David H. Crean

🔬 The Importance of #Networking for #Biotech Startups in San Diego 🔬 In the dynamic world of biotech #startups, who you know can be just as crucial as what you know. Networking is key to finding investors, partners, mentors, and top talent. It can open doors to opportunities that drive your startup forward. Check out the links below to stay up to date with events! 💡 Stay Up to Date with #NetworkingEvents: To make the most of networking opportunities, it’s essential to stay informed about upcoming events and gatherings. Here are some local newsletters and resources you should follow: 1. The Social Coyote: https://lnkd.in/eWFf6Pie 2. San Diego Biotechnology Network (SDBN): https://sdbn.org/ 3. Biocom California: https://www.biocom.org/ 4. Informa Connect: https://lnkd.in/dAzQNn6 Networking can be a game-changer for your biotech startup. So, get out there, make connections, and watch your startup thrive! Thomas Bethmann | Ryan Bethmann #Biotech #Networking #SanDiegoStartups #Innovation #LifeSciences #Redeployment

15

2 Comments

Great investment panel kicking off at SynBioBeta with Packy McCormick at Not Boring, Omri Amirav-Drory at NFX, Brigid O'Brien at RA Capital Management , Jenny Rooke at Genoa Ventures and Ursheet P. at Mayfield Fund Main take homes: 1. Constraints bring focus 2. Make the minimum viable products 3. Ideally you want to redefine an existing Category 4. Path to Profitability is Key 5. Margins matter A LOT 6. If B2B what are the KPI's of your buyer? 7. Success is a high bar "Chickens are VERY cost effective in food production" Omri 8. "Do the Math" If you can't have a performance or cost advantage you're not a viable business - Brigid 9. "For VC, you have to talk about the math of exits for making VC investments" Jenny 10. One of the challenges in SynBio is who are the buyers? Most don't have have very high margins. You have to build a cash engine to get a buyer interested" Ursheet 11. "If you're competing with a public company, you can read their public reports" Brigid 12. "In the end you have to make something and sell it for money" Omri 13. "You can't get away from negative gross margins" Omri 14. "Don't spend VC on CapEx" Jenny 15. "What innovations are you excited about?" Packy AI, Longevity, Glowing plant, Can you get to cost parity in climate tech without government subsidies?

61

6 Comments

Some great advice in this interview — featuring Jeffry Weinhuff of Visionary Ventures — relevant to all sub-sectors of #medtech. My favorite line is “investment capital is not tuition.” 😂 But the best advice stems from the insight that good exits via IPO or M&A processes with multiple buyers competing for your company require that most medtech companies must prove their value via strong commercial metrics. And doing that takes a lot of time, expertise and money. Plan, hire and raise capital accordingly. At Vensana Capital, our investment process centers on a deep analysis of every aspect of getting a breakthrough medtech innovation to market, no matter what stage of development a company is at today. We like entrepreneurs who believe their innovation can be highly impactful to patients. We love the ones who want to leave no doubt. https://lnkd.in/eDsUqgn6

81

1 Comment

This will be a fascinating SynBioBeta talk - on how the combined tools of synthetic biology allowed Creyon Bio to build a successful drug in a few months 😳

13

California Life Sciences (CLS) Sciences is excited for the next edition of Insights Magazine, Startup Growth and Success! As part of our ongoing exploration of what drives success in the startup world, we're reaching out to the CLS community for insights and an opportunity to be featured in the next Insights edition. 🔍 Question: What do you think is the biggest challenge startups face when seeking grant funding? Share your thoughts in the comments. 💡We'd love to hear your experiences and perspectives. Your input is invaluable in shedding light on the hurdles startups encounter on their path to success. Submit long form copy, here: https://bit.ly/3WchSKc Stay tuned for more insights and stories from the world of startups in the coming issue of Insights! #StartupGrowth #SuccessStories #InsightsMagazine #GrantFunding #Entrepreneurship

