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How to Identify Best-Fit Investors at Partnering EventsĀ 

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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Merck, Servier & Meiji Pharma Leaders Share Pharma BD Insights Ahead of RESI San Diego & Convention Week

19 May

By Sougato Das, President and COO, LSN

Sougato-DasAs partnering activity ramps up ahead of convention week in San Diego, early-stage life science companies are preparing for a critical week of fundraising, licensing, and strategic business development. To help companies better understand how large pharmaceutical companies evaluate new opportunities, Life Science Nation is hosting a webinar featuring leaders from Merck, Servier, and Meiji Pharma USA.

The webinar, Large Pharma BD & Investment: Merck, Servier & Meiji Pharma Prep You for RESI & Convention, will take place on June 2, 2026 at 1:00 PM ET and will be moderated by Sougato Das.

Carla-Bauer
Carla BauerDirector, Search and Evaluation, BD & Licensing
Merck		 Irene Blat
Irene Blat, PhDHead of External Innovation, NA
Servier		 Sho-Takahata
Sho TakahataSenior Director, Venture Investment
Meiji Pharma USA

The discussion will explore how pharma companies source and evaluate external innovation, what teams look for during initial meetings, how internal screening processes work, and what makes a company stand out for continued engagement. Topics will also include licensing, R&D partnerships, strategic investment, platform collaborations, and practical tips for improving partnering conversations during convention week.

For companies preparing for RESI San Diego and broader convention week activity, the webinar offers an opportunity to hear directly from pharma business development and investment leaders before arriving in San Diego.

RESI San Diego begins June 22 with an in-person conference day followed by four days of virtual partnering on June 23ā€“24 and June 29ā€“30, connecting early-stage companies with active investors, pharma scouts, strategic partners, and global healthcare stakeholders.

Sign Up for the Webinar

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StimOxyGenĀ on Advancing SGEN-33 Following First Place Win at RESI EuropeĀ 

12 May

After securing 1st Place in the Innovatorā€™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 18ā€“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 Innovatorā€™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 Innovatorā€™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 Innovatorā€™s Pitch Challenge experience compared to other pitch opportunities?

SF: What stood out most was the quality and relevance of the audience. Iā€™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 ā€œone-and-doneā€ 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 Innovatorā€™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 ā€” 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 Innovatorā€™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

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Do RESI San Diego and BIO Overlap?

12 May

By Sougato Das, President and COO, LSN

Sougato-Das

The fourth week of June is one of the largest gatherings of life science business development and investment professionals on the calendar, second only to JPM. If you are an early-stage company raising anywhere from $250K to $75M, that week in San Diego is not optional. The question most founders are asking right now is whether attending RESI means missing BIO.

The short answer is no. Here is why.
RESI partnering starts early morning on June 22. BIO Convention partnering does not start until early afternoon. That means you can run a full morning of investor meetings at RESI before BIO gets going. The two venues are about 15 minutes apart, making it straightforward to move between them in the afternoon. RESI has virtual days both that week and the following week, so any meetings that do not fit in person can be held on Zoom with no schedule conflicts.

If you find yourself double booked across both events on Monday afternoon, the partnering systems give you real options. Move the Convention meeting to another day. Move the RESI meeting to the morning or to a virtual slot. Or simply decide which meeting matters more for your specific raise. Having choices is better than not having them.

Fundraising is a numbers game. Companies with tight budgets need to maximize every hour and dollar spent in San Diego each week. RESI is not a scheduling conflict. It is more meetings with investors and pharma external innovation teams that are specifically focused on early-stage deals. Add it to your agenda.

Bonus: Increase your networking ROI by attending the many side events and receptions during Convention week. Luckily we’ve assembled the most complete list for you! Click here.

Register for RESI San Diego

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Convention Week: How to Get the Most Investor/InlicensorĀ Meetings & ExposureĀ 

5 May

By Sougato Das, President and COO, LSN

Sougato-Das

Prep for the June mega-events in San Diego, BIO Convention and the neighboring RESI, startsā€Ænow. Weā€™re 7 weeks out and itā€™s getting warm. In another week, the Heat is On by Glen Frey. Three weeks or so after that, scheduling starts and itā€™s Hot Hot Hot by Buster Poindexter. Finally, when partnering starts on June 22, itā€™s the Heat of the Moment by Asia. 80s music references aside, here are the top things you need to do NOW to ensure your company succeeds:

