The Missing Piece in Preparing Life Science Companies for Investors

October 14, 2026October 14, 2026 ~ Next Phase Admin ~ Leave a comment

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

One of the most pervasive problems we see across life science entrepreneurial programs is that Entrepreneurs-in-Residence (EIRs) help companies develop executive summaries and pitch decks that emphasize the science and market opportunity. This approach repeats across incubators, accelerators, universities, and entrepreneurial training programs worldwide.

The problem is that the two sides of the table are speaking different languages. The sell side presents science and market potential, while investors and licensing partners evaluate the seven-layer risk stack: market, technical, regulatory, execution, economic, financing, and exit risk. They want to understand which risks have been retired, which remain, and what evidence supports the company’s ability to overcome them.

This is precisely where LSN spends its time preparing companies for global roadshows and RESI partnering events.

We begin with the LSN assessment, which identifies where the company sits within the risk stack, what has been accomplished, and what remains to be de-risked. We then reconstitute the executive summary and pitch deck to speak the language of risk, supported by evidence rather than simply promoting the science and market opportunity.

We also develop a milestone-driven Gantt chart that shows the development milestones already completed and the value created, the one, two, or three critical milestones ahead for the remainder of the current year, and the subsequent development and de-risking milestones planned for years two and three.

The capital ask becomes the financial expression of the de-risking plan. By calculating the cost of the current and future milestones, the company can explain precisely how much capital it needs, what that capital will accomplish, which risks will be retired, and how achieving those milestones is expected to increase the asset’s value.

This is the fundamental distinction between a conventional pitch deck and a de-risked deck. One emphasizes the promise of the science and the size of the market. The other demonstrates a credible, milestone-driven, financed pathway to making that science investable.

That is the missing commercialization discipline LSN brings to the table, and it is what investors and licensing partners are looking for.

RESI JPM 2027 Investor Panel Lineup Announced

October 14, 2026October 14, 2026 ~ Next Phase Admin ~ Leave a comment

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

Life Science Nation is pleased to announce the finalized investor panel lineup for RESI JPM 2027, taking place January 11 and 12 at the San Francisco Marriott Marquis during J.P. Morgan Healthcare Week.

The two day program features 14 investor sessions across therapeutics, medtech, diagnostics, digital health, platform technologies, strategic partnerships, and alternative sources of capital.

Monday, January 11

9:00 AM | Follow the Money [2027 Outlook & Trends]

Where Life Science & Healthcare Investors See Opportunity in 2027

Every year at JPM, one question sets the tone for the week: where is the capital going? Investors from across therapeutics, medtech, diagnostics, digital health, and tools take the stage to share what they are seeing in fundraising, valuations, and exit windows. They will discuss which sectors are attracting conviction, which are being left behind, and how their own priorities have shifted since last year. Whether you are raising, investing, or building, this is the read on the market you need before the deals begin.

10:00 AM | What Is Fundable Now: Therapeutics [Early Stage Therapeutics]

What Earns a Term Sheet from Early Stage Biotech Investors

Early stage therapeutics investors must weigh scientific promise against the risks of translating it into a viable treatment. Seed through Series A investors get candid about what earns their conviction: differentiated biology, convincing translational evidence, and a credible clinical development strategy. The discussion explores how investors assess target validation, competitive positioning, safety, and the experiments needed to reduce key development risks. Expect frank talk about what makes them lean in, what makes them pass, and how founders can make a compelling scientific and investment case for a therapeutic program.

11:00 AM | Backing the Next Medical Breakthrough [Medical Devices]

How Investors Evaluate Early Stage Device Innovation

Medical device companies face distinct investment hurdles, from proving technical feasibility to establishing a path to clinical adoption. This panel brings together medtech investors to discuss how they evaluate early stage opportunities across surgical technologies, robotics, monitoring, wearables, and home care. The conversation examines clinical need, regulatory strategy, reimbursement, usability, and the evidence required to support adoption. Hear what makes a device differentiated, how investors assess development and commercial risk, and which milestones strengthen the case for investment.

