Tag: inspiration

Life Science Nation (LSN) Launches RESI Asia Japan

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KBIC, Title Sponsor of RESI Boston 2026 and RESI JPM 2027, Collaborates with LSN on RESI Asia Japan

By Dennis Ford, Founder & CEO, Life Science Nation (LSN)

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Life Science Nation is launching RESI Asia Japan, a new conference created in collaboration with the Kobe Biomedical Innovation Cluster (KBIC), Japan’s largest biomedical cluster. The event opens April 13, 2027, at the ANA InterContinental Tokyo.

RESI Asia Japan is the culmination of a three-conference partnership, with KBIC a Title Sponsor of RESI Boston in September 2026 and RESI JPM in January 2027. Companies that attend in sequence gain three windows into the LSN network across seven months.

 

“Every great life science hub faces the same reality. The science is world-class, but the path from discovery to global capital remains a challenge. KBIC has done the hard part, with an elite science discovery engine. What we are building together is the bridge that carries that science into the global marketplace and carries the world’s capital and partners back to Japan.”

Dennis Ford
Founder and CEO, Life Science Nation

Why Japan matters to an early-stage company

Japan is one of the most valuable and least accessible opportunities in the industry. Takeda, Astellas, Daiichi Sankyo, Eisai, Chugai, and Ono are among the world’s most active licensors and acquirers of external innovation, and a Japan-rights deal is often early non-dilutive capital and a validation event. The PMDA offers one of the world’s most progressive routes for regenerative medicine and cell and gene therapy, where a product can earn conditional approval on demonstrated safety and probable benefit before full efficacy is proven. Japan also offers deep CRO and clinical trial capacity and is the world’s third-largest pharmaceutical market.

The obstacle is access. Arranging a first meeting with Japanese pharma, navigating PMDA, or finding the right partner is difficult from outside the region. That is what RESI Asia Japan is for.

Three challenges every life science hub shares

Every life science hub in the world faces the same three problems, no matter how strong its science.

  • Getting its regional assets into the global arena.
  • Bringing international players and stakeholders into its own region.
  • Getting regional and international investors to form syndicates together.

RESI was built to solve exactly these problems. The KBIC partnership puts all three to work at once.

Beyond the events, LSN and KBIC are working to strengthen the commercialization pathway for Japanese life science companies through entrepreneur education, company preparation, capital formation, and international business development.

About KBIC

KBIC brings together roughly 350 companies, research institutes, and specialized hospitals on Kobe’s Port Island, spanning regenerative medicine, medical devices, pharmaceuticals, and digital health. It sits at the center of a country that leads the world in regenerative medicine and iPS cell science.

The Redefining Early-Stage Investments (RESI) Run

RESI Boston | September 2026 | The Westin Copley Place, Boston – Register Now
RESI JPM | January 2027 | San Francisco Marriott Marquis, Union Square – Register Now
RESI Asia Japan | April 2027 | ANA InterContinental Tokyo

Learn more about RESI at RESIConference.com.

Startups seeking Japan partnerships, global capital, and an APAC foothold should register for the run in sequence, starting with RESI Boston in September.

More details on registration, agenda, and participating companies will follow in the coming months.


It Is Not the Pitch Deck Anymore. It Is the De-Risked Deck.

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A Boston Biotech Week note from Dennis Ford, Founder and CEO, Life Science Nation

By Dennis Ford, Founder & CEO, Life Science Nation (LSN)

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Boston Biotech Week brings the whole industry into one city at once. Big stages, packed agendas, strategic executives, investors, and hundreds of emerging companies working the room. There is real value in all of it. But if you are an early-stage CEO trying to raise your next round, you have a narrower problem. You do not need to meet everybody. You need to meet the people who can actually fund you.

