Johannes Fruehauf has great visibility into the changing landscape for life sciences startups as a seasoned entrepreneur, a venture investor, and co-founder and president of the biotech startup co-working space BioLabs. While the public market downturn has changed the financing environment, it hasn’t slowed the pace of entrepreneurs looking to translate breakthrough science into commercial enterprises. We spoke to Fruehauf about the landscape for biotech startups today, the key challenges bioentrepreneurs face, and how they can best position themselves for success.

Navigating the Changing Landscape for the Bioentrepreneur

Some of the biggest challenges executives of early-stage life sciences companies face is securing financing and forging their first licensing deals. Though they may possess deep scientific knowledge, finding the right investors and partners, and telling their story in a compelling way may require skills they have not yet developed. Life Science Nation works with entrepreneurs to tell their story, identify potential investors and partners, and connect with them. We spoke to Dennis Ford, founder and CEO of Life Science Nation, about the mistakes life sciences entrepreneurs make when they set out to raise money, what investors care about, and what steps they can take to best ensure their success.

The Art of Raising Money for a Life Sciences Company

Universities around the world are driving scientific advances that could provide needed new medicines, but despite the billions of dollars that fuel this research every year, academic researchers lack the capital and expertise to perform the necessary translational science to advance promising therapies out of the lab and into the clinic. Ocean Biomedical seeks to accelerate the development of promising innovations by providing needed funding and expertise. We spoke to Elizabeth Ng, CEO of Ocean Biomedical, about the company’s business model, how works with academic researchers to set up subsidiary companies around each asset, and what it looks for in the candidates it in-licenses.

Ocean Biomedical Seeks to Capitalize on a Wave of Academic Innovation

Life Science Nation, which has created a global partnering platform that includes an investor and licensing partner database as well as an entrepreneurial education curriculum, helps startups prepare for their global roadshows. Each year, it holds five Redefining Early Stage Investments or RESI conferences to connect start-ups with early-stage investors and strategic channel partners. RESI is uniquely cross-border and cross-domain, connecting start-ups with global investors across drugs, devices, diagnostics, and digital health. RESI caters to the earliest-stage start-ups—those seeking grants, seed, and angel capital—and the early-stage firms seeking series A and B funding. We spoke to Dennis Ford, founder and CEO of Life Science Nation, about the critical role of partnering conferences in today’s financial environment, what entrepreneurs should look for to match the right events to their needs, and what they should do to ensure they get the most out of these events.

Finding Investors and Partners at Life Science Events

At the end of March, RESI South 2024 will convene in Atlanta and is expected to bring together more than 500 bioscience and medtech entrepreneurs with premier investors, family offices, and key executives. The event, the result of a partnership between Life Science Nation and the Southeast Life Sciences, will highlight the innovative start-ups in the Southeastern region and connect them with early-stage investors. We spoke to Georgia Bio CEO Maria Thacker and NC Life Sciences Organization President Laura Gunter, about the growth of biotech in the southeast region, the upcoming RESI South 2024 conference, and how it expected to help fill a gap in access to capital for companies in the region.

Southeast Regional Biotechs Get Chance to Connect with Investors and Potential Partners

The LifeSci Startup Podcast showcases important topics and notable leaders of life science startups. The podcast is produced by LifeSci Startup, the daily aggregator report that recaps the latest developments of U.S.-based life sciences startups. LifeSci Startup is published by BigBio Communications and Life Science Nation. For more information, go to lifescistartup.com.

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