Tag Archives: entrepreneurship

INNOPOLIS Jeonbuk, Title Sponsor of RESI San Diego 2026, to Host Jeonbuk Advanced Bio Boost-Up Innovation Showcase

27 May

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

Life Science Nation (LSN) is pleased to announce the INNOPOLIS Jeonbuk as a Title Sponsor of RESI San Diego 2026.

As part of the Jeonbuk Advanced Bio Boost-Up Platform initiative, INNOPOLIS Jeonbuk will host the Jeonbuk Advanced Bio Boost-Up Innovation Showcase at RESI San Diego on Monday, June 22, 10:00am – 12:00pm, featuring innovative life science companies from South Korea. The showcase aims to highlight emerging Korean biotech and healthcare technologies while connecting participating companies with global investors, strategic partners, and commercialization opportunities.

The Jeonbuk Advanced Bio Boost-Up Platform initiative is supported by the Ministry of Science and ICT of Korea and the Korea Innovation Foundation (INNOPOLIS Foundation), with the goal of strengthening Jeonbuk’s position as a global bio innovation hub. Through this initiative, regional startups and emerging companies are being supported in their efforts to expand internationally and engage with the global life science ecosystem.

South Korea has rapidly emerged as one of Asia’s leading biotechnology and healthcare markets, supported by strong scientific talent, advanced manufacturing capabilities, and increasing government investment in innovation. Within this landscape, Jeonbuk is actively developing its bio industry through strategic support for therapeutics, medical devices, digital health, diagnostics, regenerative medicine, and advanced biomanufacturing.

Participating companies include:

WittGen Biotechnologies – developer of a GenAI-based single-cell multi-omics simulation platform focused on oncology, immunology, and rare diseases.

 

Cellebrain – advancing MSC-based gene delivery technologies for oncology, fibrosis, and rare disease applications.

 

Youth Bio Global – developing allogeneic ECFC-based regenerative cell therapy platforms targeting vascular regeneration and ischemic diseases.

 

Erudio Bio Korea – developer of semiconductor-based multiplex diagnostic and AI molecular analysis technologies for preventive screening and oncology applications.

 

BASGENBIO Co., Ltd. – an AI-driven drug discovery company focused on target discovery and preclinical decision-support technologies.

 

VIEL-T Co., Ltd. – developing programmable RNA therapeutics platforms for next-generation precision medicine applications.

In connection with the initiative, INNOPOLIS Jeonbuk recently hosted the Global Investment Attraction Strategy & IR Capability Enhancement Seminar on May 21, 2026, at the Jeonbuk Techno Business Center in South Korea. The seminar brought together regional biotech companies, ecosystem stakeholders, and industry experts to discuss global fundraising strategies, investor engagement, and international commercialization opportunities for Korean life science companies.

As part of the program, Life Science Nation (LSN) shared insights on:

  • Global fundraising and investor outreach strategies
  • Building effective IR and partnering pipelines
  • Preparing Korean startups for international investors and markets
  • Opportunities through RESI and the global LSN ecosystem

The event also included the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between LSN and BSR Korea to strengthen collaboration in supporting Korean biotech and healthcare companies seeking global expansion and cross-border partnership opportunities.

Through the showcase at RESI San Diego 2026, INNOPOLIS Jeonbuk seeks to strengthen cross-border collaboration and provide Korean startups with greater access to global capital and partnering opportunities.

The program will feature:

  • An introduction to the Jeonbuk bio ecosystem and the Jeonbuk Advanced Bio Boost-Up Platform initiative
  • Startup pitches from participating Korean life science companies
  • Investor and industry expert feedback sessions
  • Networking opportunities with global investors and strategic partners

RESI San Diego 2026 will take place on Monday, June 22, at the JULEP Venue in San Diego. Join us for a full day of one-on-one partnering meetings, engaging programming, and the opportunity to build meaningful connections within the global life sciences ecosystem.

About INNOPOLIS Jeonbuk

The INNOPOLIS Jeonbuk is part of Korea’s national innovation cluster network operated by the Korea Innovation Foundation under the Ministry of Science and ICT. Based in Jeonbuk Special Self-Governing Province, the cluster supports the commercialization and global expansion of innovative technologies and startups across the life sciences sector.

Through the Jeonbuk Advanced Bio Boost-Up Platform initiative, the cluster is focused on strengthening regional bio innovation capabilities and supporting Korean life science companies in accessing global investors, strategic partners, and international markets.

As a Title Sponsor of RESI San Diego 2026, the INNOPOLIS Jeonbuk aims to expand global collaboration opportunities for Korean startups and further connect the Korean bio ecosystem with the international life science community.