Over the last few years, I have watched the investor conversation change. The science is as strong as ever. What has changed is what happens after the science leaves the lab and somebody has to finance the long road to the clinic. Founders were taught to build a pitch deck: the unmet need, the science, the market, the team, the ask. There is nothing wrong with that formula, but it no longer answers the question an early-stage investor is actually asking: risk. What has been proven, what has not, where the company could fail, and what the next round actually retires. That is why the pitch deck is becoming something else. I call it the de-risked deck.

This matters because life science has a structural problem we do not talk about enough. We built an extraordinary discovery engine and pour billions into it, and it works. What we never built beside it, with the same discipline, is the commercialization engine. A scientist spends twenty years mastering a pathway and then is expected to run a company that demands regulatory strategy, clinical development, IP, reimbursement, capital formation, and partnering. That is a different profession, and we expect founders to learn it while keeping the company alive.

So too many companies start raising before anyone has put the asset through the full risk stack, and that gets expensive. A company can burn years and millions moving toward an IND only to find that a regulatory assumption was wrong or the IP is thinner than it looked. Problems that cost thousands to surface early cost millions once they are buried in the plan. The process should run the other way. Vet early. Find the risks while they are still cheap to address. Retire what you can, manage what you cannot, and build the financing strategy around the milestones that take those risks off the table. That is what makes a company legible to capital.

That is where RESI is different. In a week full of networking, RESI is built for one thing: the early-stage financing problem. By the time we open, roughly 400 international early-stage investors will be in the building, covering Seed up to two million, Series A up to ten million, and Series B up to fifty million. More than 200 investment firms have already registered. A founder does not come to RESI for another thousand names in a directory. They come to find the specific investors whose mandate fits their stage of development and product, and to get in front of them.

Investor Firms Exclusive to RESI Boston 2026

Two rooms make that sharper. The Global Family Office BioForum brings 40 family offices from around the world, patient private capital that is hard to reach, and this year they are taking partnering meetings alongside the forum. The Cross-Border Investor Luncheon puts international investors together with regional VCs, because a regional fund often has access to companies it cannot finance through multiple rounds, and an international fund has capital and reach but no visibility into the local ecosystem. Put them together, and you are not collecting contacts; you are building a syndicate.

None of this replaces the work. No conference makes an unprepared company fundable. The science has to stand up, the milestones have to make sense, and the CEO has to understand the risks well enough to have a conversation rather than deliver a presentation. When founders make that shift, it shows. FELIQS, one of our recent Innovator’s Pitch Challenge companies, told us RESI helped them sharpen how they communicated the clinical and commercial opportunity and opened the door to real financing discussions. The science had not changed. Their ability to make it legible to capital had.

The science is the reason a company exists. Making it financeable gives it a chance to survive.

LSN and RESI have been part of Boston Biotech Week since its inception. If you are an early-stage company looking for capital or licensing deals, RESI is the right room to be in. If you are there to shop for service providers, plenty of other rooms are built for that. RESI is built for matching partners and facilitating early-stage transactions.

Boston is our hometown, and this is where RESI shines. That is the de-risked deck, and this week, that is the conversation we want to have.

RESI Boston 2026 | September 22 to 23 | The Westin Copley Place, Boston
Virtual Partnering | September 25, 28 to 29

Register for RESI Boston

From the Innovator’s Pitch Challenge Podium to the Clinic: FELIQS Advances Vision Saving Therapies 

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Third Place winner of the RESI San Diego Innovator’s Pitch Challenge, FELIQS is developing innovative therapies for neonatal ophthalmology and other serious retinal diseases with the goal of preserving vision at the earliest stages of life. In this interview, Kenichiro “Nobu” Kuninobu discusses the company’s lead clinical program, the value of participating in the RESI Innovator’s Pitch Challenge, and the milestones that will shape FELIQS’ next phase of growth.

Kenichiro “Nobu” Kuninobu
Co-founder & CEO, FELIQS
 Caitlin Dolegowski
Program Director, LSN

Caitlin Dolegowski (CD): FELIQS is focused on developing therapies for neonatal ophthalmology and other serious retinal diseases. Can you tell us about your lead program and the impact it could have on patients and their families?