1:00 PM | Strategics at the Table [Strategics]

How Corporate Partners Decide When to Invest, Partner & Acquire

Strategic partners are shaping which technologies reach patients, and they are increasingly involved long before a company is ready to sell. Business development leaders from pharma and medtech join corporate venture investors to explain when they engage, what they need to see, and how they think about partnering, investing, and acquiring. Learn how to get on a strategic partner’s radar, what makes a startup stand out in a crowded pipeline, and how to build a relationship that lasts beyond a single deal.

2:00 PM | The First Believers [First Check Investors]

How the Earliest Backers Turn Life Science Ideas into Fundable Companies

Every great company has someone who said yes first. This panel gathers the earliest backers in life sciences: angels, seed funds, venture studios, foundations, and accelerators. They explain how they evaluate opportunities before substantial scientific or commercial validation, what they look for in a founding team, and what gives them the conviction to write the first check. The conversation covers company formation, initial experiments, and how early capital and hands on support help founders establish a credible development path. For founders at the very start, it is a candid map of the road from initial concept to the first funded development milestones.

3:00 PM | The Brain Trust [CNS / Neuro]

Investing Across Neuroscience & Psychiatry

Few areas of medicine combine such enormous unmet need with such complex investment challenges. This panel brings together investors in therapeutics, neuromodulation devices, digital biomarkers, and diagnostics to discuss what draws capital into neuroscience and psychiatry. Together they explore how advances in biology, technology, and clinical trial design can reopen areas once considered too difficult, and how founders across modalities can position themselves to attract investment.

4:00 PM | Patient Capital [Family Offices]

How Family Offices Are Investing Directly in Life Sciences

Family offices offer a distinct route to life science capital through direct investing, syndication with peers, and investment structures that can support longer time horizons. This session explores what draws private capital to highly technical opportunities, how family offices diligence science and technology, and what founders should know before approaching them. Panelists discuss how they structure investments, work with specialist co-investors, and assess follow-on needs. It is a practical look at how to earn the confidence of this diverse investor community.

Tuesday, January 12

9:00 AM | Investing in Longer, Healthier Lives [Longevity]

The Science and Technologies Addressing Age Related Disease

Helping people live longer, healthier lives requires addressing the diseases and functional challenges that come with aging. This panel brings together therapeutics, medtech, diagnostics, and digital health investors to explore opportunities in cardiometabolic disease, musculoskeletal health, physical function, and maintaining independence. The discussion examines how investors evaluate treatments for specific age related conditions alongside technologies that address underlying aging biology, detect risk earlier, or help people remain active. Hear what constitutes meaningful clinical evidence, how companies define a viable path to market, and what makes an opportunity compelling for early stage investment.

10:00 AM | Digital Health After the Hype [Digital Health]

What Investors Want to See in Evidence, Adoption & Economics

The digital health market has been through a reset. Investors discuss what they are backing now: clinical grade AI, new models of care delivery, and businesses with evidence, engagement, and economics that hold up to scrutiny. Hear where value is being created, what has changed in how these companies are evaluated, and what separates durable businesses from those that struggle to convert adoption into sustainable growth.

11:00 AM | Enabling the Next Generation of Medicine [Platform Technologies]

Investing in Discovery Platforms, Delivery Technologies & Research Tools

Some of the most valuable companies in life sciences make new medicines possible. This panel brings together investors backing AI enabled discovery platforms, delivery technologies, synthetic biology, and the research tools that accelerate development. The conversation centers on how to separate a durable platform from a clever technology, how investors evaluate platform companies alongside tools and infrastructure businesses, and how business models differ from those of asset driven companies. Hear what makes these technologies investable and where founders can build lasting value.

1:00 PM | Capital Across Borders [Cross Border Investors]

How International Investors Evaluate and Finance Life Science Companies

Cross border investment can expand a company’s funding options, but attracting international capital requires understanding how investors evaluate opportunities beyond their home markets. This panel brings together investors from different regions to discuss geographic mandates, due diligence, syndication, and the local presence or development plans they expect from companies abroad. Hear what makes a company attractive to overseas investors, how investors work with local co-investors, and how founders can build relationships that lead to cross border financing.

