Life Science Nation invites all eligible early stage life science companies to apply to Innovation Challenge to showcase their technologies.
Companies from all categories of life science are encouraged to apply to Innovation Challenge for RESI Healthtech Week. Eligible companies can apply to Day 1, the First Coast Innovator’s Gathering, Day 2 RESI Global Partnering or both. Applicants will have the opportunity for excellent visibility among investors and strategic partners.
For the first time this fall, Life Science Nation will have two days of Innovation Challenge competition as part of the RESI Healthtech Week (September 5-7, 2018). The Innovation Challenge offers selected companies the chance to gain more visibility from the early-stage investors in attendance.
Day 2 Redefining Early Stage Investments
All early-stage life science companies are eligible to apply. Finalists will be highlighted in multiple outlets:
Your country and technology highlighted at the conference
All conference attendees will have the chance to “invest” RESI Cash in their favorite technologies
LSN Newsletter Announcement to a readership of 20,000+
Featured on RESI Conference website Featured in the printed and online program guide
Winners will be announced during the cocktail reception
It is FREE to apply, click here.
Day 1, First Coast Innovation Challenge
All early-stage life science companies from DC through Boston are eligible to apply. Applicants will be highlighted in multiple outlets:
10 finalists will be selected to pitch to a panel of investors
Applicants present a poster of their technology
All featured in the printed and online program guide
Attendees have access to partnering platform
Attendees have access to early-stage investor panels
Attendance on Day 1 for companies is $300, click here.
9 Hamilton Place, Suite 2B, Boston, MA 02108 +1 617-600-0668 | resi@lifesciencenation.com
The first half of 2018 has brought to the surface many debated topics not only for the United States but also the world—universal healthcare, innovation, and leadership. This year, headlines continue to arise almost daily detailing reforms to the healthcare system, while other countries continue to make advances in their universal healthcare programs. One of the biggest corporations in the world, Amazon, is accelerating their involvement in the healthcare industry with big-name partnerships, leadership appointments, and strategic acquisitions. They’ve also recently purchased office space in Boston, MA, one of the biggest life science hubs in the world—where Life Science Nation (LSN) began its focus on helping early-stage life science companies seeking capital.
The urgency in healthcare.
Life Science Nation was founded with the intention to move life science innovation forward for a real impact on the global development of healthcare, which has only become more urgent. Throughout LSN’s experience supporting life science companies, lack of access to capital is holding back the advancement of many life science companies. LSN dedicates itself to helping early-stage companies navigate the funding ‘Valley of Death’, which is why LSN created a new three-day event called RESI Healthtech Week. Today, LSN will discuss the benefit of attending Day 1, the First Coast Innovator’s Gathering, for tech hubs across the northeast with technologies or companies looking to change the future of healthcare.
What is the First Coast?
The First Coast, as LSN has deemed it, is the location identified as the premier hub for life science innovation, similar to how Silicon Valley is viewed as the premier (and original) tech hub. Over the years the First, Second, and Third Coast have been identified as hubs across the country made up of different states including Houston and New York City. All have been vying to be central locations for massive innovation in the life sciences. However, Life Science Nation takes the First Coast to include the entire northeast corridor, from DC to MA, including all the premier universities and research institutions in the region.
RESI Healthtech Week’s new First Coast Innovator’s Gathering is focused on expanding the traditional Redefining Early Stage Investments (RESI) Conference to include more nascent technologies and companies in the life science space. By bringing together innovators from the entire northeast corridor with global investors and strategic partners, LSN promotes a one-of-a-kind opportunity for the advancement of healthcare innovation.
Who are the best-fit attendees?
Day 1 will feature the next generation of healthcare innovation and their earliest stage companies from the northeast region: DC, MD, PA, NJ, NY, RI, CT, and MA—now known as First Coast, who are invited to participate in a day of partnering and networking.
Qualifying First Coast Day 1 registrants are the northeast corridor incubators, accelerators, tech transfer offices, university translation initiatives, hospitals, research labs and their constituents as well as the investors and partners that seek them.
Ideal candidates include those seeing funding anywhere from $15k to $2M from grants, seed, and angel funding.
Affordability
LSN created an affordable registration price that will facilitate more startups attending the three-day event. Tickets start at only $500 for tech hubs (includes two tickets) and $300 for each additional constituent member. The pricing structure and benefits are presented in the chart below.
Showcase Your Technologies.