Kenichiro Kuninobu (NK): FELIQS’ lead program, FLQ-101, is being developed for the prevention of retinopathy of prematurity, or ROP, a serious retinal disease affecting premature infants that can lead to lifelong visual impairment or blindness. Today, treatment is generally initiated after ROP has already progressed to a clinically significant stage. Our goal with FLQ-101 is to intervene earlier and prevent disease progression before invasive treatment becomes necessary. If successful, this approach could give premature infants the best possible opportunity for healthy visual development. For families, the impact could be profound. Preserving vision at the very beginning of life can influence a child’s development, independence, and quality of life, while potentially reducing a lifelong burden of care for families and healthcare systems.

CD: Your work bridges scientific innovation and international collaboration. How has that global perspective influenced the company’s development?

NK: FELIQS was founded on scientific discoveries originating in Japan, but from the beginning we have approached drug development with a global perspective. Our lead clinical program is being developed in the United States, while we continue to work closely with researchers, clinicians, regulators, and partners across Japan and other regions. That international approach has shaped how we think about clinical development, regulatory strategy, patient access, and partnerships. It also allows us to bring together complementary expertise from different regions. For diseases such as ROP, which affect premature infants around the world, we believe that building a globally relevant development strategy from an early stage is particularly important.

CD: Earning Third Place in the RESI San Diego Innovator’s Pitch Challenge highlights the strength of your innovation. What did this recognition mean to your team?

NK: Earning Third Place at the RESI San Diego Innovator’s Pitch Challenge was very meaningful to the FELIQS team. It provided encouraging external recognition of both our scientific approach and our mission to address serious retinal diseases in vulnerable patient populations, particularly premature infants. For our team, it was especially valuable to see investors and industry experts respond positively to our strategy and the potential of our programs. The recognition gave us additional confidence that FELIQS is pursuing an important and differentiated approach, while also increasing our visibility within the global life sciences community.

CD: Were there any conversations with investors, judges, or strategic partners at RESI that stood out or created new opportunities?

NK: RESI created a valuable forum for high-quality conversations with investors, judges, and potential strategic partners who understood both the unmet need in retinal disease and the importance of early intervention in ROP. Several discussions helped us refine our communication of the clinical and commercial opportunity, and some opened the door to follow-up conversations about financing, development strategy, and potential collaboration. The event was particularly useful because the feedback was practical, thoughtful, and directly relevant to our next stage of growth.

CD: What are the most important clinical, regulatory, or business milestones FELIQS hopes to achieve over the next 12 to 18 months?

NK: Over the next 12 to 18 months, our highest priority is to advance FLQ-101 clinically and build the foundation for its next stage of development. This includes progressing our ongoing clinical study in ROP, expanding our clinical network, generating additional data, and continuing regulatory discussions to define an efficient path forward.

At the same time, we plan to advance our broader pipeline, including FLQ-103 and FLQ-105, while continuing to strengthen the company financially and strategically.

From a business perspective, we are actively engaging with investors and potential strategic partners who can help us accelerate these programs. Ultimately, each of these milestones is focused on one objective: moving promising science into meaningful therapies for patients as efficiently and rigorously as possible.

CD: What qualities are you looking for in investors or strategic partners as you continue to grow?

NK: We are looking for investors and strategic partners who share our commitment to developing meaningful therapies for serious retinal diseases and who understand that building innovative medicines requires both scientific rigor and long-term perspective.

Beyond financial support, we particularly value partners who can contribute strategic insight, experience in ophthalmology, rare diseases, or global drug development, and access to networks that can help accelerate clinical and commercial progress.

Most importantly, we want partners who are collaborative and aligned with our mission. We believe the strongest partnerships are built when both sides share a long-term commitment to creating meaningful value for patients.

