Free Pre-RESI Event | Sunday, June 15, 2025 | CIC Boston 

By Max Braht, Director of Business Development, LSN

For international life science companies looking to expand into the US, there is no better launch point than Boston – home to the world’s most concentrated life science cluster. As a lead-in to RESI Boston 2025, Life Science Nation (LSN) is hosting a free pre-conference event to help global early-stage companies gain a foothold in this vibrant and competitive market.

Landing Your Company in the Boston Life Science Ecosystem is a half-day forum designed for startups seeking to understand the practical and strategic steps required to establish a US presence. This exclusive event brings together experts across legal, regulatory, funding, investor relations, and real estate sectors to share insights on how international innovators can successfully navigate relocation to the US.

Attendees will benefit from the expertise of confirmed event sponsors who work hands-on with early-stage companies entering the US market. Polsinelli, a nationally recognized law firm, will outline the legal, regulatory, and corporate structure considerations involved in setting up operations in the US. Eva Garland Consulting will speak to strategies for securing non-dilutive funding and leveraging government grant programs to support early R&D. Back Bay Life Science Advisors will offer investor-side insights on how international companies can position themselves to de-risk their opportunity and connect with the right capital sources. Real estate advisory firm Savills will address the strategic importance of site selection, covering what companies need to know about facilities, cost structures, and scaling potential in a competitive market. Digital product development firm Medtech Ahead by BeneStudios will discuss how thoughtful tech infrastructure and design can support investor readiness and commercialization goals. LSN will open the session with a presentation on the early-stage investor landscape and how to make meaningful connections during partnering events like RESI.

Whether you’re preparing for a US launch or are already in-market and looking to scale, this event offers a unique opportunity to gather actionable knowledge and connect with local resources. The session is free for RESI Boston attendees and other international companies in town that week. Space is limited, and registration is on a first-come, first-served basis.

Event Details: 
Date: Sunday, June 15, 2025
Time: 1:00 PM – 5:00 PM
Location: CIC Boston – Meridian Room, 5th Floor, 50 Milk Street, Boston, MA
Cost: Free

Don’t miss your chance to pitch to investor panels and save—submit your application and register today 

By Max Braht, Director of Business Development, LSN

This week brings two important deadlines for life science companies looking to engage with investors at RESI Boston June, taking place Monday, June 16 at the Westin Copley Place (minutes from BIO), followed by three days of virtual partnering on June 17–18 and 23.

1. Final Day to Apply for the Innovator’s Pitch Challenge – tomorrow, Wednesday, May 7

The Innovator’s Pitch Challenge (IPC) is a unique opportunity for startups to pitch in front of a panel of well-aligned investors who are actively sourcing deals. This is not just about winning a pitch—it’s about starting real conversations that can lead to partnerships and investment.

IPC participants receive:

• A spot in a live, interactive pitch session with modality-specific investors

• A full conference pass including partnering, panels and workshops

• A table in the Exhibition Hall to showcase your technology throughout the in-person day

• A chance to win complimentary RESI registration for a future conference

At RESI Boston last year, 56 companies pitched in the IPC, making it a central platform for startups to raise visibility and build investor relationships. If you’re a biotech, medtech, digital health, AI, R&D services or diagnostics founder, don’t miss this opportunity to get in front of aligned investors.

2. Early Bird Registration Ends – Friday, May 9

RESI Boston June is Life Science Nation’s flagship partnering event, connecting entrepreneurs with a global network of investors across venture capital, pharma, family offices, angels, and strategic firms.

What’s included with registration:

• One-on-one partnering across four days (June 16 in-person, June 17–18 and 23 virtual)

• Access to all content: Investor Panels on topics including early-stage therapeutics, digital health, diagnostics, medical devices, family offices, and AI in healthcare, watching the Innovator’s Pitch Challenge, sessions, and Fundraising Workshops from industry experts

• Networking opportunities designed to support relationship-building at all stages of fundraising

• Two investor-laden receptions, the evenings of June 15th and 16th

Early bird rates expire Friday, May 9, offering the best value for fundraising companies to participate in one of the leading global partnering events focused on life science innovation.

By Greg Mannix, VP, EMEA Business Development, LSN

Life Science Nation is bringing RESI back to London in 2025, with an expanded conference designed to connect life science companies with the capital and strategic partners they need to grow. The in-person event takes place on 4 December at 11 Cavendish Square, followed by two days of virtual partnering on 5–6 December, extending access to investors and innovators across the globe. 