The conference will include ample opportunities for you to represent and showcase your technologies to global investors and strategic partners. This includes exhibiting, online features and placements, as well as a competition for a spot to pitch investors during the First Coast Innovation Challenge.
The exhibit hall has limited space for one exhibit table per tech hub (as space allows). Each organization can have up to 5 poster boards for their table to showcase their tech hub members and constituents.
In addition, all tech hubs will be featured in the RESI Healthtech Week Program Guide. Their technologies represented by their constituents and tech hub members will be featured on the newsletter and website with a datasheet.
All qualifying First Coast registrants are eligible to apply for the First Coast Innovation Challenge where the top 5 finalists will give 10-minute pitches to an elite panel of investor judges from 3:00-5:00 during the First Coast Innovator’s Gathering. This will be a rewarding opportunity to pitch your technologies and receive valuable feedback.
Access to global investors.
LSN’s network of early-stage global investors will be able to see all the key players in one place and learn about the innovative technologies coming out of the First Coast.
A day of partnering and networking.
Day 1 of the RESI Healthtech Week will feature the First Coast Innovator’s Gathering; partnering and networking opportunities, just like it’s traditional RESI.
The RESI Partnering Platform helps you find nontraditional partners from the newest sources of capital, including family offices, foundations, academic institutions, and philanthropic organizations that will be a fit for your technology and stage of development. Attendees can schedule up to 16 meetings using the Partnering Platform. It will open one month before the conference, so companies, global investors, and strategic partners can request and book meetings in advance. Some key highlights of the Partnering Platform include:
Review profiles of other RESI Conference participants.
Schedule one-on-one and/or group meetings.
Build your customized RESI Conference schedule, from panels to presentations to partnering meetings.
The system will be available one month before and one month after the conference for ease of use.
Launches August 6th for RESI Healthtech Week (September 5-6th) partnering.
In addition to the Partnering Platform, attendees can also participate in ad hoc meetings at exhibit tables and poster boards throughout the day.
Venue Information
The First Coast Innovator’s Gathering will take place at the Boston Marriott Copley Place, 110 Huntington Ave, Boston, MA 02116, on September 5th, 2018 followed by the traditional Redefining Early Stage Investments Conference on September 6th, and the Entrepreneur’s Academy Workshop Series on September 7th.
Registration starts at 7 AM. Exhibit halls and meetings are available from 8 AM to 5 PM.
In conclusion…
Life Science Nation will continue to connect early-stage companies with global investors and strategic partners through RESI Conferences and first-in-class data platforms, in the hope that downstream we can help bring treatments to the patients that need them. As the landscape for healthcare and healthcare policy changes, so too will LSN in order to meet the needs of the early-stage players.
Life Science Nation knows summertime can be a lull for fundraising, with many investors out of the office. This can make it more challenging and extend a fundraising campaign. LSN spoke with one of the investors attending and speaking at the RESI Healthtech Week this fall, asking him to share his insights into an often-overlooked resource in the fundraising process—foundations as investors.
Jim Golubieski, President of New Jersey Health Foundation and its affiliate, Foundation Venture Capital Group, LLC, will be speaking on the “Foundations” panel, sharing his insights and experience. It will discuss non-profit organizations that provide support and funding to early-stage startups.
Below are the answers to two questions asked by Life Science Nation.
What will RESI attendees learn from you?
Jim: “The most important takeaway from my session would be for attendees to know that many foundations and other not-for-profit organizations are no longer simply fundraising organizations but can also be great sources of capital funding that might be overlooked. It is also important to explore all avenues when seeking funding – attendees should research individual foundations to see what types of organizations and projects they fund, to explore if their missions and goals are compatible with their own.”
What makes you excited to attend RESI?
Jim: “From a strategic perspective, attending RESI means that all the components needed for early-stage investment opportunities are under one roof, in one place at one time, to meet with and explore the entire funding cycle. The opportunity to talk with our colleagues—investors, CEOs, scientists, entrepreneurs and potential partners— is an exciting concept.”
The Foundations Panel will be held on Day 1 – First Coast Innovator’s Gathering
Wednesday, September 5th, 2018 at 2:00 PM – 2:50 PM
Panel topics to be discussed may include:
What is the foundation’s preferred stage of development when supporting companies?
How to approach foundations for fundraising.
What criteria do non-profits use to evaluate opportunities?
What are the differences between support from non-profit investors compared to for-profit investors?
