Next Phase Newsletter

By Dennis Ford, Founder and CEO of Life Science Nation, Creator of the RESI Conference Series

Life Science Nation (LSN) is the leader in connecting early-stage life science and healthcare startups with capital and licensing deals. While academia remains one of the most powerful institutions for innovative tech, the main challenge we see with the founders is that they are entering into a new business universe, more specifically, a startup business universe. They enter this universe with powerful technology that they hope to translate and commercialize. But first-timers are often lacking the rudimentary skillset to succeed at launching a startup. These often-overlooked aspects, which LSN refers to as the tactical “nuts and bolts,” consist of getting their story straight, identifying partners that fit their stage of development and product, and messaging these potential partners through all the different modalities available today.

The big shift from academic to founder includes a basic understanding of business development, marketing, and sales, all of which are needed to find capital investors, licensing partners, and product collaboration partners. When it comes to partnering, it’s important to understand that the very first step is identifying and curating a list of potential partner profiles that are a fit for the startup’s stage of development and product set. Developing this list is the singular most important step, and it must be done thoroughly. Once this is done, the second and third steps come naturally. The second step is developing a system to track contacts and keep the list updated, and the third consists of outreach and following up. Founders who have completed step one must keep their list organized and in a safe and accessible location (not Excel). I’m talking about a CRM. From here, they can start to curate and track partners. Deals can take anywhere from 9-18 months, from start to finish, and keeping the partner profiles updated and associated tasks and deliverables current. It is imperative to be efficient and organized in running a global partnering campaign.

Through its events, products, and services, LSN has spent the past decade guiding academic innovators and teaching these basic business development concepts and tools that prepare them for their foray into the early-stage startup environment and fundraising. The Valley of Death doesn’t need to be the end of a great idea and LSN is a trusted partner in that process. Contact our business development team to learn more about how our events, products, and services can help connect you to the next step along your early-stage journey.

Want to learn more? The Business Development team at Life Science Nation is available to answer questions and share additional details to help you meet your partnership goals!
International	East Coast (USA) & China	Midwest (USA) & Canada	West Coast  (USA)
Greg Mannix Vice President International Business Development, General Manager Europe Book a Meeting Email Me	Candice He Vice President of Business Development, Global Investment Strategist Book a Meeting Email Me	Antoinette Lowre Manager of Business Development Book a Meeting Email Me	Alexander Vassallo Manager of Business Development Book a Meeting Email Me

Atheneos Ventures is a healthcare-focused, evergreen incubator fund based in the San Francisco Bay Area, going forward focusing on orphan drugs and rare diseases via a holding company-fund business model pioneered by the firm in 2009 for common diseases. This new entity is called Atheneos Global, a pathfinder company, focused on orphan diseases is being launched in Q1, 2018. However, the firm collaborates with an affiliate, Spire BioVentures, on projects that are not in the orphan diseases space.

The firm has a very high threshold for working with companies, and makes most of its investments in companies with which there is some type of relationship, but it is open to new opportunities as well on a case-by-case basis. The firm is mainly focused on therapeutics and will consider platform technologies, however only platforms capable of generating drug candidates. The firm’s investment size varies widely depending on the needs of the company, and expected to commit between $5M-$10M for the life of the company (from start to exit). The capital structure depends on the financing round, with convertible notes being preferred for seed rounds and equity for everything else (no debt financing) with the preferred entry point being seed or Series A. Atheneos only co-invests, and does not lead rounds unless the key principals are part of the founding entrepreneurs. The firm has some limitations on geographic exposure and will consider companies in the United States, Canada, Singapore, Spain, the Netherlands, Switzerland or the United Kingdom.

Atheneos will invest in therapeutics (no specific indication) that treats orphan diseases with strong scientific rationale. For Atheneos, not all orphan indications are rare or ultra-rare since the future is fragmentation of common indications characterized thru genomics or proteomics profile. The firm is interested in earlier stage assets and will consider anything from pre-clinical up to Phase IIa. In the past, the firm has invested in therapeutics (a single asset or a company with multiple products), which treat unmet needs in glaucoma, thrombosis (in particular patients with prosthetic heart valves and renal dysfunction), atrial fibrillation, inflammatory disorders (such as ulcerative colitis), gastrointestinal disorders (such as constipation, reflux disease) as well as a small molecule to treat neurovascular disorders such as Alzheimer’s disease, wet-age related macular degeneration. Atheneos will consider early-stage therapeutics to treat orphan disease including small molecules, and novel biologics (including “biobetters”) that are likely to obtain or already have issued composition of matter patents and platform technologies (that could generate novel drug candidates) with least interest in repurposed drugs, biosimilars and cell/gene therapy candidates. The firm at present is not interested in diagnostics, medical devices or digital health but may work thru its affiliate, Spire BioVentures, for projects in this area.

Atheneos does not have any specific management team requirements, and will work with all entrepreneurs. A board seat is not always required, but is not uncommon.