Register for RESI San Diego

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New Frontiers in Diagnostics: Investors Look Toward Earlier Detection and Smarter Disease Monitoring at RESI San Diego 

27 May

By Momo Yamamoto, Senior Investor Research Analyst, LSN

At RESI San Diego, the “New Frontiers in Diagnostics: Investing in Technologies Enabling Earlier Disease Detection” panel will bring together investors and industry leaders to explore one of the most rapidly evolving areas in healthcare innovation: diagnostics.

As advances in liquid biopsies, molecular diagnostics, AI-enabled imaging, and point-of-care technologies continue to reshape healthcare, diagnostics are increasingly moving beyond simple detection tools and becoming central to disease prevention, monitoring, and personalized treatment strategies. Earlier and more precise detection has the potential to improve patient outcomes, reduce healthcare costs, and create entirely new models of care delivery.

Meet the Panelists

Priya-Balachandran
Priya Balachandran
Life Science Angels
(Moderator)		 Randy-Berholtz
Randy Berholtz
Mesa Verde Venture Partners		 Yaron-Daniely
Yaron Daniely
aMoon Fund
Debbie-Lin
Debbie Lin
T.Rx Capital		 Soyoung-Park
Soyoung Park
1004 Venture Partners

The panel will examine where investors and strategic partners see the greatest opportunities emerging across the diagnostics landscape, particularly in oncology screening, cardiometabolic disease, and chronic disease monitoring. With healthcare systems placing greater emphasis on prevention and longitudinal patient management, diagnostic companies are facing growing demand—but also increasing pressure to demonstrate meaningful clinical and economic value.

For early-stage companies, the diagnostics space presents unique opportunities alongside complex commercialization challenges. Unlike many therapeutics companies, diagnostics startups must often navigate overlapping clinical validation, reimbursement, regulatory, and adoption hurdles simultaneously. Investors are increasingly looking for companies that can clearly demonstrate clinical utility, integrate effectively into provider workflows, and build compelling reimbursement strategies early in development.

Panelists are expected to discuss the milestones and study designs that help diagnostic companies stand out in a crowded and competitive market. Topics may include generating real-world evidence, designing validation studies that resonate with payers and providers, and establishing partnerships with laboratories, health systems, and pharmaceutical companies to accelerate adoption.

The rise of AI-enabled diagnostics is also expected to play a central role in the conversation. As machine learning tools become more integrated into imaging, pathology, and predictive analytics platforms, investors are paying close attention to how startups validate algorithms, manage regulatory considerations, and demonstrate measurable improvements in clinical decision-making.

Beyond the technology itself, the panel will likely explore broader market trends shaping investor interest in diagnostics. Healthcare systems worldwide continue shifting toward preventative care models, while aging populations and rising chronic disease burdens increase demand for scalable monitoring solutions. In this environment, diagnostics companies capable of delivering actionable insights earlier in the patient journey may be particularly well-positioned to attract strategic partnerships and investment.

For founders attending RESI San Diego, the session offers an opportunity to better understand how investors evaluate diagnostics opportunities in today’s market and what differentiates successful companies from the broader field. From regulatory and reimbursement strategy to commercialization planning and partnership development, the panel aims to provide practical insight into building investable diagnostic platforms in an increasingly competitive healthcare landscape.

The “New Frontiers in Diagnostics” panel is part of RESI San Diego’s broader programming focused on emerging healthcare technologies, investment trends, and strategies for early-stage companies navigating today’s life science funding environment.

Register for RESI San Diego

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How to Identify Best-Fit Investors at Partnering Events 

27 May

By Sougato Das, President and COO, LSN

Sougato-DasPartnering conferences are a great place to meet investors, in-licensors and strategic partners. These events tend to be segmented in the following ways:

1) Focus: General, Licensing/BD or Investment

2) Modality: Biotech, Device/Diagnostics, Digital Health

3) Therapeutic area: General or Therapeutic area-specific

4) Stage: General or Early Stage

While it seems obvious, it is critical to align your events (and your limited time and budget) with your company objectives. In my experience at dozens of different partnering conference, I’ve found that each of the above are largely binary. For example, while a Licensing/BD conference will have some investors attending, you’ll have many more meetings with investors at a investment-focused meeting. And vice-versa. Additionally, an interesting pattern that I’ve noticed is when it comes to stage, a partnering event that has a general focus tends to skew late-stage (clinical or later, with lots of players looking for phase 3 or commercial assets). This leaves companies with preclinical or early clinical assets scrambling to identify and meet the relatively few investors who are interested in early-stage companies.

