This post is sponsored by Kauffman Foundation.
“We have a ferocious business model problem in the life sciences,” says Allan May, one of the industry’s noted angel investors, in talking about the current investment climate.
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Kauffman Foundation Website The Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation is a private nonpartisan foundation that works to harness the power of entrepreneurship and innovation to grow economies and improve human welfare.
“The need for innovation is undeniable, but to do it in a way that’s profitable for early-stage investors is challenging. We need to figure out how to get these things to market with far less money and far less risk.”
May is the founder of Life Science Angels, the co-founder of venture firm Emergent Medical Partners and the chairman of the Angel Resource Institute. He is one of the dozens of experienced life science investors, entrepreneurs and consultants who will be sharing his opinions and insights at the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation’s Life Science Ventures Summit on June 22 and 23 in San Francisco. Up to 200 life science entrepreneurs will have the chance to network with and learn from these experts at the summit, but the April 9 deadline for applications is quickly approaching.
Through lectures and panel discussions, the summit will provide practical guidance on commercializing innovations in each of four sectors: medical device, therapeutics, diagnostics, and digital health. It will also provide a platform for innovators to connect with the resources they need to help bring a product to market.
“Commercializing medtech is really complicated, so what entrepreneurs really need is intellectual capital,” May said. “Events like this are great because there have probably never been more innovators than there are now, and there’s quite a bit of money to go around, but what there’s not is a matching system where someone takes that idea and makes it investable. That exchange between the person who’s got the science and the person who understands how to get it to market is fundamental to success.”
A Deep-dive Into Specialty Pharma
A specialty drug is a class of prescription medications used to treat complex, chronic or rare medical conditions. Although this classification was originally intended to define the treatment of rare, also termed “orphan” diseases, affecting fewer than 200,000 people in the US, more recently, specialty drugs have emerged as the cornerstone of treatment for chronic and complex diseases such as cancer, autoimmune conditions, diabetes, hepatitis C, and HIV/AIDS.
Up to 200 life science entrepreneurs across the four industry sectors will be selected to attend. Applicants will be accepted based on two factors: (1) how much they will benefit from the experience based on where they are in their early-stage entrepreneurial journey, and (2) the commercial viability of their plan.
The application and more information can be found at www.kauffman.org/lifescienceapp. The deadline is April 9, 2012. Selected applicants will be advised by April 20, and registration will open April 23. The registration fee is $100 before May 11, 2012, and $125 after that date.
The Kauffman Life Science Ventures Summit is sponsored by the California Institute for Quantitative Biosciences (qb3), Stanford BioDesign, Rock Health and MIT’s H@cking Medicine.
The Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation is a private nonpartisan foundation that works to harness the power of entrepreneurship and innovation to grow economies and improve human welfare.