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

By Rory McCann, Marketing Manager & Conference Producer, LSN

Digital RESI JPM is barely out of the rearview mirror at Life Science Nation (LSN), but that doesn’t mean Digital RESI March isn’t coming up fast. RESI is not meant to be a one-shot success story. It’s designed to follow the principles of early-stage fundraising:

RESI returns five times each year, not only as a tool in the shed of investors seeking portfolio assets, but also as a platform for startups to connect, meet, and pitch to investors and strategic partners who are a fit for their product and stage of development. The rapid turnaround of events speaks to the importance of consistency and the speed necessary to progress with partnerships. This also means that the window for early-bird season is coming to a close.

Startups can save $200 when they register for Digital RESI March by February 18. RESI is priced competitively with the understanding that resources are tight while fundraising. Early bird rates invite founders to get involved early to start working with some of LSN’s powerful complimentary resources to enhance their RESI experience and support their outreach. See what Digital RESI JPM attendees have to say and contact us to learn more about our exclusive rates and upcoming free bootcamps to get 2022 fundraising off on the right foot!

“This was our first conference, and we were very pleased with the quality of the companies that we met and with the communications from the conference organizers.”

“I very much appreciate the ability to attend RESI conferences as an investor.”

“I like this platform and helpful LSN folks very much and feel LSN is doing an excellent job creating a friendly community for early-stage startups.”

By Alexander Vassallo, Manager of Business Development West Coast (US), LSN

Life Science Nation (LSN)’s global network, built over the past decade, incorporates a host of exciting early-stage life science strategic partners, including Technology (Tech) Hubs. Due to the key role that Tech Hubs play in the early-stage life science arena, LSN has developed several Tech Hub-specific offerings to the central benefit of their constituents.

The first offering relates to a special 50% discount on standard 3-day registrations to any 2022 Redefining Early Stage Investments (RESI) partnering event – the nucleus of LSN’s global network partnerships. Provided the constituent has raised under $2M USD, they can attend RESI for $598, as opposed to the standard price of $1195. Constituents can partner with any number of the hundreds of active investors who attend RESI regularly, showcase their technology, and highlight why their company should be an investor’s top choice for 2022. For less than $600, this offer is rare in the life science partnering community, making it a no-brainer for cash-strapped businesses.

The second offer includes access to the LSN Investor Database. The LSN Investor Database helps startups raising their Seed to Series B funding rounds connect with active investors who are a right fit for their product and stage of development. The LSN Investor Database currently contains more than 10,000 global investors from over 2,500 investment firms across domains of therapeutics, medical devices, diagnostics, and digital health. When three, or more, tech hub constituents join, each constituent receives a four-month subscription, one free ticket to any 2022 RESI event, and a guaranteed slot in the Innovator’s Pitch Challenge (IPC) for $2,000 per startup. Individually, these components would cost $3,800, but through this Tech Hub Group Fundraising Package, constituents have even more to benefit from.

Finally, all Tech Hub partners that send at least one constituent to RESI in 2022 will receive a dedicated webpage for that respective conference. Tech Hubs can showcase all their organization has to offer by submitting materials to LSN including an organization description, introductory video, brochure, case studies, and more. LSN curates these materials into a dedicated webpage which grants an unparalleled opportunity for exposure with our network. This dedicated webpage is part of the Tech Hub Partnership Agreement, a free-of-cost arrangement between LSN and the Tech Hub that ensures maximum benefit for both parties.

Past RESI Tech Hubs

Tech Hub administrators and constituents alike can benefit from these special offers. If you’re interested in learning more, contact us, and our dedicated business development team is ready to see how we can be a meaningful stop along the way to fundraising success.

Want to learn more? The Business Development team at Life Science Nation is available to answer questions and share additional details to help you meet your partnership goals!
International	East Coast (USA) & China	Midwest (USA) & Canada	West Coast  (USA)
Greg Mannix Vice President International Business Development, General Manager Europe Book a Meeting Email Me	Candice He Vice President of Business Development, Global Investment Strategist Book a Meeting Email Me	Antoinette Lowre Manager of Business Development Book a Meeting Email Me	Alexander Vassallo Manager of Business Development Book a Meeting Email Me

By Karen Deyo, Director of Investor Research, Israel BD, LSN

The Redefining Early Stage Investment (RESI) conference series is, first and foremost, a partnering event. However, in addition to being partnering-centric, RESI is also designed to provide unfettered access to “the room where it happens” in the form of investor panels designed to provide valuable insight into what investors want in 2022.

Digital RESI March will feature 13 panels, with 10 panels featuring investors sharing their insights and giving tips to fundraising companies, as well as 3 panels featuring startups sharing their successful fundraising stories, how they achieved it, and what they’ve learned along the way. The investor panels range in focus from Seed Funds to Medtech Strategics, and focusing on different sectors, from Mental & Behavioral Health to Cell & Gene Therapy. Additionally, there will be AI and Longevity-focused panels, two areas of the life sciences with increasing focus.

RESI is first and foremost a partnering conference, but this content offers many startups keen strategies to help them avoid common pitfalls when approaching investors. Attendees can take the time to watch the sessions live and ask the panelists questions, or choose to watch the panels at a later date, with the panel recordings available on the Live Agenda up to three weeks after the conference ends.

If your New Year’s resolution was to kick off an early-stage fundraise, you’re not alone, but RESI provides the actionable steps to get from point (or series) A to B. Check out our panels below and register by February 18 to save $200!