Since partnering conferences allow for a limited number of outgoing meeting requests that can be in the ‘requested’ state, it’s important for you to be able to identify the attending investors that are a good fit for your company. This is complicated by the fact that investors typically don’t do a stellar job populating their profile with information that makes their remit clear. While it may be tempting to use the filters provided by the partnering system to identify best-fit investors, this ONLY works if every investor profile is consistently populated. Why? Because blank values are not returned in filtered searches. What does that mean? That means that if you use the filters in the partnering system to look for those who invest in oncology, and there are some oncology investors who have not filled out their therapeutic area field in their profile, those investors will not be returned in the results. Some partnering conference providers, such as RESI, prevent this issue by having the staff populate the investor profiles on behalf of the investors, ensuring that all profiles are complete and searchable.

All that said, what do you need to look for to find the investors that fit your company best? The most important criteria (that you probably know already if you’ve done any investor outreach) is stage. “Too early” is a response that every pre-clinical and phase 1 company has heard a million times. At RESI it’s easy. You can filter accurately on stage. But at other conferences that depend on the investor to self-populate their profile, you’ll have to read the profile carefully and visit the website. If it doesn’t say explicitly, then look at the portfolio companies.

The next aspect is the assets under management and the check size range. This kind of information not only shows if the investor is appropriate for the amount you’re raising, but also shows if the investor is indeed an investor and not a financial consultancy or investment bank (in some conferences, such entities end up being classified as investors).

Next, and as alluded to above, is the therapeutic area focus. While many investors go across therapeutic areas, some focus on only one or a few.

Next is the modality. Of course if you’re a med tech investor you don’t want to target a biotech-only investor. Within biotech, there are some investors that only do advanced therapies and some who do everything except advanced therapies. Etc.

Next there is the geographic focus. Some investors target specific geographies.

Finally, there is the investor type or model. Not all investors are equity investors. Some are debt, some royalty, some are venture builders, some are CROs that provide services for equity, etc.

If you have access, looking up the investor in Life Science Nation’s investor database will return all the details you need with regard to the above. Other databases have information on investments a given investor made, which provides some insight. By ensuring the investor you send a meeting request to is actually suitable for your company, you’ll maximize your ROI and, with any luck, extend your cash runway.

Register for RESI San Diego

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Innovator’s Pitch Challenge: Where Deals Start

19 May

By Max Braht, VP of Business Development, LSN

Max-Braht-Headshot

At most conferences, startup pitch competitions are treated as side programming. Founders present a deck, judges select winners, applause follows, and the event moves on.

At RESI San Diego, the Innovator’s Pitch Challenge (IPC) is designed differently.

The IPC is not simply about winning a competition. It is designed to help early-stage life science companies generate investor attention, create business development momentum, and accelerate conversations that continue long after the presentation ends.

For many companies, that interaction becomes the most valuable part of the experience.

“The discussions also felt far more relationship-driven than transactional,” said Sian Farrell, CEO of StimOxyGen. “Conversations extended beyond the pitch itself and focused on clinical strategy, regulatory pathways, commercialization, and long-term value creation.”

Unlike standalone pitch competitions, the IPC is integrated directly into the larger RESI partnering ecosystem. Participating companies also receive partnering access, poster presentation visibility, and exposure throughout the conference environment, creating multiple opportunities for follow-up interaction.

“The combination of the presentation and the partnering platform made a significant difference,” said Bram de Moor, CEO of You2Yourself. “RESI brought us into direct contact with European and transatlantic life science investors who specifically seek early-stage diagnostic and biomarker companies — an audience difficult to reach through cold outreach.”

The IPC also introduces an interactive audience component through “RESI cash,” distributed to attendees during registration. Participants allocate their RESI cash to the companies they believe demonstrate the strongest potential, creating additional visibility and engagement throughout the event.

For founders navigating today’s capital environment, opportunities that combine exposure with concentrated investor access are increasingly valuable.

As fundraising conditions continue to demand stronger differentiation and clearer commercialization pathways, platforms that help companies sharpen messaging and generate high-quality investor interaction have become increasingly important.

At RESI, the IPC is intended to serve exactly that purpose.

Selected companies receive:

  • Two 5-day RESI registrations
  • A six-minute company presentation followed by seven minutes of investor Q&A
  • Poster presentation space
  • Full partnering access
  • Exposure to investors, strategic partners, and pharma business development teams throughout Convention Week

For many founders, the IPC becomes more than a presentation opportunity. It becomes the place where investor conversations begin, strategic relationships form, and fundraising momentum accelerates.