CD: Looking ahead, what is your long-term vision for FELIQS, and what advice would you offer companies considering participating in a future RESI Innovator’s Pitch Challenge?

NK: Our long-term vision is to establish FELIQS as a leading biotechnology company in neonatal ophthalmology and rare diseases. Building from our work in ROP, we aim to expand into additional diseases where early and innovative therapeutic intervention could preserve vision and meaningfully change patients’ lives.

For companies considering participating in a future RESI Innovator’s Pitch Challenge, my advice would be to come with a clear story, a focused objective, and an openness to feedback. RESI is not simply an opportunity to pitch your company. It is a platform to refine your strategy, understand how investors perceive your opportunity, and build relationships that may continue well beyond the event.

Additional Innovator’s Pitch Challenge (IPC) slots are now available, giving companies the opportunity to pitch directly to investors, receive live feedback, and boost visibility ahead of the event. Applications close August 26.

Apply to Pitch at RESI Boston

Cross-Border Investor Luncheon at RESI Boston 2026

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A private, screened luncheon for regional and international investors seeking syndicate partners.

RESI Boston | Wednesday, September 23 | 75 Seats


RSVP for Cross-Border Investor Luncheon Today

By Dennis Ford, Founder & CEO, Life Science Nation (LSN)

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Nearly nine out of ten life science startups fail. Not because the science is poor, but because they never connect to the right capital and strategic partners. Solving that is the reason Life Science Nation exists, and for more than fifteen years our work has come down to one thing: finding parties who need each other and matching them.

As some readers know, LSN has been addressing this pervasive dilemma through the LSN Labs Anchor Node Program. An Anchor Node combines LSN’s commercialization methodology and global capital formation network with a regional partner’s laboratories, entrepreneurial programs, and operating platform to produce investment-ready life science companies.

As we expanded the Anchor Node Program across Boston, Australia, Japan, Korea, the UK, and Brazil, a clear pattern emerged: regional partners constantly brought their local VCs to the table seeking international capital. At the same time, our own data across five global RESI events revealed that twenty percent of all partnering meetings were already investor-to-investor.

So we decided to formalize it, and provide a dedicated room for these partners to connect.

The Cross-Border Investor Luncheon, CBIL, is a private luncheon at RESI Boston for regional and international investors seeking syndicate partners. Regional investors have access to exceptional companies that often never reach international investors. International investors have access and reach that regional funds cannot build alone. Both are looking for the same thing across Asia, Europe, North America, and South America.

Attendance is screened. CBIL is for active investors seeking syndicate partners outside their own region, whether that means bringing international capital into local deals or gaining access to deal flow in regions where they have no presence.

Taking place on Wednesday, September 23, CBIL follows the format of the Global Family Office BioForum luncheon (GFOB luncheon takes place on Tuesday, September 22), now in its eighth year. Across those eight years, GFOB has brought family offices together to find each other, form alliances, and build syndicates. CBIL is the natural next step, applying the same private, curated format to the international investor community.

“The future of life science investing is not just finding great companies. It is finding great syndicate partners in the global arena.”


Dennis Ford, Founder and CEO, Life Science Nation

Wednesday, September 23   |   Private luncheon   |   Screened RSVP   |   75 seats

Every RSVP is reviewed. Request your seat today!


RSVP for Cross-Border Investor Luncheon Today

StimOxyGen on Advancing SGEN-33 Following First Place Win at RESI Europe 

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After securing 1st Place in the Innovator’s Pitch Challenge at RESI Europe, StimOxyGen is gaining momentum as it advances its lead program, SGEN-33, toward clinical development. In this interview, Sian Farrell discusses the science behind the platform, upcoming milestones, and how the RESI experience has accelerated investor engagement.

Sian Farrell
CEO, StimOxyGen
 Caitlin Dolegowski
Program Director, LSN

Caitlin Dolegowski (CD): For those new to StimOxyGen, how would you describe SGEN-33 and the problem it is solving in a way that resonates with investors?