2:00 PM | Runway Without the Round [Beyond Venture Capital]

Financing the Next Milestone Beyond Conventional Venture Equity

A conventional venture round is not the only way to fund a company. This panel explores non dilutive grants, foundation funding, venture debt, royalty financing, strategic agreements, and government backed programs. Capital providers explain who qualifies, what stage or evidence their funding requires, how long the process takes, and what obligations or tradeoffs founders should understand. The discussion examines which sources are suitable for early stage companies and how they can complement equity financing. Hear how to match funding to a development milestone and extend runway without relying solely on another conventional venture round.

3:00 PM | From Seed to Series A

Building the Evidence and Investor Confidence for the Next Round

Securing seed funding is only the beginning. This panel brings together seed investors and Series A investors to explore how life science companies turn initial funding into a financeable next round. The discussion covers setting achievable milestones, demonstrating progress against the original investment thesis, identifying a lead investor, and building a syndicate. Across therapeutics, medtech, and digital health, panelists discuss how founders should align development plans, capital needs, and fundraising timelines. Hear how existing investors assess follow-on support, what new investors need to see, and how to address gaps that can leave promising companies between rounds.

4:00 PM | The Investor Reverse Pitch

Meet the Investors and Discover What They Want to Fund

To close the conference, the roles flip. Investors from across therapeutics, medtech, diagnostics, digital health, and tools take the stage to pitch their mandates: what they invest in, at which stage, with what check size, and what gets their attention. Investors deliver short presentations, followed by audience Q&A. Founders leave with a clear list of who to follow up with and how to approach them. It is a practical, high energy finish to two days of conversations.

Speaker Submissions

Life Science Nation is currently seeking qualified investors, corporate business development leaders, family office representatives, and other capital providers for speaker consideration. Submit a speaker application.

Submit a speaker application

Fundraising Requires More Than a Plan. It Requires Execution. (Part 2)

October 14, 2026October 14, 2026 ~ Next Phase Admin ~ Leave a comment

By Max Braht, VP of Business Development, LSN

Experienced life science executives who have successfully raised capital understand something that first-time fundraisers often underestimate: a successful fundraising campaign is not built around a handful of investor introductions or a series of meetings at industry conferences. It is built around a large, qualified, continuously evolving list of investor and licensing-partner targets, supported by the disciplined execution required to keep that list working throughout the campaign.

Last week, I discussed why fundraising requires both a focused strategy and consistent execution. But there is another critical component that deserves more attention: the target list itself. It is the foundation of the entire campaign, and building, maintaining, and continually replenishing that list is one of the most demanding aspects of raising capital.

At Life Science Nation, we have found that experienced fundraising executives are often the first to recognize the value of our BD Assist program. They have been through the process before. They understand that a serious life science fundraising campaign can take 9–18 months, and that a campaign of that duration needs to begin with approximately 800–1,000 qualified investor and licensing-partner targets.

Just as importantly, they know that the original list will not remain intact. Investors respond, decline, change their investment mandates, move into diligence, or prove to be inappropriate targets. Some relationships advance while others are eliminated from consideration. Throughout this process, new qualified targets must continually enter the pipeline to replace those that have fallen away. The campaign is constantly moving, with prospects entering, advancing, and exiting at different stages.

The target list is not a static spreadsheet. It is the engine that drives the fundraising campaign.

Keeping that engine running requires much more than sending emails. It means identifying investors whose investment theses align with the company’s technology, development stage, financing requirements, and geography. It means researching investment activity, finding the appropriate contacts, developing compelling messaging, canvassing prospects, tracking responses, managing follow-up, and maintaining a steady flow of new opportunities.

Experienced executives know how difficult this is because they have done it themselves. They understand that maintaining a professional fundraising campaign often requires a dedicated full-time resource whose responsibility is to keep the target list accurate, active, and continuously replenished. They also know how tedious and time-consuming that work can become, particularly while managing the scientific, clinical, regulatory, financial, and operational responsibilities of an emerging life science company.