Applications for the Innovator’s Pitch Challenge at RESI San Diego are currently open, with limited presentation slots remaining.

Apply to Pitch at RESI San Diego

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Hot Investor Mandate: Healthcare Impact-Driven VC Funds Pre-Series A and Series B Technologies Improving Healthcare Access and Outcomes

19 May

A global healthcare-focused impact venture capital fund affiliated with a broader healthcare innovation platform is headquartered in Asia. The firm invests equity capital into technology-enabled healthcare companies, typically deploying investments ranging from approximately $500K to $2M. The firm targets opportunities from Pre-Series A through Series B stages and seeks companies capable of delivering both measurable healthcare impact and strong financial returns. The firm invests globally, with particular interest in solutions that can scale across domestic markets as well as other emerging healthcare markets.  

The firm focuses on technologies that improve healthcare access, outcomes, and quality of care. Core investment themes include preventive healthcare and self-care solutions, healthy aging and longevity, holistic wellness, and AI-enabled hospital technologies. The firm prioritizes scalable digital health platforms, data-driven healthcare technologies, and tech-enabled services addressing systemic healthcare challenges across provider systems, hospital infrastructure, and consumer health channels.  

From a company and management team perspective, the firm seeks teams with strong operational execution, clearly defined impact objectives, and the ability to scale across diverse healthcare environments. The firm prioritizes companies with validated technologies, credible commercial models, and realistic market adoption strategies. Beyond capital, the firm provides portfolio companies with access to strategic partnerships, healthcare providers, hospital systems, and regional expansion support across Southeast Asia and other high-growth markets. The firm is open to acting as either a lead investor or co-investor. 

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

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Hot Investor Mandate: Venture Arm of International Healthcare Company Invests in Life Science Technologies Addressing Respiratory Disease, CNS, Women’s Health 

19 May

A venture investment arm of an international healthcare and pharmaceutical organization is focused on advancing innovative patient-centered solutions. The firm invests in early-stage life sciences companies developing breakthrough therapeutics, medical devices, digital health technologies, nutraceuticals, and medical foods. The firm prioritizes opportunities aligned with key strategic healthcare areas and supports portfolio companies through industry expertise and international commercial networks.  

The firm focuses on respiratory diseases, central nervous system and neurological disorders, and women’s health. Within women’s health, areas of particular interest include urinary tract infections, vaginal infections, and related unmet healthcare needs. The firm evaluates opportunities across therapeutics, diagnostics, digital health, medical devices, nutraceuticals, and medical foods that can improve patient access, disease management, and quality of care. The firm does not invest in oncology and generally avoids technologies designed exclusively for inpatient or hospital-only environments, preferring solutions accessible in broader patient-care settings.  

In addition to early-stage investments, the firm is open to strategic collaborations with companies that already have commercialized products and are seeking international expansion opportunities. The firm leverages the broader organization’s global infrastructure and commercial presence to support geographic growth and market access.  

From a company and management team perspective, the firm seeks teams with strong scientific or clinical expertise and a clear commitment to impactful innovation. While prior industry experience is viewed positively, the firm remains open to working with promising founders and syndicate partners aligned with its strategic focus areas. 

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

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Hot Investor Mandate: Europe-Based Life Sciences Focused VC Builds and Invests in Therapeutics Companies Across Oncology, Rare Diseases, and More

19 May

A life sciences-focused venture capital firm with offices in Europe focuses on disruptive early-stage life sciences companies and invests primarily in therapeutics. The firm is actively investing through its latest fund and has built a portfolio of multiple startups through both direct investments and company creation initiatives. The firm invests predominantly in Europe, with a strong emphasis on opportunities in Western Europe. 
 
The firm invests primarily in therapeutics and does not currently focus on medical devices, diagnostics, or digital health. The firm is modality-agnostic and evaluates a broad range of therapeutic approaches. Areas of strongest interest include oncology, immuno-oncology, rare and orphan diseases, infectious diseases, and immunology. The firm typically invests from preclinical through early clinical stages and focuses on opportunities with the potential to become first- or best-in-class therapies. 
 
From a company and management team perspective, the firm is open to working with both experienced operators and first-time entrepreneurs and has supported several companies led by first-time CEOs. The firm places strong emphasis on diversity in leadership and maintains a hands-on investment approach, actively mentoring and supporting portfolio companies. The firm is open to acting as either a lead investor or co-investor and works closely with scientific founders, academic institutions, and syndicate partners to help companies scale and mature. 

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

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