Sian Farrell (SF): SGEN-33 is a pH-responsive, oxygen-generating nanoparticle designed to overcome tumour hypoxia, one of the biggest barriers limiting the effectiveness of radiotherapy and other cancer treatments. Many aggressive solid tumours, particularly pancreatic cancer, are severely oxygen deprived, making them highly resistant to therapy. SGEN-33 selectively activates within the acidic tumour microenvironment, releasing oxygen directly where it is needed to help re-sensitise tumours to treatment. What makes the opportunity particularly compelling is that we are addressing a fundamental biological resistance mechanism that impacts multiple high-value oncology indications. Rather than replacing existing therapies, SGEN-33 is designed to enhance them, positioning StimOxyGen within the growing combination of therapy landscape.

CD: What makes this approach particularly compelling from a commercial and clinical perspective compared to existing strategies?

SF: Clinically, our approach is differentiated because SGEN-33 generates oxygen directly within the tumour microenvironment rather than relying on systemic oxygen delivery methods, which have historically shown limited success. Existing hypoxia-targeting strategies such as hyperbaric oxygen therapy or intratumoural injections face significant limitations in practicality, scalability, or clinical adoption. In contrast, SGEN-33 is designed for intravenous administration and tumour-selective activation, offering a scalable and clinically feasible solution. Commercially, we believe this creates a highly attractive platform opportunity. Radiotherapy is used in approximately 60% of cancer patients worldwide, yet hypoxia remains a major unresolved challenge. By integrating into existing standards of care, SGEN-33 has the potential to enhance multiple treatment modalities across several solid tumour types without requiring clinicians to completely change current workflows. Importantly, we have already demonstrated strong preclinical efficacy and safety data in highly hypoxic tumour models, including pancreatic cancer, triple-negative breast cancer, and aggressive prostate cancer. Our studies have shown significant tumour growth reduction and survival benefit when SGEN-33 is combined with radiotherapy.

CD: What key milestones or inflection points should investors be watching as you move toward clinical development?

SF: The next 18–24 months represent a highly important period for StimOxyGen as we advance SGEN-33 toward clinical development. Our current focus is on completing key IND-enabling activities, including GLP toxicology and DMPK studies, GMP manufacturing scale-up, FDA regulatory engagement, and expansion of our radiotherapy-immunotherapy datasets. Alongside these milestones, we are progressing collaborations with leading translational oncology centres including Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (MSK), advancing early clinical strategy and trial design activities, and continuing to strengthen our scientific and clinical advisory network. A particularly exciting area is the growing evidence of immune-mediated effects observed in our preclinical studies, which may create future opportunities in combination with immunotherapy approaches.

CD: What are your current fundraising priorities, and what types of investors or partners are you looking to engage at this stage?

SF: We are currently raising $7.5 million to advance SGEN-33 through IND-enabling development and position the programme for First-in-Human clinical studies, with a target close by Q1 2027. The financing will support key value-creation milestones including GLP toxicology, DMPK studies, GMP manufacturing scale-up, FDA regulatory engagement, and continued expansion of our radiotherapy-immunotherapy datasets. In parallel, we are progressing clinical strategy and early trial design activities through collaborations with leading translational oncology centres, including Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (MSK). We are particularly interested in engaging with specialist life science investors, oncology-focused funds, and strategic partners with expertise in radiotherapy, immuno-oncology, nanomedicine, and translational drug development.

CD: How did participating in RESI Europe and the Innovator’s Pitch Challenge impact your visibility and conversations with investors?

SF: Participating in RESI Europe was hugely valuable for StimOxyGen from both a networking and visibility perspective. Having the conference based in Lisbon created an important opportunity to expand beyond the UK ecosystem and connect more directly with the broader European life science investment community. It allowed us to significantly grow our investor network and establish new relationships with international investors and strategic partners. Winning 1st Place in the Innovator’s Pitch Challenge increased our visibility and credibility within the global biotech community and created strong momentum in investor conversations. An additional benefit is the opportunity to attend future RESI conferences, including events in the United States, which will help us continue expanding our US investor and strategic partner network as we move toward clinical development. Beyond the exposure itself, the experience also provided a significant confidence boost for our team and reinforced that the work we are doing is resonating internationally.