When foundations support startups, it is with an eye to their mission as opposed to profit. These missions can range from regional development to advancement of a cure or treatments for a particular disease. Foundations play an important role in the fundraising landscape, often assisting companies to grow to the level required by more traditional investors. Panelists will discuss their approach to supporting early-stage companies and how these companies can benefit from a partnership with a foundation.
James M. Golubieski is President of New Jersey Health Foundation and its affiliate, Foundation Venture Capital Group, LLC, a company that provides pre-seed funding to new health-related startup companies founded by New Jersey researchers to help them advance toward commercialization.
Mr. Golubieski works closely with the companies in which Foundation Venture has invested, sits on their Boards and provides guidance in helping them to develop their business models.
Previously he had been CFO of Array Medical, Inc., a medical device start-up company established in 1995 that developed a groundbreaking blood test to test platelet function. The company was sold in 1999. Mr. Golubieski was also the chief operating officer and senior executive vice president of Glendale National Bank and a member of its board of directors, president of Glendale Investment Corp. and Glendale Mortgage Services, Inc. and chief financial officer of Glendale Bancorp, which was acquired by Mellon Financial. For 10 years prior he had been with KPMG.
Mental and Behavioral Health contains many highly prevalent but stigmatized health conditions, which can lead to a lack of interest from investors, therefore prolonging the development of treatments for these conditions. The Redefining Early Stage Investments (RESI) Boston Summer Conference on June 4, 2018 included a panel devoted to “Investing in Mental and Behavioral Health” to shed light on the subject. Despite the stigma associated with mental and behavioral health, there are investors working in the space to identify and fund digital health solutions for these high-need conditions.
For the panel, five mental and behavioral health experts shared their insights on the advancement of digital health solutions for mental and behavioral health conditions. The panelists covered topics such as: the current progress, areas or technologies that may raise skepticism, what they hope to see in the future, and whether investors face a similar stigma for targeting these specialized companies.
The discussion between the panelists brought to light many issues, such as hesitancy to work with passive data collection in a space with sensitive information, and a reluctance to diagnose these disorders in primary care due to an inability to treat effectively. The discussion on passive data collection and the skepticism around it is particularly thought-provoking and discussed thoroughly in the second clip highlighted below. You can watch and learn from the panelists insights regarding each of the prompts listed.
Moderated by Julie Papanek Grant, Partner at Canaan Partners, the panel included:
Justin Baker, Scientific Director, The McLean Institute for Technology in Psychiatry
Ken Duckworth, Senior Medical Director for Behavioral Health, Blue Cross Blue Shield of MA
Robert Garber, Partner, 7wire Ventures
Eric Schaeffer, Senior Director, Neuroscience Innovation, Johnson & Johnson Innovation
Where Do These Investors See Progress?
What Areas/Technologies Are These Investors Skeptical About?
What Types of Technologies Do They Want to See in This Space?
Is There a Stigma Towards Investing in Mental and Behavioral Health?
As Robert Garber from 7wire Ventures mentioned, digital health solutions for mental and behavioral conditions, was not thoroughly reviewed at all when he first explored investment opportunities in 1996 despite the prevalence of mental health being ignored. Since then the topic is more openly discussed, so investors have seen a floodgate open resulting in a substantial increase in startups focused on mental and behavioral health.
As Ken Duckworth from BCBS of Massachusetts states, given the long history of prejudice and injustice for those suffering from mental and behavioral disorders, there’s a hesitancy to provide data given privacy concerns. While there still aren’t any solutions to adequately protect privacy concerns, this panel hopes to bring an even wider audience to the discussion to advance further ideas and potential treatments.
This panel will continue to be part of the agenda during RESI Healthtech Week featuring new voices and expertise, so if you’re interested in watching the live discussion on this topic, please be sure to join us there on September 6, 2018 too.
By Samuel Rubin, Business Development Manager, LSN
For the first time this fall, Life Science Nation (LSN) will have two days of competition as part of the RESI Healthtech Week (September 5-7, 2018). Day 1 will feature the First Coast Innovation Challenge, where the top 10 ranked companies of the First Coast tech hubs will present their technology as a 10-minute pitch to a panel of early-stage investors. Day 2 features the traditional RESI Innovation Challenge, where the top 30 companies who apply are chosen to showcase a poster on the RESI Global Partnering Conference Exhibit Hall.
LSN is proud to now include presentation opportunities for top technologies from the First Coast that have recently moved out of the lab and are ready to target grant, angel, and seed funding. The First Coast Innovation Challenge on Day 1 complements the RESI Global Innovation Challenge on Day 2, offering greater investor exposure to companies from the earliest stage to more established startups that are looking globally and seeking funding from institutional investors.