13

When investors think your gene therapy isn't good enough... That's what Lexeo is feeling right now on LX2006 for cardiomyopathy associated with Friedreich's Ataxia. Their Ph1/2 trial saw 50% of patients (8 total in the trial) experience a reduction of 10% in left ventricular mass index. There are only a handful of companies developing therapies for Friedreich's Ataxia, let alone the heart-related components of this rare disease. While Lexeo was optimistic about the data and taking it to discuss a future pivotal study with regulators, the market was not, knocking the stock down at present ~25%. The public markets are brutal with earlier stage companies. Depending on capital needs, it can be a bit easier to not be public when you're early in development. Regardless, another piece of positive news for AAV as it slowly comes out of its winter. Lines up with our beginning of the year predictions below! https://lnkd.in/drRreSCd

54

2 Comments

Versant Ventures debuts Santa Ana Bio, Inc. (Alameda) with $168 million and a trio of programs that riff in new ways on existing ideas like targeting mast cells and stimulating the PD-1 pathway. One of Santa Ana’s drugs, dubbed SAB01, is a so-called bispecific #antibody. It is designed to mute the mast cells that drive allergic disease by blocking a protein called c-Kit. But the drug will only do so when it detects another target that’s found on those cells. Foresite Capital (Larkspur) an investment firm that backs life sciences and healthcare companies, has raised a $900 million fund. The fund, Foresite’s sixth, will invest in companies focused on precision medicine, healthcare delivery and life sciences infrastructure. In drug developers, specifically, the firm is looking for those using #genetics and #machinelearning to identify potential therapies. Actio Biosciences, Inc. (San Diego) announces $55 Million Series A financing to deploy a suite of proprietary tools and deep #genetics expertise to develop #therapeutics against targets shared between rare and more prevalent diseases. They have a lead small molecule program targeting TRPV4 mutations advancing toward clinic for treatment of Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease type 2C and other serious bone diseases. Actio also announced an innovative partnership with The Jackson Laboratory to develop and implement new transgenic models of rare disease pathways. M&A, Deals, Partnerships: Johnson & Johnson is handing back a bispecific T cell engager program designed to target both CD20 and CD3 to its partner Xencor, ending a significant piece of an agreement between the companies that started in 2021. Xencor completed enrollment for a Phase 1 trial of plamotamab last year. The biotech said the drug is now Phase 2-ready, adding it will review its potential to address unmet needs. The original collaboration and license deal saw Xencor get $100 million upfront for global development and commercialization rights to plamotamab. Other Interesting News: The failure of a Pfizer medicine for #Duchenne muscular dystrophy adds new uncertainty around the effectiveness of #genetherapy for the muscle-wasting condition. Pfizer said the treatment missed its mark in a definitive Phase 3 study of boys between 4 and 7 years of age with DMD. Pfizer said the therapy didn’t lead to a significant difference versus placebo on a measure of motor function, or on key secondary measures such as timed tests for how quickly study participants could stand or walk. Avidity Biosciences, Inc. (San Diego) drug for muscular dystrophy shows promise. Shares in Avidity rose by nearly one-third as the company revealed new clinical trial data for its drug del-brax in a form of #musculardystrophy.  Among eight patients treated with del-brax, Avidity reported greater than 50% average reduction in a panel of genes regulated by another gene called DUX4. Avidity also said participants showed signs of increased strength.

12

Anne Wojcicki, CEO of 23andMe, has announced plans to take the genetic testing company private. This strategic move aims to provide more flexibility in navigating regulatory challenges and to accelerate growth opportunities. The decision follows a trend of health tech companies seeking private ownership to focus on long-term objectives. Wojcicki highlighted the importance of this shift to maintain the company's commitment to innovation and customer-centric services. Taking 23andMe private reflects a bold step towards enhancing its position in the rapidly evolving genomics industry. Read more about this exciting development here: https://lnkd.in/gdrC3a64 #genomics #IPO #privatisation #23andMe

13

Great piece, Alex Philippidis! One cannot help but notice that 9 of these 10 companies are pursuing various approaches involving irreversible genetic changes in patients, with the attendant and in my estimation substantial risks of off-target genetic toxicity. Only one, Wave Life Sciences, is editing genes at the level of RNA, where the safety risk is a priori lessened but the reversible nature of the editing event (by RNA turnover and drug wash-out). Arguably, it would behoove the investment and pharma + biotech community to rebalance so as to increase emphasis on RNA editing. Wave Life Sciences is way out in front of this field and has a extraordinary head of steam.

