By Claire Jeong, Director of Research, Asia BD, LSN

As with last year, it is a great pleasure to announce Life Science Nation (LSN)’s partnership with Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency (KOTRA) in preparation for the Redefining Early Stage Investments (RESI) Philadelphia conference on Monday, June 3^rd, 2019.

South Korea’s biotech ecosystem continues to thrive – recently, the government has announced that they will spend over $419M USD to support the pharmaceutical and biotech industry of South Korea, a remarkable increase from last year’s pledge of $328M USD (1). The number of venture capital firms focused on life science investments is continuing to increase and more companies are seeking opportunities to enter the global market, hoping to find key strategic partners and investors to support their growth. Major companies like LG Chem and Samyang Biopharmaceuticals has opened offices in Boston within the last year to foster open innovation, and the presence of Korean companies in biotech hubs like Boston will continue to grow.

This year, KOTRA, partnered with Korea Biotechnology Industry Organization (KoreaBIO), Korea Institute of Marine Science and Technology Promotion (KIMST), and Bluepoint Partners, has jointly established the “K-Startup Meetup 2019 Philadelphia” program. This program aims to showcase some of the most promising startup technologies from South Korea across key life science sectors (therapeutics, medical devices, diagnostics, digital health) and support their participation in the RESI Philadelphia conference. Among many applicants, the top 10 companies were selected to participate. The K-Startup Meetup program consists of multiple sessions, covering topics such as understanding the global market, effective partnering strategies, refining marketing collateral, and more.

Last week, I joined the very first session of the K-Startup Meetup program in Pangyo, South Korea, to introduce the RESI Conference to the participating startups. Another aspect of RESI that I covered included the “Korea Pitch Challenge”, a 50-minute session sponsored by KOTRA. During this session, participating Korean companies will present a short ~5 minute pitch followed by a ~5 minute Q&A session from a panel of investor judges, providing constructive feedback that will prepare them for future pitching opportunities.

On behalf of everyone in LSN, I am very excited to work with these organizations to help support the early-stage life science ecosystem in South Korea. Concurrent with the BIO International Convention, we anticipate RESI Philadelphia to be a highly global event as usual, and we hope you could attend to meet promising companies from South Korea and many, many more!

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

This is a first installment in a series aimed at helping the scientist/entrepreneur become familiar with a natural way to get their message out by working on telling a compelling story. Telling a story starts with finding and getting the storyteller in context themselves first and then on to their audience.

The Real You

Being the real you. Being authentic. Finding your voice. That is what really matters in life and in business. For me, basically where it all starts in the world of the entrepreneur is finding and connecting with your inner voice and allowing that voice to tell your very own personal story. You will find in business that the most successful players are always the best storytellers. Don’t worry about storytelling – it is in your DNA; it is a deep part of every culture. It is how we teach and learn. Hopefully, this article will begin to help you get in touch with your voice and your story, as it relates to you building your business. It isn’t easy. It’s hard work. Above all, it takes practice. As the joke goes: ‘How do you get to Carnegie Hall? Practice, practice, practice!’ Make no mistake about the art of storytelling – it is a craft honed by practice. So, if you are not a natural bon vivant, raconteur, story teller, you best better get after it. The good news is: you can do it, but it starts with getting and thinking about your basic story.

Believe me, there are a lot of theories on how to make it in business. Every self-loving, self-proclaimed, teacher and consultant of the how to be a successful entrepreneur is pitching their latest gimmick and scheme. There are wheelbarrows full of preconceived notions about how entrepreneurs are supposed to be, supposed to act and build their image. You already have an image that you are currently portraying to the world and it is important to take a look at what you are actually broadcasting out there. Be aware of your image and be aware of what your projecting to the world. Know who you are and how you come across. It may sound funny, but you are “the package” when you are out speaking about your technology and company. It is always good to think about what you are portraying to the market. When you see the high profile players in the media they are all out there with a good idea of who they are, what their appearance is and how to tell their story. These are the basics I am imploring you to think about and be aware of.

Some entrepreneurs find their own entrepreneurial idols, create their own fan clubs and try to emulate and copy the image they think works. It gets even darker, take Elizabeth Holmes, founder of Theranos and the alleged Steve Jobs connection. Others create unique personas or try on multiple new personas looking for contrived versions of themselves or who they think they should project to the world. The message here is clear: don’t over-work and over-think the process. ‘Fake it till you make it’ doesn’t work. Where is this little diatribe is heading? Despite what all those offering well-meaning advice will tell you…to be a successful entrepreneur you need to be yourself, work on your unique story of how you, your team and your technology arrived at this point in time and where you are hoping to take it.

