By Claire Jeong, Chief Conference Officer, Vice President of Investor Research, Asia BD, LSN

Life Science Nation is pleased to announce the winners of the RESI Boston 2026 Innovator’s Pitch Challenge, held during Biotech Week Boston.

Over the two days o RESI, more than 70 early stage life science companies presented their innovations to an audience of active investors, strategic partners, and industry leaders. Following the final round of pitches, the top three companies were recognized during lunch on day two:

1st Place	2nd Place	3rd Place
Synaptic Bio	Orthonika	Ironsides Medical

Congratulations to Synaptic Bio, Orthonika, Ironsides Medical, and every company that took the stage. The caliber of innovation, preparation, and investor engagement throughout the Challenge reflected the exciting work advancing across the global life science ecosystem.

Judges’ Picks Award Winners

In addition to the overall winners, Life Science Nation is proud to recognize the companies that received the highest evaluation scores from the investor judges in each Innovator’s Pitch Challenge session:

These companies stood out to the judging panels for the quality of their presentations and the potential of their technologies to address important unmet needs.

Apply to Pitch at RESI JPM 2027

Applications are now open for the Innovator’s Pitch Challenge at RESI JPM 2027, taking place in San Francisco on January 11 to 12, with virtual partnering January 13 and 18 to 19.

The Innovator’s Pitch Challenge gives early-stage companies the opportunity to present live to active life science investors, receive structured feedback, and build meaningful connections through RESI partnering.

Apply to the Innovator’s Pitch Challenge and secure your opportunity to pitch at RESI JPM.

By Claire Jeong, Chief Conference Officer, Vice President of Investor Research, Asia BD, LSN

RESI Boston brings together early-stage life science innovators and active investors during Biotech Week Boston. Life Science Nation is pleased to announce the investor judges participating in the Innovator’s Pitch Challenge (IPC).

This year’s IPC will feature more than 70 companies presenting across 20 pitch sessions over two days, offering startups a valuable opportunity to gain visibility, present directly to investors, and receive real-time feedback from experienced decision-makers.

Each pitch session will be evaluated by a panel of investor and strategic partner judges with expertise spanning therapeutics, medical devices, diagnostics, digital health, and life science tools. Companies will deliver a six-minute presentation followed by seven minutes of live investor Q&A, giving judges the opportunity to assess scientific differentiation, commercial potential, and investment readiness.

All IPC companies will also have a dedicated space in the RESI Exhibition Hall, creating additional opportunities for follow-up conversations and deeper engagement with investors and conference attendees.

RESI Boston attendees will be invited to vote with their RESI Cash for their favorite presenting companies. The Top 3 companies will be announced, with winners receiving prizes and additional exposure through the LSN Newsletter.

See the investors serving as judges for this year’s RESI Boston Innovator’s Pitch Challenge:

Featured RESI Boston IPC Judge
René Bastón Covenant Venture Capital	Caleb Bell Beyond Next Ventures	Randy Berholtz Mesa Verde Venture Partners
Shailesh Chavan Ingenious Global Venture Partners	Bruce Cohen Xeraya Capital	Yvette Ferreira Xcellerant Ventures
Navin Govind Evidence Ventures	Ole Henrik Bang Andreasen Avant Bio	Christopher Hupp Ipsen S.A.
Deepak Jha Autobahn Labs	James Lee Unistone Ventures	Claire Leurent AbbVie Ventures
Heather Loring AstraZeneca	James Massaquoi Glasswing Ventures	Mahesh Narayanan Neuvation Ventures
John Pennett Mid Atlantic Bio Angels	Garrett Peterson Yahara Ventures	Andrew Rae Woodgreen Ventures
Raza Shaikh Launchpad Venture Group	Justin Siemann Sontag Foundation	Sarah Tao CSL Behring
Martin Taylor F-Prime Capital	Lily Ting Lundbeck	Sally Wang Liang Xpanse Venture

By Claire Jeong, Chief Conference Officer, Vice President of Investor Research, Asia BD, LSN

RESI Boston brings together active early-stage investors and life science innovators for two days of investor-led programming focused on capital, partnering, and market dynamics shaping healthcare innovation.

The agenda will feature leading biotech VCs, family offices, corporate scouts, health system investors, and impact-focused investors sharing how they evaluate opportunities, where they see momentum, and what founders need to understand as they prepare to raise capital and build strategic partnerships.

From Boston’s biotech ecosystem and early-stage therapeutic investing to pharma partnering, health systems, strategic capital, chronic disease, women’s health, family offices, and impact investing, the panel program offers practical insight across the full life science financing landscape.

These conversations are designed to help entrepreneurs better understand investor priorities, refine their fundraising strategy, and build relationships with the people actively shaping the future of healthcare innovation.

RESI Boston takes place in person September 22–23 at the Westin Copley Place, with virtual partnering September 25 and September 28–29. Whether attending in Boston or virtually, participants can connect with investors, gain perspective from the panel stage, and advance their next conversations through targeted partnering.

