Register Free: Pre-RESI Biotech Forum, September 21

By Sougato Das, President and COO, LSN

Sougato-Das

LSN has always sought to offer value to the greater life science fund raising ecosystem by providing free educational material both via webinars and in-person seminars. To continue this tradition, RESI Boston, in partnership with Certara, is offering a free, in-person event in Boston on September 21 called the Biotech Forum.

The Biotech Forum is a strategic workshop designed for biotech executives, founders, and investors who want to sharpen their development plan, de-risk their program, and enter RESI, JPM 2027 and other fundraising meetings with clarity and confidence. In a single focused day, expert speakers will address the early-stage decisions that most often derail promising programs and show you how to avoid them before you step into critical partnering and investor conversations, including a dedicated session on how to prepare for, run, and follow up on your investor meetings.

The Biotech Forum will be catered with breakfast, lunch and snacks, and will be followed by a networking reception. If you are a biotech company, you can register here. This is a great opportunity not only to learn, but also to network with other ecosystem participants. We look forward to seeing you there.

Register for Biotech Forum
Register for RESI Boston 2026

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

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

More Connections, Better Matches: Inside RESI San Diego’s 1,000+ Investor Meeting Success

By Sougato Das, President and COO, LSN

Sougato-Das

RESI San Diego was a powerhouse gathering of 300+ active early-stage life science investors including VCs, angels, family offices, CVCs, venture philanthropy, and pharma external innovation scouts across 10 distinct categories.

What made this event truly remarkable wasn’t just the sheer number of attendees, but their high level of engagement. Throughout the five-day hybrid conference, innovators and capital providers initiated thousands of high-value conversations, reinforcing why RESI remains a premier venue for early-stage companies seeking Seed, Series A, and Series B financing.

RESI San Diego: Partnering Success by the Numbers
The event saw incredible partnering activity, showcasing both high volume and improved precision:

  • 11,000+ Partnering requests submitted.
  • 1,400+ Accepted meetings.

This jump in efficiency reflects a growing emphasis on targeted outreach and thoughtful meeting selection, helping attendees spend less time chasing cold leads and more time speaking with organizations that closely match their technology and fundraising goals.

Furthermore, the hybrid format delivered maximum flexibility.

The RESI Differentiator: Why Our Matches are Stronger
Other industry conferences often suffer from half-empty investor profiles, making it incredibly difficult for fundraising startups to know whom to target. RESI is built differently.

  • Vetted, Highly-Detailed Profiles: Our dedicated Investor Research Team manually populates and verifies every single investor profile in the system. You get the exact detail you need to determine if an investor is a legitimate fit.
  • No “Undercover” Service Providers: Our team meticulously screens every participant to ensure that anyone registered as an investor is actually a legitimate capital provider ready to invest, not financial service providers in disguise.
  • High Visibility on Site: With investors easily identified by their red registration badges, initiating spontaneous, high-value conversations during in-person days was easier than ever.

Maintain Your Fundraising Momentum
Fundraising is a relationship-driven process. The strongest outcomes rarely come from a single meeting; they are built through multiple touchpoints over time. Participating in sequential RESI conferences allows you to strengthen existing relationships, introduce new data milestones, and refine your pitch.

Super Early Bird registration is now open for our upcoming landmark events:

  • RESI Boston (September 2026): Held during Biotech Week Boston, featuring 2 days of expanded in-person programming and 3 days of virtual partnering. (Save $300 if you register by this Friday, July 17!)
  • RESI JPM 2027 (January 2027): Returning to San Francisco during JPM Healthcare Week, the busiest week in healthcare venture capital. 2 days of live networking at the SF Marriott Marquis, followed by 3 days of global virtual partnering.

Lock in the lowest rates of the season today, secure your Super Early Bird pricing, and keep your fundraising momentum moving forward!

Register for RESI Boston Register for RESI JPM

Accelerate Your Fundraising with Life Science Nation’s BD Assist 

By Sougato Das, President and COO, LSN

Sougato-Das

Raising capital is rarely about finding more investors. It’s about finding the right investors, telling the right story, and consistently building relationships that lead to meaningful opportunities. Additionally and importantly, it is about having a dedicated resource that finds those investors, reaches out to them regularly, and secures meetings with them.

Life Science Nation’s BD Assist program was created to help early-stage life science companies do exactly that by making Life Science Nation into that dedicated resource.

BD Assist is LSN’s premier business development program, providing startups with an experienced team dedicated to advancing their fundraising and partnering efforts throughout the year. Designed for companies seeking investment, licensing opportunities, or strategic collaborations, the program combines targeted investor research, strategic messaging, personalized outreach, and ongoing business development support into one comprehensive solution.

Every engagement begins by refining the company’s investment narrative and marketing materials to ensure they clearly communicate the value of the technology, market opportunity, and growth strategy. From there, Life Science Nation identifies and prioritizes a highly targeted global audience of investors and strategic partners whose interests align with the company’s stage, therapeutic area, and business objectives.

With the strategy in place, LSN launches and manages a personalized outreach campaign on the company’s behalf, tracking every interaction through the client’s CRM platform. Outreach is continuously refined based on engagement, allowing companies to build momentum over time while maintaining visibility with investors and corporate partners actively seeking new opportunities.