RESI London offers a robust agenda tailored to the life science ecosystem, featuring investor panels, workshops, one-on-one partnering, and the Innovator’s Pitch Challenge, where selected startups present their technologies to active investors and receive live feedback. Companies raising seed to Series B rounds will find a strong pipeline of potential investors, licensing partners, and collaborators. 

Attendees can register for the three-day hybrid experience or join virtually for the partnering days, depending on their needs and availability. Additional offerings include access to full investor profiles and educational resources to help optimize outreach and meetings. 

RESI also welcomes service providers—including law firms, CROs, and consultants—seeking new business opportunities, and tech hubs and accelerators supporting portfolios of early-stage companies. Discounted packages are available for qualifying groups. 

Qualified investors and strategic partners attend at no cost, with opportunities to participate as speakers, judges, or meeting participants. Whether you’re fundraising, sourcing innovation, or building your network in the European market, RESI London provides a high-impact platform for early-stage partnering. 

Register now for RESI London 2025 and join us in reconnecting global life science stakeholders in the heart of London.

Amid one of the toughest biotech markets in years, seed funding for young companies has fallen to its lowest level in a decade. According to Atlas Venture’s Bruce Booth, only about 55 biotech startups in the U.S. raised initial funding in the first quarter of 2025 — a nearly 70% drop compared to the peak in early 2021.

“It is getting tougher. When there’s no IPO market, there’s no B rounds, and then there’s no A rounds, and there’s no seed rounds. It all trickles down,” said Søren Møller, managing partner of seed investments at Novo Holdings. Søren also conveyed that due to the market confusion caused by tariffs and the shifting positions thereof, his $160B fund would slow investment until there is more certainty. With regards to IPOs, the CEO of the same fund advised that now is “probably” not a good time to IPO, unless you have to do so, due to the view on interest rates being unclear. Søren’s sentiments were echoed by both Roche and Merck & Co. on the deal-making front.

To add insult to injury, BioCentury’s biotech risk sentiment survey found “Biotech is reeling, fearful and furious about the fallout of tariffs, FDA and NIH policies.” BioCentury reported that the perfect storm, including market downturn, regulatory uncertainty, negative perception of scientific research, and the possible loss of the US as the leader in global biomedical innovation, could signal one of the worst times for the industry “in decades.”

But not everyone sees this contraction as a negative. As Booth wrote in his blog on biotech venture creation, “it’s a great time to start new biotech companies” precisely because of the scarcity. With fewer startups competing for capital, talent, and patients, the few companies that do form today could become tomorrow’s market leaders.

The “supply-demand” dynamics favor the brave: when new company creation slows, venture firms creating startups have a clearer runway. As Booth put it, “With scarce startup supply, when investor demand returns — which it will — founding and early equity holders will be rewarded.” He pointed to past examples like Alnylam (founded in 2002) and Nimbus (founded during the 2009 downturn) as proof that tough times can seed future giants.

Beyond the U.S., global funding opportunities could offer a lifeline for biotech founders. As domestic venture firms tighten their wallets, international investors — including Asian corporates, and Middle Eastern sovereign wealth groups — are increasingly active in scouting early-stage innovation. Seeking funding globally not only diversifies a startup’s investor base but also opens doors to broader partnership and commercialization strategies.

As Booth reminds early-stage entrepreneurs, “big doses of discipline are important medicine” — with startups needing to sharpen plans, tighten budgets, and be open to strategic partnerships. But for those who endure, today’s brutal market could create the “emerging stars of the 2030s.” At Life Science Nation, we’ve tracked hundreds of companies that have attended RESI, used our investor database, and attended our entrepreneurial education courses, and know one thing for sure: It is ultimately a numbers game. The more investors you meet, the higher your chances of getting funded or additional funding are. That’s why the RESI conferences feature hundreds of investors funding pre-seed to B rounds – to help life science companies in times like these fast-track their fundraise.

Sources:

• Biotech seed rounds sink to lowest level in years as industry slump drags on by Kyle LaHucik, Endpoints News
• Biotech Venture Creation: The Benefits of Scarcity by Bruce Booth, LifeSciVC blog
• Biotech sees a new, hard era ahead, survey finds: BioCentury’s Risk Sentiment survey, BioCentury
• Novo Holdings dials back investment as Trump stymies economic forecasters, Bloomberg, as reported by Fierce Biotech