Participate in the MedCity INVEST healthcare investing conference by watching parts of the event live online and following our Day 2 liveblog here.
The schedule of live broadcasts is listed here and will be shown in this post as they happen (all times are Eastern time). Also keep refreshing for other coverage from the conference throughout the day until we wrap up at 1:30 PM.
healthbox: the speed at which this whole industry is moving is incredbile, and the volumes of info are more than any one physician, health system can digest. it’s incredibly thoughtful integration of all these inputs.
1:40 PM:
Watch MedHeads live – wrapping up the conference’s highlights:
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AzDIKTm-nyU]
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.
12:10 PM:
We at MedCity News are broken-hearted and must announce some terrible, horrible, no-good-very-bad news: Our fearless leader and founder, Chris Seper, will be leaving the day-to-day operations of the company after launching it seven-and-a-half years ago. Woe is us. MedCity News will soldier on, but it will never be the same without the brilliant, relentless, impassioned, badass, über-nerd boss. You’re the best, Chris. Let’s keep great journalism – and broccoli soup – going strong.
12:05 PM:
The winners of MedCity INVEST’s startup competition:
The digital health champion is PhysIQ, a machine learning company meant to convert the tsunami of physiological data collected from wearables and implants in actionable insight.
For the therapeutics category, Sparrow Pharmaceuticals took the top prize. The company is developing better corticosteroid drugs, as well as the first therapeutic antibody to treat PTSD.
Trice Medical topped the devices category, developing a camera-based orthopedic diagnostic tool.
Breath Diagnostics won in the diagnostics category. It’s developing breath-based diagnostics for cancer.
12:55 PM:
Healthbox’s Eric Louie on scaling precision medicine – taking into account all the omics, electronic health records, and other new data points: “The speed at which this whole industry is incredible, and the volumes of information are more than any one physician, or even health system, can digest. So we need incredibly thoughtful integration of all these inputs.”
12:53 PM:
Intermountain Healthcare’s Nickolas Mark: “Genomics is broad. What we’re realizing: The dialogue is becoming much more holistic. It’s less about genomics, and more about omics. The microbiome plays a key role in this space. So how are these things going to interrelate?”
Point being: The health system is looking at a much broader landscape than simply genomics, particularly when considering precision medicine.
“We’re looking at ways to deliver targeted therapies in a way to reach mainstream America,” he said.
12:43 PM:
Next up: A talk in partnerships in genomics – and how we get precision medicine right. We’re chatting with Eric Louie, chief medical officer of Healthbox, and Nickolas Mark, the director of Intermountain Healthcare.
12:38 PM:
Many foundations have their own venture philanthropy funds these days, says HopeLab’s Margaret Law – but they also become limited partners in external venture funds. HopeLab has been asked to be an LP by venture capitalists, she says.
12:29 PM:
“Every #healthcare #investor is a #mission-based investor” – Margaret Laws from @HopeLab #mcinvest
— Mahesh Narayanan (@heshnarayanan) April 13, 2016
12:27 PM:
Margaret Laws talks ROI and venture philanthropy:
“As a philanthropy investing in companies, you legally cannot target a return – but it’s fine if you make one,” she said. “As long as the investment’s purpose is to serve your mission – lowering the cost of care, improving access – if you profit, that’s OK.”
Having said that, the mission of any company isn’t met if it isn’t successful, she said. So what a venture philanthropy must balance is how to meet the mission – and keep the company afloat, particularly in important but less lucrative markets.
“Our money, and some of the money that goes in through venture philanthropy, goes in as more risk tolerant money.”
12:20 PM
We’re kicking off a conversation with Margaret Laws, President and CEO of HopeLab, on the maturation of venture philanthropy. Watch here:
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AzDIKTm-nyU]
11:48 AM
A quick note: We have solved our live broadcast problems. We will announce the winners of Best of INVEST live in this blog.
11:43 AM
We’re about 10 minutes from restarting the conference. But, in the meantime, we’ve uploaded a pair of our INVEST NOW conversations: one on investment opportunities in Asia and the other on opportunities in pediatrics and women’s health.
There will be full stories later today on each conversation. But in the meantime you can watch either below.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q_N3Qf4LgOc]
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bLuoSwM8yS8]
10:55 AM
We’re going to break at INVEST, so we’ll leave you with this question that’s been roiling the Chicago crowd over the last 12 hours or so.
#mcinvest debate. Better sock game? @NorwestVP @doctorrem (left) or @MedicalAlley @MedAlleyCEO (right)? Major issue pic.twitter.com/OhMUofqf8Y
— Chris Seper (@chrisseper) April 12, 2016
That’s Dr. Robert Mittendorf from Norwest Venture Partners on the left and Shaye Mandle of Medical Alley on the right.
There are more company pitches next. The conference resumes at 11:50 a.m.
10:53 AM:
Great question to close out the IPO panel. Jan Garfinkle asked the panelists what they thought the minimum revenue threshold to be a successful IPO:
- Michael DeMane: $40 million to $50 million
- Ray Huggenberger: $100 million
- Annie Lamont: $100 million
It would have been really interesting to hear Jan’s answer, too.
10:47 AM:
“The problem isn’t going public it’s being public.” Another great line from Ray Huggenberger from Inogen on the INVEST IPO panel.
10:36 AM
Interesting moment during the IPO panel. Moderator Jan Garfinkle from Arboretum asked the entrepreneurs in the audience who wanted to go public: one healthcare services and one biotech CEO raised their hands. Who wants a private sale? Dozens raised their hands.
10:31 AM:
Classic line from Ray Huggenberger from Inogen on the INVEST IPO panel: “You date the bankers you marry the analysts.” Pick the right bankers who know the right analysts. (On stage right now from left to right: Annie Lamont from Oak HC/FT; Huggenberg and Michael DeMane of Nevro)
10:28 AM:
As you probably have seen we’re having some issues with our live broadcast. We’re recording them and will embed them later into this blog.
9:47 AM:
Learning about Social Impact Bond (SIB) from @CuresWReach #mcinvest #socialimpact U.S way behind… pic.twitter.com/Fh9KTUhjp9
— Star Cunningham (@Star4DFounder) April 13, 2016
9:42 AM:
Sad map: states considering social impact bonds. #mcinvest pic.twitter.com/vYcGYcwacA
— Chris Seper (@chrisseper) April 13, 2016
12:50 PM: Announcement: Winners of The Best of INVEST
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cPQFKDECCJo]
Find out the winners of The Best of INVEST – four early-stage companies from the Company Showcase (one digital health company, one biotech/pharma company, one medical device company and one diagnostics company) deemed the most promising by the investor community.
1:30 PM: INVEST Now: MedHeads at INVEST
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AzDIKTm-nyU]
The journalists at MedCity INVEST take a look back at the two-day conference, discussing the big takeaways and trends that will continue to influence healthcare investing in 2016 and beyond.