Featured RESI Boston Investor Speakers
John Abeles Northlea Partners	Marc Appel Pacific Bridge NY	Farnaz Bakhshi ACS BrightEdge
Caleb Bell Beyond Next Ventures	Alan Chiu Breakthrough T1D	Scott Davis Sontag Foundation
Ronald Dorenbos BioFrontline Ltd.	Shane Duffy Avanos Medical, Inc.	Tao Fang MRL Ventures Fund (MRLV)
David Fogel Mass Medical Angels	Navin Govind Evidence Ventures	Nimisha Gupta Jazz Pharmaceuticals, Inc
William Hsu, PhD NuFund Venture Group	Austin Hwang Analog Garage	Jonathan Ilicki Industrifonden
Renaud Jacquemart Omnium Global	Rohit Jain HBS Alumni Angels of Northern California	Satoshi Konagai Astellas Venture Management (AVM)
Jason Kraus Boston Harbor Angels	Kathy Ku Sazze Partners	Sally Wang Liang Xpanse Venture
Nate Macht ACS BrightEdge	Nune Martiros Paladin Capital Group	Andrew Merken Polsinelli PC
Nikhil Mutyal AstraZeneca	Rohit Nuwal TELUS Ventures	Maggie O'Toole LabCentral
Soyoung Park 1004 Venture Partners	Dushyant Pathak Autobahn Labs	Garrett Peterson Yahara Ventures
Andrew Rae Woodgreen Ventures	Parthiban Rajasekaran Sanofi	Armin Rump Otsuka Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd.
Mo Soleja Golden Seeds	Yvanka de Soysa Foreground Capital	Daniel Teper YADAY Health
Andrew Thomson Ipsen S.A.	John Tremblay Launchpad Venture Group	Le Zhan Yunion Healthcare Ventures

By Claire Jeong, Chief Conference Officer, Vice President of Investor Research, Asia BD, LSN

Life Science Nation (LSN) is excited to welcome Bayer Co.Lab as a Title Sponsor of RESI Boston 2026, taking place September 22-23 at the Westin Copley Place in Boston, with virtual partnering continuing September 25 and 28-29.

Bayer Co.Lab is Bayer’s global network of life science incubators supporting early-stage entrepreneurs developing breakthrough technologies. By connecting emerging companies with scientific expertise, mentorship, infrastructure, and Bayer’s broader global network, Co.Lab provides an environment designed to help innovators advance promising science and build the relationships needed for future growth.

Bayer Co.Lab’s mission is closely aligned with RESI’s focus on connecting early-stage life science and healthcare companies with investors, strategic partners, and industry leaders who can accelerate breakthrough therapies.

Bayer Co.Lab’s will be sponsoring a 2-hour session at RESI Boston 2026:

Connecting Asian Biotech Innovation with Global Partners: A Bayer Co.Lab Showcase

Tuesday, September 22, 2:00 – 4:00pm EST

The showcase will bring seven emerging biotechnology companies from Korea and Japan to the RESI stage, highlighting innovative approaches across various therapeutic modalities.

artiCure | Korea

Tumor-selective replicating gene therapy targeting solid tumors

Crafton Biotechnology | Japan

mRNA therapeutics supported by advanced computational approaches

Curigin | Korea

RNA-based therapeutic technologies across multiple disease areas

Elisigen | Korea

Next-generation gene therapy with programs in ophthalmology

Genome & Company | Korea

Microbiome-driven therapeutic discovery and development

ILIAS Biologics | Korea

Exosome-based therapeutics for inflammatory and fibrotic diseases

Kanjin Therapeutics | Japan

RNA therapeutics, including siRNA and antisense approaches, for areas of unmet medical need

The program reflects a growing opportunity to connect promising innovation emerging from Asian biotech ecosystems with global pharmaceutical partners, investors, and other strategic collaborators. By bringing Korean and Japanese companies directly into the RESI community, the showcase will create a forum for companies to present their science, build international relationships, and explore pathways for global development and partnership.

Meet Bayer at RESI Boston

Bayer will have a strong presence at RESI Boston, with senior representatives spanning Co.Lab and BD & Licensing departments.

Alberto Nobili Sr. Director, Strategy and Portfolio at Co.Lab	Nobuhiro Kazama Head of Collaborate to Cure Japan Hub	Ilona Gutcher Senior Director, BD&L Oncology
Carla Klattenhoff Senior Director / Scientific US Lead for Research and Early Development in CV, Renal and Immunology	Shivaranjani Sridharan Executive Director, Business Development & Licensing

Their participation gives RESI attendees an opportunity to engage with Bayer leaders representing multiple areas of scientific and strategic interest and to gain greater insight into how a global pharmaceutical company approaches external innovation and collaboration.

Bringing Global Innovators Together in Boston

RESI has always been built around a simple idea: great science can come from anywhere, but moving it forward requires the right connections.

Bayer Co.Lab’s participation as Title Sponsor of RESI Boston 2026 reinforces that mission. From supporting emerging entrepreneurs to creating new connections between Asian biotech innovators and the global life science ecosystem, the collaboration will bring another important dimension to this year’s RESI Boston.

Join Bayer Co.Lab and the global early-stage life science community at RESI Boston 2026!