This is the fundamental value proposition of LSN’s BD Assist program. LSN has spent years building and maintaining a global database of investors and licensing partners, developing the market intelligence and processes required to identify appropriate targets and execute sustained fundraising campaigns. BD Assist combines that infrastructure with the daily canvassing, outreach, scheduling, tracking, and follow-up needed to keep a campaign moving forward. Rather than building this capability internally, executives can leverage LSN’s existing database, investor intelligence, and business development team to maintain the campaign engine while they concentrate on running their companies and advancing relationships with interested investors.

The value is not simply that BD Assist takes work off an executive’s desk. It provides access to an established fundraising infrastructure that would otherwise take considerable time, money, and effort to replicate.

Timing: Preparing for RESI JPM

The life sciences industry is now preparing for JPM Healthcare Week, when biotech, medtech, diagnostics, digital health, and investment professionals from around the world will gather to establish new relationships and advance existing ones. RESI JPM provides an important opportunity for early-stage companies to meet investors and licensing partners whose interests align with their development and financing objectives. But experienced fundraisers know that conferences are not standalone fundraising strategies. They are opportunities within a much larger campaign.

The companies that benefit most from RESI are those that arrive with a well-developed target list, know which investors they need to meet, have already begun their outreach, and are prepared to continue those conversations long after the conference concludes.

A meeting at RESI may initiate a relationship, advance an existing discussion, or reveal that an investor is not an appropriate fit. Each outcome provides information that helps refine the target list and determine the next step. Meanwhile, the broader fundraising campaign must continue generating new prospects, new conversations, and new opportunities.

RESI creates access. The continuously replenished target list and the execution behind it turn that access into a sustained fundraising campaign.

For executives who have raised capital before, none of this is new. They know what it takes to build a successful campaign, and they know how difficult it is to keep the engine running for 9–18 months. What LSN offers through BD Assist is the infrastructure, investor intelligence, and dedicated execution capability to help them do exactly that.

Ready to Put Your Fundraising Campaign into Motion?

If you are preparing for RESI JPM or planning a sustained fundraising campaign, LSN’s BD Assist team can help you build, maintain, and continuously canvass the global investor and licensing-partner target list that drives the process.

Because a successful fundraising campaign does not run on meetings alone. It runs on a continuously replenished pipeline of qualified targets.

Get Your LSN Labs Company Assessment Report

Prepare for RESI JPM 2027: Join Life Science Nation’s Upcoming Webinars

October 14, 2026 ~ Next Phase Admin ~ Leave a comment

By Karen Deyo, VP of Product, Israel BD, LSN

As RESI JPM 2027 approaches, Life Science Nation is hosting three complimentary webinars to help life science innovators strengthen their fundraising strategy, make the most of partnering opportunities, and better understand the investor landscape.

RESI JPM takes place January 11–12, 2027, in person at the San Francisco Marriott Marquis during J.P. Morgan Healthcare Week, followed by virtual partnering on January 13, 18, and 19. Whether you are preparing to attend RESI JPM or developing your broader fundraising strategy, these sessions offer practical guidance to help you make meaningful connections with the right partners.

Life Science Nation Event Partnering Process

Monday, November 2, 2026 | 11:00 AM–12:00 PM ET

Attending partnering events plays a key role in the success of any fundraising campaign. Join this free webinar to learn Life Science Nation’s proven strategy for effective event partnering.

The session will cover how to craft compelling outreach messages and follow-ups that drive engagement and build lasting connections with potential partners. Save your spot and elevate your fundraising efforts with insights you will not want to miss.

RESI JPM Partnering Tutorial

Monday, November 16, 2026 | 11:00 AM–12:00 PM ET

Understanding the RESI partnering system and using it to its maximum capabilities can make a large difference in a company’s success at RESI. Join LSN staff for a walkthrough of the system and how it can help companies identify partners who are a best fit, manage outreach, follow up effectively, and take advantage of the content available to ensure the best possible RESI experience.

Global Investor Landscape

Thursday, December 17, 2026 | 11:00 AM–12:00 PM ET

Join Life Science Nation for an overview of the global investor landscape and the diverse sources of capital available to life science companies.