CD: What stood out most about the Innovator’s Pitch Challenge experience compared to other pitch opportunities?

SF: What stood out most was the quality and relevance of the audience. I’ve participated in pitch competitions previously, but many were more sector-agnostic and included a broad mix of industries and technologies. At RESI, it was particularly meaningful to receive recognition in a highly relevant and competitive life sciences environment, surrounded by innovative biotech and healthcare companies tackling major clinical challenges. The discussions also felt far more relationship-driven than transactional. Conversations extended beyond the pitch itself and focused on clinical strategy, regulatory pathways, commercialization, and long-term value creation. Importantly, the support from the Life Science Nation (LSN) team did not feel like a “one-and-done” experience. The ongoing opportunities through future RESI events and the wider LSN network create continued momentum and provide a strong platform for us to further expand our international investor and strategic partner network moving forward.

CD: Following your win, what are the next key priorities for StimOxyGen as you move into your next phase of growth?

SF: Our biggest priority is maintaining the momentum we have built over the past 18 months as we advance SGEN-33 toward clinical development. Since completing our first VC financing round in January 2025, we have continued to de-risk the technology, expand our international investor network, progress collaborations with Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (MSK), and strengthen our translational and regulatory strategy. Winning the RESI Europe Innovator’s Pitch Challenge was another important milestone that reinforced the growing momentum around the company. Over the next phase of growth, our focus is on advancing SGEN-33 through IND-enabling development, progressing FDA engagement, scaling manufacturing capabilities, and continuing to strengthen our clinical strategy. Of course, securing the capital required to move the programme into the clinic remains a critical priority. We believe StimOxyGen is at a genuinely exciting inflection point, and we are actively looking to partner with investors who share both our ambition and our sense of urgency. At the heart of everything we do is the patient. We are working on therapies for people facing some of the most difficult-to-treat cancers, where treatment options are limited and outcomes remain devastatingly poor. That reality keeps our team focused every day and drives our determination to move as quickly and responsibly as possible toward the clinic. For us, this is about far more than building a company — it is about giving patients and families hope where too often there currently is very little. And, if our story resonates with you, we would love to continue the conversation.

Additional Innovator’s Pitch Challenge (IPC) slots are now available, giving companies the opportunity to pitch directly to investors, receive live feedback, and boost visibility ahead of the event. Applications close May 22.

Apply to Pitch at RESI San Diego

Innovator’s Pitch Challenge Winner Spotlight: Bram De Moor of You2Yourself 

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Following its recognition as a winner of the Innovator’s Pitch Challenge at RESI Europe, You2Yourself is advancing a new approach to early disease detection through longitudinal biomarker monitoring. In this interview, Bram De Moor discusses the science behind URIMON, the company’s commercialization strategy, and how RESI has supported its investor engagement. 

Bram De Moor
Founder & General Manager, You2Yourself
 CaitiCaitlin Dolegowski
Program Director, LSN

Caitlin Dolegowski (CD): For those new to You2Yourself, how would you describe URIMON and the value of longitudinal biomarker monitoring in a way that resonates with investors?

Bram De Moor (BD): URIMON is a personalized, non-invasive, urine-based liquid biopsy platform that uses urinary miRNA profiling to detect multiple serious diseases — including prostate cancer, lung cancer, and cardiovascular disease — before symptoms appear. One urine sample generates simultaneous risk scores across multiple conditions.

The longitudinal dimension is key: repeated monitoring detects biological drift months to years before clinical symptoms — the difference between catching cancer at stage I versus stage III. With no needles, no clinic visit, and at-home collection with mail-in capability, URIMON is designed for scalable, population-level adoption.