  1. Register. Want to meet investors funding seed through series B and pharma external innovation? There will be over 300 at RESI. Clickā€Æhereā€Æto take advantage of RESI early bird rates.
  2. Consider registering toā€Æpitch, with many opportunities throughout Convention week. Pitching at RESI puts you in front of a panel of well-aligned investors who are obligated to be interactive and give you feedback.
  3. Log into the partnering system and find your ideal partners. Repeat this every week to account for new registrants. At RESI this is straightforward as the LSN staff populates investors profiles very granularly based on the LSN Investor Database. Investors are carefully vetted. Searching for investors interested in a given modality, disease, geography, stage, etc. is fast. Searching for well-aligned partners in the larger Convention ecosystem can require more oversight (e.g. is an in-licensor looking for early stage, late stage or on-market assets?) Join myā€Æwebinarā€Æto learn the best way to do this!
  4. Open as much availability on your calendar/agenda as possible. Convention week is NOT the time to block the early morning time slots because you want to sleepĀ inā€ÆšŸ˜‰
  5. Send customized meeting requests. Meetings are more likely to be accepted if you spend some effort customizing each meeting request to the interests of the receiving company. Join myā€Æwebinarā€Æto learn the best way to do this!
  6. Minimize the number of people from your company who are required to attend the meeting. The fewer people in the meeting the more likely it is to get scheduled (if itā€™s accepted).
  7. Follow-up on unanswered meeting requests. As someone whoā€™s been behind the scenes running partnering at dozens of partnering events, I can tell you there is a complex series of variables that determines if your meeting request gets accepted. Sometimes itā€™s as simple as the person who would accept your meeting request did not register until later, even though his/her colleagues registered earlier. That’s why itā€™s important not let unanswered meeting requests languish indefinitely. Join myā€Æwebinarā€Æto learn the best way to do this!
  8. Cancel ā€˜deadā€™ unanswered meeting requests. When you determine you wonā€™t get a response for a given meeting request, cancel it to increase your meeting request allotment. Join myā€Æwebinarā€Æto learn the best way to do this!
  9. When scheduling starts,Ā immediatelyĀ reach out to the other party for meetings that cannot be scheduled due to lack of mutual availability. You can also try reaching out to the partnering system administrators to see if they can help.
  10. Practice your meeting presentation to ensure everything gets finished in the allotted time.Ā For Convention, 25 minutes is a good guide, as meetings can be far apart from each other.Ā For RESI, 30 minutes as meetings are physically close together.Ā To get between RESI and Convention, plan at least 20 minutes.
  11. Take advantage of virtual partnering. RESI provides virtual partnering during Convention week and the following week. Extend your ROI by continuing the momentum of Convention week into the next week.
  12. Be prompt about your follow-up the week after Convention.

Whew! Iā€™m So Tired (by the Beatles) just writing this, I canā€™t imagine how I feel after I go through the Convention Week + RESI gauntlet! For more details on how to succeed at Convention & RESI,ā€Æjoin my webinarā€Æon May 20 for all the best tips and tricks!

Sign Up the Webinar

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Reception & Event ListĀ forĀ Convention Week in San Diego

21 Apr

By Sougato Das, President and COO, LSN

Sougato-DasConvention week in San Diego has become much more than a single conference. One of the major events taking place during the week is RESI San Diego 2026, hosted by Life Science Nation on June 22, followed by four virtual partnering days on June 23ā€“24 and June 29ā€“30. This is the best place to secure meetings with early stage investors.

Around RESI and the Convention, investors, founders, pharmas, service providers, and regional delegations host receptions, networking events, investor forums, pitch sessions, private meetings, and educational programs across the city.

For attendees, the week often becomes a full schedule of opportunities that extends well beyond the official conference agenda. A company may attend RESI or Convention during the day and continue conversations at networking receptions and evening events across San Diego.

That is why having a compiled list of convention week events can be so valuable. Life Science Nation has curated a list of convention week events taking place throughout San Diego to help attendees better navigate the week. Covering Sunday, June 21 through Friday, June 26, the list serves as a useful resource for attendees looking to plan their schedules and make the most of their time in San Diego.

The list includes events for a range of audiences and interests, from investor networking and startup showcases to regional receptions, educational panels, business development gatherings, and informal social events. Some events are designed specifically for early-stage companies looking to connect with investors, while others are focused on strategic partnerships, market trends, or geographic regions.

Convention week can also be an important opportunity for companies to make the most of their time in San Diego. Rather than relying on one conference alone, attendees often use the week to build a broader schedule of meetings and introductions.

Whether attendees are focused on fundraising, partnering, business development, or networking, convention week offers a wide range of ways to connect.

View the Compiled List of Convention Week Events

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Innovatorā€™s Pitch Challenge Winner Spotlight: Bram De Moor of You2YourselfĀ 

14 Apr

Following its recognition as a winner of the Innovatorā€™s Pitch Challenge at RESI Europe, You2Yourself is advancingĀ a new approachĀ to early disease detection through longitudinal biomarker monitoring. In this interview, Bram De Moor discusses the science behind URIMON, the companyā€™s commercialization strategy, and how RESI has supported its investor engagement.Ā 

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 ā€” including prostate cancer, lung cancer, and cardiovascular disease ā€” 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 ā€” 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 ā€” 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 (ā‚¬299ā€“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 Innovatorā€™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 ā€” a highly targeted audience that is difficult to reach through traditional outreach.

The Innovatorā€™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 12ā€“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 ā€” including advances in NGS, growing demand for preventive health, and regulatory clarity ā€” You2Yourself is well positioned to lead in this space.

Applications are now open for upcoming Innovatorā€™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

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