This webinar will explore what makes each investor type unique, from angels and venture capital firms to family offices, corporate investors, and other strategic sources of funding. Learn what each group typically looks for, how their investment approaches differ, and what innovators should consider when evaluating potential investor fit.

RESI Asia Japan Opens New Gateway to Global Life Science Partnerships

October 6, 2026 ~ Next Phase Admin ~ Leave a comment

By Momo Yamamoto, Senior Investor Research Analyst, LSN

Life Science Nation is pleased to announce the launch of RESI Asia Japan, a new conference created in collaboration with the Kobe Biomedical Innovation Cluster (KBIC), Japan’s largest biomedical cluster.

Taking place on April 13, 2027, at the ANA InterContinental Tokyo, RESI Asia Japan will bring together early-stage life science companies, investors, strategic partners, and regional stakeholders for a day of in-person programming, followed by virtual partnering opportunities.

The event expands Life Science Nation’s global platform for connecting innovative companies with the capital and strategic relationships needed to advance their technologies. For companies seeking to enter Japan, build international partnerships, or connect with new sources of capital, RESI Asia Japan provides a direct pathway into one of the world’s most important life science markets.

Why Japan Matters for Life Science Companies

Japan is home to major global pharmaceutical companies, including Takeda, Astellas, Daiichi Sankyo, Eisai, Chugai, and Ono. These organizations are active participants in licensing, acquisition, and external innovation partnerships, creating meaningful opportunities for early-stage companies with differentiated technologies and strong development plans.

A Japan rights deal can provide early non-dilutive capital, strategic validation, and a foundation for broader international growth. Japan also offers deep clinical trial and CRO capacity, as well as a regulatory environment with meaningful opportunities for regenerative medicine and cell and gene therapy development.

Yet the market can be difficult to access from outside the region. Identifying the right partners, arranging initial meetings, understanding the regulatory landscape, and navigating local business relationships all require a focused approach. RESI Asia Japan is designed to help bridge that gap.

A Partnership Built for Global Connection

RESI Asia Japan is the culmination of a three-conference collaboration between Life Science Nation and KBIC. KBIC served as a Title Sponsor at RESI Boston in September 2026 and will continue its partnership at RESI JPM in January 2027, leading into the inaugural Tokyo event in April.

For companies participating across the series, the partnership creates three opportunities to engage with the LSN network over seven months, while building visibility with investors, strategic partners, and life science stakeholders across the United States and Japan.

Beyond the conference itself, Life Science Nation 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.

Registration Is Open

RESI Asia Japan offers a 5-Day Hybrid format, including the in-person conference in Tokyo and virtual programming, as well as a 4-Day Virtual Partnering format.

Japan-base Registration (JPY)

Non-Japan-base Registration (USD)

Explore the RESI 2027 Series

RESI Asia Japan is part of Life Science Nation’s 2027 global conference series, creating multiple opportunities throughout the year to connect with investors, strategic partners, and life science innovators.

RESI JPM: January 11 to 12 in San Francisco, with virtual partnering on January 13, 18, and 19
RESI Asia Japan: April in Tokyo
RESI Philadelphia: June
RESI Boston: September

Learn more about the full RESI 2027 series at RESIConference.com.

Fundraising Requires More Than a Plan. It Requires Execution.

October 6, 2026October 6, 2026 ~ Next Phase Admin ~ Leave a comment

By Max Braht, VP of Business Development, LSN

For early-stage life science companies, fundraising and partnering are not one-time activities. They require an ongoing, focused effort to identify the right market, communicate a clear opportunity, build relationships, and follow through consistently.

Many companies have the science, the data, and the ambition to move forward, but do not have a dedicated business development resource to manage that work throughout the year. Leadership teams are often balancing scientific progress, regulatory planning, operations, and fundraising at the same time.

Life Science Nation’s BD Assist program was developed to provide hands-on support for companies that need help executing their fundraising and partnering campaigns.

BD Assist is the execution layer of Life Science Nation’s commercialization system. It builds on the work of understanding a company’s readiness, identifying the right investor and licensing-partner market, and creating a Global Target List that can support a focused campaign.