By Karen Deyo, Investor Research Analyst, LSN

LSN is gearing up for our next RESI on June 3^rd in Philadelphia. The conference will feature two RESI panel tracks, with panels designed to provide fundraising CEOs with advice on what investors and strategic partners are seeking, as well as tips on how to approach them. Panels will range from discussions by different types of investors, such as Corporate Venture Capital, Angels & Family Offices and Asia Corporates & Strategics, to those focused on particular areas, ranging from general topics such as Medical Device Investors and Early Stage Therapeutics to AI in Healthcare and Mental & Behavioral Health. Join us at RESI Philadelphia to hear the speakers below share their expertise.

Zishan Haroon, Julz Co., Aisa Therapeutics

Dr. Haroon brings over two decades of experience in venture, private equity, corporate/business development and academia (with direct transactional and operational exposure of 15+ years in China) to lead Julz, a US based fund focused in healthcare opportunities worldwide. Julz has offices in NC and Suzhou China to exploit the tremendous opportunity offered in healthcare in both US and China. The investment spans all facets from innovative drugs, devices to services such as hospitals and diagnostic labs.

Somjeet Dey, Otsuka Pharmaceuticals, Asia Therapeutics

Somjeet has been working with Otsuka’s Business Development department since 2013 and he presently leads the company’s business development operations in the US for drugs, devices and diagnostics. Somjeet believes in Otsuka’s “big venture” spirit and is committed to strategically building a product pipeline that would sharpen the company’s long-term competitive edge. Consequently, he engages regularly with academia, accelerators and VCs to explore growth opportunities for Otsuka. He played an active role in the buy-side due diligence and negotiations for Otsuka’s recent acquisitions of Neurovance, Inc. and Visterra, Inc. Before joining Otsuka, Somjeet developed and implemented technology solutions for financial institutions across Asia, Africa, Europe and North America. He received his MBA degree from The Ohio State University.

Sohaib Siddiqui, Kettlebeck Developments, Digital Health

Dr. Sohaib Siddiqui is a managing partner at Kettlebeck Ventures, which is a family office based in Toronto, Canada.  The company maintains a diverse portfolio of investments in land, tech and healthcare.  Sohaib leads the healthcare strategy which aims to conduct impact investing in life science.  As part of the company’s healthcare thesis, the group aims to advise early stage start-ups, help them network in the healthcare ecosystem and make strategic investments.

Sohaib has a Bachelor of Science in Biology from Queen’s University.  He also studied at the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland where he has received degrees in Medicine, Surgery, Obstetrics and Gynecology. He loves working with start-ups in order to provide strategic capital and insight to tackle challenging problems in healthcare.

Richard Gordon, Inova Strategic Investments, Digital Health

Rick Gordon is an expert on technology investing, business strategy and early-stage venture development. He is a leader with more than 25 years’ experience in providing organizations with strategic growth.

Rick is a Director at Inova Health System’s Personalized Health Accelerator, the health system’s seed investment organization.

Rick formerly served as founding Managing Partner of MACH37, a cybersecurity market centric accelerator supported by a community of industry leaders. MACH37 invests in entrepreneurs and helps them develop into thriving cybersecurity companies. Rick was previously CEO of Tovaris, a specialized encryption software development company, and was also a technology investment banker at Bear, Stearns & Co.

Rick served as a submarine officer in the U.S. Navy. He received his MBA from The Darden School at the University of Virginia and his BS in Engineering with Merit from the U.S. Naval Academy.

Ronald Dorenbos, Takeda Pharmaceuticals – Materials & Innovation, Medical Device Investors

Ronald is Associate Director at Takeda’s Materials & Innovation team, a group that scouts for new technologies related to drug delivery and biomaterials. During his appointment at the Life Science division of PA Consulting Group, a British Consulting firm, Ronald led projects for some of the world’s top 10 pharmaceutical companies around strategy, commercialization and digital health. At his company BioFrontline he provides management, strategy and commercial advice to life science companies around the world. Ronald received MAs in Biotechnology and Molecular Biology and after obtaining a PhD in Pharmaceutical Biology spent six years at Harvard to study Parkinson’s, Schizophrenia and the genetics of aggressive behavior before making the transition to industry. Ronald is a keen follower of developments in the field of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and regularly invited as speaker to present on topics related to pharma, healthcare and AI.