28

BIO International Convention 2024 is just around the corner. This candid shot from a decade ago (i.e., 2014) was at mbhb’s (McDonnell Boehnen Hulbert & Berghoff LLP) hopping reception in San Diego. The young female professional pictured here paid her own way from Canada to network for a job and to learn about the industry firsthand; she was so impressive that I hired her on the spot. She went on to have a very solid tenure at Kymanox. I hope to see you June 3-6 in San Diego, California USA with Scott Arra, Nathan Blazei, and Lisa Yargeau: (1) The real lasting value of BIO is networking; everything else is transactional and has a much shorter shelf life. Just one (1) quality connection can provide ample Return On Investment (ROI) (NOTE: Matt Neighoff suggests five (5) is the right target number if you are a business development professional). (2) You must take some risk and put yourself out there. No risks, no rewards. If a random international engineering grad with zero work or industry experience and who never attended BIO before can land a permanent, full-time job at the event, you are probably aiming too low with your goals. (3) Go make the stories you can tell and share a decade from now!

53

9 Comments

More potent AAV... Great to see the public launch of Latus Bio from ex-spark founders. The company is developing novel capsids with significantly-higher transduction potential. This is exciting news and just in time for #ASGCT24. More potent AAV would simultaneously solve a number of key hurdles for the field, including: - low yields in manufacturing (including loss during downstream purification) - toxicities associated with higher doses The AAV field has been through a bit of a winter period but has the proven ability to be able to deliver to differentiated organs / targets. Its success will rely on companies like Latus solving these critical issues (and examples of commercial success, but perhaps Sarepta's starting to take care of that, too!) Reach out to discuss all things AAV and gene therapy in Baltimore next week. We'll be at booth 1962. #genetherapy #venturecapital #pharma https://lnkd.in/gtP9wQsB

23

2 Comments

Many companies find that navigating the complexities of fundraising can be daunting, but you don't have to do it alone. 📈 2024 Highlights: The number of biotech assets in phase 3 clinical trials has increased compared to 2023. 📊 Trend Over a Decade: Over the past ten years, the number of active biotech products in phase 3 trials has increased fourfold. 🏢 Current Landscape: More than 430 companies are currently funding these trials, reflecting an annual growth rate of 13.7% since 2012 🌟 This growth in late-stage trials is attracting more investment into the biotech sector. Investors are typically more confident in funding companies with advanced clinical assets, leading to potentially higher funding rounds and partnerships Whether you're an investor on the hunt for the next big opportunity or a company in need of funding, this group is here to link you with the right people: https://lnkd.in/ey4v9x3U

19

6 Comments

Paul Wallace, the CBO of Constructive Bio, will be at #BIO2024. Talk to him about the transformative power of introducing non-canonical amino acids into biologics and peptides, and discuss how exotic chemistries add value when combined with unprecedented fidelity, specificity, and scalability, as well as our plans for Constructive!

12

SynBioBeta last week in San Jose, California with its focus on how we among other can leverage #syntheticbiology for human and environmental oriented solutions - saw themes such as biocomputers, molecular farming, space bioeconomy and in general how we can leverage #biology to solve some of humanitys largest health & environmental challenges. The conference also had a big focus on #AI this year. Not at least, it was great to see the #fungi focus. Paul Stamets gave an opening speech there, and there was a session both on #bioremediation/mycoremediation and #fermentation. Good to see and meet fungi companies such as Ecovative - the mycelium technology company, Anthology, Bosque Foods , and even michroma and Novogaia in the sphere of the conference. Also, great to back on the West Coast, where I studied 12 years ago, in the earlier beginning of my #sustainability journey (with sustainability focused study in Monterrey). Next visits I’ll stay longer! Great to get to know more of the US ecosystem, and all the good people I met meet. TBC #fungi #biotechnology #synbio #engineerthefuture