Applying for the Innovation Challenge at RESI Healthtech Week Will Boost Your Exposure with Investors
Those selected to be Innovation Challenge finalists will have the potential to dramatically increase the number of meaningful investor relationships they build. The objective of most early-stage companies and tech hubs attending RESI Healthtech Week is to have one-on-one meetings with investors who are a fit for them. The Innovation Challenge expands on the RESI Partnering Forum, providing an avenue to directly showcase to the whole investor audience, in addition to booking formal one-on-one meeting opportunities. Investors attending RESI Healthtech Week know that Innovation Challenge finalists are selected based on credentials for success and will be inclined to engage with these companies.
First Coast Innovation Challenge VS RESI Global Innovation Challenge
All registered attendees who qualify for Day 1 – First Coast Innovation Challenge are also eligible to apply for Day 2 – RESI Global Innovation Challenge. You must be a Qualifying First Coast Day 1 registrant to apply for the First Coast Innovation Challenge.
Qualifying Day 1 First Coast Innovation Challenge participants are the constituents of northeast corridor incubators, accelerators, tech transfer offices, university translation initiatives, hospitals, and research labs. Day 2 is open to all global attendees – scientist-entrepreneurs, fundraising CEOs, and the First Coast.
Selected finalists on Day 1 will pitch to global investors, while the selected Day 2 finalists will showcase their poster in the exhibit hall and will be eligible for the prizes awarded to the top Day 2 participants.
Innovation Challenge Application Open Now!
The online application for the Innovation Challenge officially opens today! We welcome applications both for Day 1 – First Coast Innovation Challenge, and Day 2 – RESI Global Innovation Challenge. The application deadline is Friday July 27, 2018 for both competitions.
If you are accepted as a finalist, we will notify you by Thursday August 9th, and you will have until Thursday August 16th to confirm your participation and register for RESI Healthtech Week.
The LSN Review Team and the 300+ investors attending RESI Healthtech Week look forward to learning more about your unique technologies!
RESI Healthtech Week, a three-day event starting September 5th, will offer an expanded agenda of panels and workshops for entrepreneurs looking for advice on how to raise capital (grants, seed, angels, series A and series B rounds) for their ventures.
At the First Coast Innovator’s Gathering (RESI Healthtech Week Day 1 on September 5th), the focus will be on the very earliest stages of fundraising and entrepreneurship. Attendees can catch panels on Seed Funds, Angels, Foundations, the NIH, and Big Pharma at the Seed Stage, as well as a workshop on raising nondilutive grant funding. The goal is to set up the earliest stage companies for success by providing additional information on funding they have not previously received. Additionally, the agenda includes the First Coast Innovation Challenge, a competition for the First Coast Innovators to pitch their company to selected investors in the afternoon.
On Day 2 (September 6th), the RESI Global Partnering event will focus on panels about global early stage investments (series A and series B) in life science companies from RESI’s core verticals of therapeutics, medical devices, diagnostics and digital health. The agenda includes new sessions on Impact Investors, and Investing in Personalized Medicine, as well as two sessions focused on investors from the Asia-Pacific region – Investors Leveraging the CFDA and Asia Cross-Border Investors. Also featured are many more topical sessions on the newest trends in life science investment.
The Entrepreneur’s Academy Workshop Series on Day 3 (September 7th) features a full day of entrepreneurship workshops for attendees to learn how to brand and market their company to investors, create an investor target list, and send outbound marketing within an organized campaign to raise capital. We hope you can join us for this exciting new three-day event.
On June 4th, more than 700 scientist-entrepreneurs and investors entered the exhibition hall at Boston Marriott Copley Place to participate in the RESI conference. They were greeted by 30 Innovation Challenge finalists across therapeutics, medical device, diagnostics, and digital health sectors. The 30 companies, evaluated by LSN’s expert system and scientific & commercial review team, competed directly on merits of innovation and commercial viability. We wish all our finalists the best in bringing their products forward toward commercialization, but there could only be 3 top prize winners.
First Prize: Taiwan Resonant Waves Research Corp.