CD: What makes your approach to early disease detection fundamentally different from traditional diagnostic models?

BD: Traditional diagnostics are reactive and often focus on a single biomarker. URIMON differs in three key ways:

  • Multi-disease detection from a single sample, analyzing hundreds of miRNA species simultaneously
  • Focus on molecular signals rather than anatomical changes, enabling earlier detection
  • Use of urine as a scalable, patient-friendly biofluid that captures signals from across the body

This approach provides a unified molecular health view, reducing fragmentation across specialties.

CD: You have built a unique biobank of longitudinal samples — how does this dataset strengthen your technology and create a competitive advantage?

BD: The URIMON Biobank, developed since 2019 with over 6,500 participants under IRB-approved and GDPR-compliant protocols, is a significant strategic moat.

It enables algorithm training on longitudinal patient data, including individuals who later develop disease, supporting prospective validation. It also ensures robustness across cohorts, allowing classifiers to generalize beyond a single institution.

Replicating this dataset would require years and substantial capital, making it a durable barrier to entry.

CD: How do you think about commercialization, particularly your subscription-based model and the path toward broader reimbursement and population-level adoption?

BD: Our strategy is staged to de-risk scaling. We are entering the market under the EU IVDR Article 5(5) in-house LDT framework to accelerate time to revenue.

Our subscription model (€299–499/year) targets individuals, employer groups, and occupational health programs, aligning recurring revenue with longitudinal monitoring.

Reimbursement will follow through HTA submissions in Europe, with FDA De Novo clearance as a parallel pathway in the U.S.

CD: What key milestones or inflection points should investors be watching as you move toward your planned 2027 market entry?

BD: Key milestones include:

  • Clinical validation and publication of performance data
  • Regulatory progress under IVDR and FDA pathways
  • Launch of commercial infrastructure and first paying customers
  • Strategic partnerships and completion of financing rounds
  • These milestones will demonstrate both technical validation and commercial traction.

CD: How did participating in RESI Europe and the Innovator’s Pitch Challenge impact your investor visibility and strategic conversations?

BD: RESI provided direct access to European and transatlantic investors actively seeking early-stage diagnostic companies — a highly targeted audience that is difficult to reach through traditional outreach.

The Innovator’s Pitch Challenge offered structured validation in a competitive setting, signaling credibility to institutional investors. It also led to new investor conversations and follow-up meetings now underway.

CD: Following your recognition at RESI Europe, what are the next key priorities for You2Yourself as you move into your next phase of growth?

BD: Our focus over the next 12–18 months includes:

  • Expanding clinical evidence through continued biobank growth and prospective studies
  • Securing financing through grants and a seed-to-Series A bridge round
  • Scaling team and infrastructure across lab, regulatory, and business development functions

With favorable market conditions — including advances in NGS, growing demand for preventive health, and regulatory clarity — You2Yourself is well positioned to lead in this space.

Applications are now open for upcoming Innovator’s Pitch Challenges. Companies can apply to pitch at RESI San Diego 2026 and take the stage in front of a global network of investors and partners.

Apply to Pitch at RESI San Diego

Novotech at RESI JPM: Strategic Early Clinical Development for Biotech Sponsors 

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As a sponsor of RESI JPM, Novotech joined the RESI community during JPM Week to engage with emerging biotech companies at pivotal stages of development. Marina Mullins, VP of Early Clinical Development at Novotech, shared insight into the company’s biotech-focused model, global execution strategy, and evolving approach to early-phase clinical development. 

Marina Mullins
 CaitiCaitlin Dolegowski

Caitlin Dolegowski (CD): Can you briefly describe Novotech’s mission and core capabilities as a global CRO and scientific advisory partner? 

Marina Mullins(MM) : Novotech is a global full-service clinical research organization and scientific advisory partner focused on accelerating the development of innovative therapeutics for biotech and small- to mid-sized pharmaceutical companies. The company provides integrated clinical trial services across Phase I–IV, with particular strength in early clinical development, regulatory strategy, medical oversight, biometrics, and operational execution. 