The result is not simply a list of contacts. It is a structured process for moving from market intelligence to outreach, follow-up, and meeting generation.

From target market to active campaign

Every BD Assist engagement begins with an understanding of the company’s goals, financing needs, technology, milestones, and partnering objectives. Life Science Nation then works with the company to refine its narrative and marketing materials so the opportunity can be communicated clearly to the market.

Using Life Science Nation’s investor and licensing-partner intelligence, the BD Assist team helps construct and prioritize a Global Target List of relevant investors and strategic partners. The target list is informed by company-specific attributes as well as investor behavior, helping companies focus their efforts on the market most relevant to their opportunity.

From there, BD Assist supports campaign strategy, personalized outreach, follow-up, and meeting generation. Outreach activity is tracked through the client’s CRM platform, allowing the company to maintain visibility into campaign progress and investor engagement.

This ongoing execution is a key part of the program. A target list has value only when it becomes a disciplined campaign that continues to build relationships and create opportunities over time.

Extending a company’s business development capacity

BD Assist is designed to become an extension of a company’s business development capability.

Rather than providing recommendations for a company to carry out on its own, Life Science Nation helps manage the campaign workflow. This allows company leadership to stay focused on advancing the science, reaching development milestones, and preparing for productive investor and partner conversations.

The program also includes regular strategy discussions and campaign refinement as the company receives feedback from the market. As priorities evolve, BD Assist can help ensure that outreach remains aligned with the company’s current fundraising or partnering objectives.

For companies participating in RESI, BD Assist can also support their partnering activity and help them make the most of the investor and licensing-partner marketplace.

Part of a broader commercialization process

BD Assist is one part of a connected Life Science Nation commercialization system.

The Assessment Engine helps companies understand their evidence, risks, milestones, capital readiness, and investability. LSN Labs helps companies address gaps and prepare for the market. The Investor and Licensing Partner Database provides market intelligence. The Global Target List helps companies identify and prioritize their target market. BD Assist helps execute the campaign. RESI creates opportunities to meet the global investor and licensing-partner community.

For companies seeking investment, licensing opportunities, or strategic collaborations, this creates a more connected path from preparation to market engagement.

Fundraising is not only about finding names. It is about executing a consistent process that helps the right companies connect with the right market at the right time.

To learn more about BD Assist and discuss whether it is a fit for your company, complete the LSN Labs Company Assessment Report.

Apply for LSN Labs Company Assessment Report

RESI Boston 2026 Innovator’s Pitch Challenge Winners Announced

September 29, 2026 ~ Next Phase Admin ~ Leave a comment

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

Life Science Nation is pleased to announce the winners of the RESI Boston 2026 Innovator’s Pitch Challenge, held during Biotech Week Boston.

Over the two days o RESI, more than 70 early stage life science companies presented their innovations to an audience of active investors, strategic partners, and industry leaders. Following the final round of pitches, the top three companies were recognized during lunch on day two:

1st Place	2nd Place	3rd Place

Synaptic Bio	Orthonika	Ironsides Medical

Congratulations to Synaptic Bio, Orthonika, Ironsides Medical, and every company that took the stage. The caliber of innovation, preparation, and investor engagement throughout the Challenge reflected the exciting work advancing across the global life science ecosystem.

Judges’ Picks Award Winners

In addition to the overall winners, Life Science Nation is proud to recognize the companies that received the highest evaluation scores from the investor judges in each Innovator’s Pitch Challenge session:

These companies stood out to the judging panels for the quality of their presentations and the potential of their technologies to address important unmet needs.

Apply to Pitch at RESI JPM 2027

Applications are now open for the Innovator’s Pitch Challenge at RESI JPM 2027, taking place in San Francisco on January 11 to 12, with virtual partnering January 13 and 18 to 19.

The Innovator’s Pitch Challenge gives early-stage companies the opportunity to present live to active life science investors, receive structured feedback, and build meaningful connections through RESI partnering.

Apply to the Innovator’s Pitch Challenge and secure your opportunity to pitch at RESI JPM.

Apply to Pitch at RESI JPM 2027