Taiwan Resonant Waves Research Corp. (TRWR) was founded in 2010 in the capital of Taiwan – Taipei. Integrating innovative bioelectronic technology with non-invasive medical devices, we are dedicated to helping patients with chronic diseases better manage health-related challenges.There is unlimited promise in the application of Bioelectrical medicine in the treatment of chronic diseases. Designed and developed by TRWR, Microcurrent Electrical Nerve Stimulation technology (MENS) is currently being used as a non-invasive, physical approach to treating and alleviating symptoms associated with diabetes (such as decreasing HbA1c of Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus patient). Our vision is to lead the world in groundbreaking research and development in electroceutical technology as a means of enhancing quality of life, without the adverse side effects of conventional approaches.
Natasha Eldridge, Director of RESI Conference Series, LSN | Lucy Parkinson, Director of Investor Research, LSN | Chris Chen, Business Development, TRWR | Ann Chiu, COO, TRWR | Kuo-Chuan Huang, Doctor, TRWR
Second Prize: The Wave Talk
Our laser-based sensor is many times more accurate than conventional laser and is able to detect even low concentrations of bacteria based on its movements in real-time. Even though our first application targets water, we have managed to decrease antibiotics susceptibility test from 10-15 hours to less than 1 hour.
Natasha Eldridge, Director of RESI Conference Series, LSN | Lucy Parkinson, Director of Investor Research, LSN | SeungA LEE, Marketing, UX, The Wave Talk | YoungDug Kim, CEO & Founder, The Wave Talk
Third Prize: Taipeibio
Taipeibio is an R&D-driven company with core technology derived from Harvard and MIT; which focuses on tissue regeneration and repairs various bone defects including alveolar bone, bone, joint, ligament and cartilage. Taipeibio has comprehensive global IP protection in over 45 countries (Fish & Richardson; Cesari & McKenna). Taipeibio has established 3 core labs and 5 research arms to support product development with 2 governmental funding programs . Taipeibio has accumulated over 160 successful clinical cases with 14 years stress-bearing data to prove safety and efficacy. The cartilage regeneration product has been proved to repair large articular cartilages and difficult TMJ defects in a rabbit model. Relative scientific reports were published in high-impact SCI journals. The products will be made in U.S.A. and aiming FDA approval.
Natasha Eldridge, Director of RESI Conference Series, LSN | Lucy Parkinson, Director of Investor Research, LSN | Dr. Thomas Wen-Fu Lai, TaipeiBio | Jim-Pei Chu, CEO, TaipeiBio
It is worth mentioning that the proportion of Asia-based startups at RESI is the highest it’s ever been. LSN worked closely with both Development Center of Biotechnology (DCB) from Taiwan and Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency (KOTRA). Of the over 100 startups that applied to be finalists in the RESI Innovation Challenge, more than 30% were from Taiwan or Korea. This is also the first time that Asia-based companies won all three top prizes. The first and third place winners were two Medtech companies from Taiwan, Taiwan Resonant Waves Research Corp and TaipeiBio respectively. The second place winner was THE WAVE TALK, one of the Korea-based companies sponsored by KOTRA. Check out how RESI collaborates with KOTRA.
The firm is focused on therapeutics companies and does not invest in medical devices, diagnostics, or digital health. The firm is open to considering assets of very early stages, even those as early as lead optimization phase. The firm considers various modalities, including antibodies, small molecules, and cell therapy. Currently, the firm is not interested in gene therapy. Indication-wise, the firm is most interested in oncology and autoimmune diseases but has recently looked at fibrotic diseases and certain rare diseases as well.
The firm is opportunistic across all subsectors of healthcare. Within MedTech, the firm is most interested in medical devices, artificial intelligence, robotics, and mobile health. The firm is seeking post-prototype innovations that are FDA cleared or are close to receiving clearance. Within therapeutics, the firm is interested in therapeutics for large disease markets such as oncology, neurology, and metabolic diseases. The firm is open to all modalities with a special interest in immunotherapy and cell therapy.
A strategic investment firm of a large global pharmaceutical makes investments ranging from $5 million to $30 million, acting either as a sole investor or within a syndicate. The firm is open to considering therapeutic opportunities globally, but only if the company is pursuing a market opportunity in the USA and is in dialogue with the US FDA.
The firm is currently looking for new investment opportunities in enterprise software, medical devices, and the healthcare IT space. The firm will invest in 510k devices and healthcare IT companies, and it is very opportunistic in terms of indications. In the past, the firm was active in medical device companies developing dental devices, endovascular innovation devices, and women’s health devices.
A venture capital firm founded in 2005 has multiple offices throughout Asia, New York, and San Diego. The firm has closed its fifth fund in 2017 and is currently raising a sixth fund, which the firm is targeting to be the largest fund to date. The firm continues to actively seek investment opportunities across a […]
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