With offices across Asia-Pacific, North America, and Europe, and long-standing site partnerships globally, Novotech combines regional expertise with global coordination to support sponsors from preclinical planning through proof-of-concept and beyond. Its model integrates scientific advisory and operational delivery, enabling sponsors to move efficiently from strategy to execution. 

CD: What differentiates Novotech from other CROs in terms of clinical execution, expertise, or client support? 

MM: Novotech differentiates itself through a biotech-centric approach and deep regional execution expertise. Rather than operating as a transactional service provider, the company works as a strategic partner, aligning development strategy with operational planning from the outset. 

Key differentiators include strong early-phase capabilities, particularly in first-in-human and proof-of-concept studies; deep regulatory and operational experience across high-performance regions such as Australia, Asia, and North America; therapeutic expertise spanning oncology, infectious diseases, obesity, CNS, endocrine, rare diseases, and emerging modalities; and a partnership model designed to provide agility, senior oversight, and milestone-aligned execution. 

This integrated structure allows sponsors to make data-driven decisions while maintaining timeline discipline and regulatory alignment. 

CD: How does Novotech’s global footprint support biotech and pharma companies as they advance clinical development? 

MM: Novotech’s global presence enables sponsors to strategically select development regions based on speed, regulatory pathway, patient access, and capital efficiency. 

For example, Australia offers an established regulatory framework that allows certain first-in-human studies to proceed under the Clinical Trial Notification scheme without requiring an Investigational New Drug submission to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. This can provide an efficient pathway to first patient while maintaining internationally recognized ethical and regulatory standards. 

At the same time, Novotech’s footprint across Asia, North America, and Europe supports seamless program expansion into multi-regional trials. Sponsors benefit from consistent governance, harmonized data standards, and coordinated regulatory strategy as programs advance. 

CD: As a sponsor of RESI during JPM Week, what were your key objectives for participating this year? 

MM: Novotech’s objectives were centered on early engagement and strategic dialogue. The company aimed to connect with emerging biotech companies preparing for first-in-human or proof-of-concept studies, provide guidance on early development strategy and regulatory pathways, explore long-term partnerships beyond single studies, and support investor-backed companies in aligning clinical milestones with financing objectives. 

RESI provided a focused environment to engage with innovative sponsors at critical inflection points in development. 

CD: Who is Novotech most interested in connecting with? 

MM: Novotech is particularly interested in engaging with early- to mid-stage biotech companies transitioning from preclinical to first-in-human studies, and companies seeking an integrated CRO partner that combines regulatory advisory, scientific strategy, and operational execution. The emphasis is on building strategic relationships with sponsors who value early alignment between scientific design, regulatory positioning, and clinical operations. 

CD: Are there particular trends in early clinical development shaping Novotech’s ECD strategy? 

MM: Regulators are placing greater emphasis on optimized dose selection and robust early-phase data packages, increasing the use of adaptive designs, expansion cohorts, and integrated pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic modeling in first-in-human studies. 

There is also growing strategic use of healthy volunteer studies, where scientifically appropriate, to better characterize safety, pharmacokinetics, and target engagement before patient expansion. This can reduce downstream risk and improve capital efficiency. 

Biotech sponsors are under pressure to generate milestone-defining data efficiently. As a result, early programs increasingly incorporate translational biomarkers, seamless SAD and MAD structures, and optional proof-of-concept expansion pathways within unified protocol frameworks. 

Together, these trends reinforce a shift toward positioning early clinical development as a strategic foundation for the entire program lifecycle. 

Interested in sponsoring an upcoming RESI conference? 

To explore sponsorship opportunities, please contact resi@lifesciencenation.com. Life Science Nation would welcome the opportunity to meet and discuss organizational goals for connecting with the global RESI investor and innovator community.