Clients also benefit from regular strategy discussions, ongoing campaign optimization, and access to Life Science Nation’s extensive global investor ecosystem. For companies participating in RESI conferences, BD Assist extends that support by managing partnering activities and helping maximize high-value meeting opportunities throughout the event.

Unlike traditional consulting services that provide recommendations, BD Assist becomes an extension of your business development team. LSN handles the day-to-day execution so your leadership can remain focused on advancing the science, growing the business, and preparing for meaningful investor conversations.

Whether you are preparing for your first institutional raise, expanding into new markets, or pursuing strategic partnerships, BD Assist provides the expertise, infrastructure, and execution to help accelerate your fundraising journey.

If your goal is to spend less time searching for investors and more time building relationships with the right ones, BD Assist was built for you.

Ready to activate your global roadshow? Click here to fill out the LSN Labs company assessment report and we’ll be in touch with you soon.

Click Here to Fill Out the LSN Labs Company Assessment Report

Investor Insights: What It Really Takes to Land a Life Science Investment

By Sougato Das, President and COO, LSN

Sougato-Das

Securing investment is rarely about delivering the perfect pitch. Successful fundraising is built on understanding how investors evaluate opportunities, developing meaningful relationships, and communicating a compelling value proposition that stands up to diligence.

On Thursday, July 9, at 12:00 PM ET, Life Science Nation will bring together an outstanding panel of active life science investors for an in-depth discussion on what it takes to raise capital in today’s investment environment. The webinar will feature George Voren, VP of Founder Strategy and Operations at Curie.Bio; Yaniv Sneor, Founder of Mid Atlantic Bio Angels; Anna Crespo Puig, Investment Analyst at AdBio Partners; and Ankita Das, Senior Venture Development Associate, Therapeutics, at NLC Health Ventures. Together, they represent a diverse range of investment perspectives spanning venture creation, angel investing, venture capital, and strategic venture development.

George Voren
George Voren

Curie.Bio
Yaniv Sneor
Yaniv Sneor

Mid Atlantic Bio Angels
Anna Crespo Puig
Anna Crespo Puig

AdBio Partners
Ankita Das
Ankita Das

NLC Health Ventures

Moderated by Life Science Nation, the conversation is designed to deliver actionable insights for entrepreneurs preparing to raise capital, whether they are beginning their fundraising journey or actively engaging investors.

As market conditions continue to evolve, founders are navigating an increasingly competitive fundraising landscape. This webinar will provide practical guidance on how investors are approaching new opportunities, what they expect to see in executive summaries and pitch decks, how entrepreneurs can secure productive investor meetings both inside and outside partnering conferences, and the common mistakes that can derail an otherwise promising opportunity. The panel will also discuss what founders should expect once discussions move beyond a confidentiality agreement and into deeper diligence.

Reserve your spot today and join Life Science Nation on July 9 at 12:00 PM ET for this timely discussion.

Sign Up for the Investor Webinar

Building Investor Readiness: Watch the First Two Sessions and Join the Final Webinar 

By Sougato Das, President and COO, LSN

Sougato-Das

As RESI San Diego approaches, Life Science Nation has been helping founders and executives prepare for investor conversations through a three-part webinar series focused on one of the most important challenges in life science fundraising: transforming strong science into a compelling investment opportunity.

The first two sessions in the series explored why many promising companies struggle to attract capital despite strong technology and how founders can better communicate risk reduction, investment readiness, and strategic value to investors.

Webinar Recording: De-Risking, Shaping, and Micro-Investment

In this session, Rick Berenson, partner to Dennis Ford in the Anchor Node project and co-author of Dissecting Return and Risk: A Framework for Financing Life Science Startups, examined how investors evaluate risk across early-stage companies and why scientific promise alone is rarely enough to secure funding.

The discussion explored the role of micro-investment as an early filtering mechanism, the importance of systematically reducing risk across the development pathway, and how founders can shape scientific assets into investable opportunities capable of attracting institutional capital.


Webinar Recording: From Pitch Deck to De-Risk Deck

Dennis Ford, Founder and CEO of Life Science Nation, challenged the traditional approach to fundraising presentations by introducing the concept of the “de-risk deck.”

The webinar explored why investors focus on evidence of risk reduction rather than vision alone and why capital flows toward companies that clearly communicate scientific, regulatory, execution, and commercialization progress. Dennis also discussed investor targeting, outreach strategy, and the realities of navigating a successful life science fundraising campaign.


Final Webinar: Science to Signal

June 18, 2026 | 1:00 PM ET

The webinar series concludes this Thursday with Science to Signal, presented by Max Braht and Karen Deyo.

This session introduces the Science to Signal framework, a practical system designed to help life science startups translate scientific achievements into clear investment signals. Attendees will learn how the framework aligns development strategy with investor risk assessment, supports enterprise implementation within incubators and innovation programs, and helps founders better communicate progress to potential investors and partners.

Register for Science to Signal

Whether you are actively fundraising, preparing for partnering meetings, or refining your investment story, this webinar series provides practical frameworks for improving investor engagement and positioning your company for more productive capital formation discussions.

Register for RESI San Diego

How to Identify Best-Fit Investors at Partnering Events 

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