28

3 Comments

Congrats to CpG Diagnostics’ founder Bodour Salhia, Ph.D & University of Southern California researchers for developing a blood test for early-stage ovarian cancer! CpG Diagnostics (2023 Cohort) is working to expand the liquid biopsy approach to ovarian cancer, a disease that is particularly difficult to diagnose. Early detection of cancer by liquid biopsy holds the potential to dramatically improve outcomes for patients by helping physicians diagnose and begin treatment earlier in the progression of the disease — perhaps even before patients exhibit symptoms. Join us in celebrating CpG Diagnostics, Founder & CEO Bodour Salhia, Ph.D, and the team for achieving this major milestone and their positive impacts in the realm of #cancerresearch! Read more about CpG Diagnostics in our April Newsletter: https://lnkd.in/gUznyX6T 📩 Sign up for our mailing list: https://lnkd.in/gtcdE6J2 #Sustainability #Innovation #Healthcare #CancerResearch #ClimateTech #LartaInstitute

14

2 Comments

Cell & Gene Day as a Lead Up to ASGCT... I greatly enjoyed the talks and panels that were apart of Endpoints News' Cell & Gene Day yesterday. As Alliance for Regenerative Medicine CEO Tim Hunt put it, there is "palpable excitement" in the field again. I think we at DeciBio have seen similar. I appreciated Richard Wilson's succinct summation of the field requiring global collaboration among policy makers, drug developers, and regulators to make sure we are maximizing benefit to patients. The other critical, often overlooked point he made was in the benefit of having more arrows (e.g., modalities / technologies) in the quiver. Wrong mentality to think "We have B now so we don't need A"... Dead wrong. (That and his sentiment that the "death of AAV" is greatly exaggerated). Hear hear! Ultimately, the field is moving away from "if" and more towards "how", as Alberto Santagostino put it, keeping a reduction in disease burden as our common passion. #pharma #celltherapy #genetherapy #healthcare

32

6 Comments

Thoughts on this? >> This biotech startup got the biggest venture capital deal in San Diego so far this year - The San Diego Union-Tribune >> Comment below! >>> lqventures.com #strategy #competitiveintelligence #marketing #healthcare #pharma #biotech #pharmaceutical #competitivemarketing

1

Artiva Biotherapeutics, a clinical-stage NK cell therapy biotech, is trying again for the public markets, it revealed Friday afternoon in an #SEC filing. The San Diego biotech is going for a Nasdaq debut but in a very different biotech financing environment than when it originally sought an #IPO in the spring of 2021, at a time when large public floats were easier to achieve thanks to low interest rates and generalist investors’ intrigue in drug development. And this time around, it’s without partner Merck, which axed their CAR-NK solid tumor collaboration last October, according to Friday’s S-1 filing. #NKcelltherapy #celltherapy #cellandgenetherapy #advancedtherapies #publicmarkets #biotech #biotechnology #financing #funding #lifescience #lifesciences #IPOs #solidtumors #bloodcancers #autoimmunedisease GC Cell 5AM Ventures venBio RA Capital Management

41

1 Comment

According to the latest report from Rock Health, digital health funding in Q1 2024 totaled $2.7B across 133 deals, with an average deal size of $20.6M. It doesn’t break out device-related investments, but most medtech founders I meet these days are being forced to chase tiny rounds made up of endless little checks, consuming valuable energy and slowing their progress. The benign neglect of this next generation of diagnostic and therapeutic devices is counterproductive and surprising. Given the crowded virtual care market, for example, I’d expect more such companies would be exploring medtech partnerships, investments or acquisitions that'd enable them to back integrate into delivering sharper, and more differentiated, care and treatment. This is exactly what Maverix Medical is doing from the other direction: Reshaping the entire spectrum of lung cancer care by integrating more advanced + effective approaches to screening and diagnosis, treatment and therapeutics, and even palliative care…And putting it all to work through an innovative provider network. One notable investor exception is Y Combinator partner Surbhi Sarna who’s been backing great teams like Selera Medical (YC W24) doing foundational work on ambitious medical devices. Without more support from investors like her, we’re going to increasingly find ourselves stuck with the incremental portfolio improvements from the incumbents, and that’s just not nearly enough.

58

5 Comments