life sciences industry. The research team at LSN has identified at least 15 that are actively seeking opportunities at this time. And after reviewing the 10 most recent investment mandates for these organizations and speaking with them, it is clear that they all have a singular focus: reducing the cost of care. This makes sense. By investing in life science companies, these organizations can lower the costs of care and increase profitability, while establishing an equity position in a growing company. It’s a win-win approach.

Interestingly, these organizations also have very similar ideas about the types of technologies that they want to fund in order to lower the cost of care. Fifteen have stated interests in health IT, 12 in medical devices or diagnostics, and 5 in therapeutics. It would appear that the financial requirements for therapeutic assets are too large and investment timelines are too long for some of these types of investors. However, the requirements for the health IT and device sectors are more manageable—and are red hot. Furthermore, the subsectors of patient monitoring, diagnostic devices, wearable and mobile medical devices, surgical tools, hospital hardware, and elder and chronic care all come up time and time again when speaking with these investors.

These investors also are uniquely positioned to assume the role of strategic partner for early stage companies for several reasons. First, many are able to aid in the organization of clinical-trial participants, since they are healthcare providers. Second, many are able to perform a deeper level of due diligence, since they have staff who would be the end users of many of these medical products and tools. Third, these investors tend have insight into the reimbursement process and environment, which has been known to be the bane of many early stage or newly commercialized medical devices. Finally, these investors ultimately realize their ROI when your product reaches commercialization and begins to reduce the cost of care; they are not looking to reach (or force) a value inflection point so that they can sell out to other institutional investors.

Given all these factors, these direct-investment arms are excellent prospects for companies that fit the investment mandates.

By Dennis Ford, Founder & CEO, LSN

According to many pundits at conferences and across the internet, venture capital firms in the life science space have been shifting to later-stage investments. Despite significant activity among the other categories of life science investors, industry chatter still seems to be caught up with venture activity. However, when you take into consideration the full spectrum of investors that LSN tracks, the majority of investor interest is focused on companies with assets that are pre-clinical or in Phase I of clinical trials. But wait, there’s more! In this article we’ll be taking a look at data from the LSN Investor Database to highlight the case.

The chart below shows data from an export of the 1,000 most recently updated LSN investor profiles from the LSN Investor Platform with a stated preference in terms of development phase. It is clear that the overwhelming majority of these profiles have an orientation towards emerging companies with pre-clinical or Phase I companies.

 

The chart below further validates this orientation towards early stage investments. It shows the distribution of 315 investors who have expressed their development phase preferences through a 1-on-1 conversation with LSN researchers.

This stands in clear contrast to what is often cited as the overwhelming trend in the space. It is often claimed that investors are shying away from the early stage segment of the life science marketplace. However, most of the time, those who are pointing out this trend are referring to the venture firms who have moved further down the development pipeline or left the space. The remaining categories of investors seem to have moved to fill this gap, and the data validates this trend.

When you begin to look closely at the foundations, family offices, venture philanthropies, virtual pharma, mid-level private equity, patient groups, hedge funds, government organizations, angel groups and various corporate venture capital firms that are also investing, the landscape improves for early stage life science companies.

The advice remains the same – be open to all categories of investors, do your research, and identify those that are the best fit for your sector, indication, and phase. This is the basis of a successful fundraising campaign in today’s investor landscape.