Nicole J Walker’s Post

We still need life science VC investors (of all experience levels) to volunteer, especially those who invest in Healthcare Services (including HealthTech and Digital Health), Pharma / Biotech, Medical / Healthcare Devices, and AI / ML. More about the program below:  💠Time commitment: 1 hour/month from August-October. 💠Volunteer criteria: Active, US-based VCs from all sectors and experience levels are needed, but we especially need more life science VC investors. 💠The mentees: Venture Forward will carefully match volunteers with a Cohort 16 scholarship recipient, who are all aspiring and early-career VCs from underrepresented backgrounds. 💠The experience: In the last round of this highly-rated program, volunteers represented firms like GV (Google Ventures), Forerunner, Sofinnova Investments , Johnson & Johnson Innovation - JJDC, and more. According to the feedback survey, 97% of the volunteers reported that they would participate again! 📣Sign up by Friday, June 28! https://lnkd.in/eSi3gQba

Lots of news today from Playground Global! 🎉🎉🎉 Thanks Andrew Dunn for speaking with the team! The tech VC firm Playground Global has hired Nate Chang, a healthcare investment banker veteran who previously helped build out Andreessen Horowitz’s #biotech team. In an interview with Endpoints News, Chang said the 43-employee firm will keep growing, pointing to other hires like Katja Gagen, who recently joined as an operating partner to lead marketing and communications. Nate’s take on current market trends: 🔥🔥🔥 “We’ve got a lot of early-stage companies, and I think there’s a view that business development has been cast aside, especially during the bubble,” he said. “If you’re a biotech company and need to raise money, guess what? Just go to the capital markets. I don’t need to economically dilute my portfolio by signing a partnership. Now we’re back to 2019, OG rules in terms of biotech build and scale.” In his near-term outlook for the industry, Chang temporarily put on his banking hat. He sees pharma M&A continuing, with deals in the $2 billion to $8 billion range as the sweet spot. He added that many biotechs are “sharpening their pencils” in preparing paperwork to go public. In particular, he said he’s encouraged by seeing successful follow-on raises for public #biotechs backed by fresh data. He said that that will transfer to the #IPO market, with companies with strong data eyeing early next year as a possible window. “There’s going to be a bolus of companies trying to get out in late fourth quarter, first quarter 2024,” he said. Read the full article: https://lnkd.in/eS_W6dwg

In today's investment landscape, angels and VC's are maintaining their fundamental criteria, but are raising the standards. Connect with top local investors on Tuesday, May 14 at 12pm as they discuss what they seek in life science startups and how you can differentiate yourself throughout the pitching process to final term sheet. Speakers: Parisa Khosropour, Kelly Kaihara, PhD https://hubs.ly/Q02vq6jZ0

🔬 Unlocking Biotech Potential: A Shift in Investor Dynamics Between 2020 and 2022, the biotech industry witnessed an incredible surge in growth, fueled by innovative breakthroughs catalyzed by the COVID-19 pandemic. This period saw a remarkable influx of generalist investors eager to capitalize on revolutionary technologies like mRNA vaccines, driving unprecedented capital deployment and dealmaking in the sector. The pandemic spotlighted the critical role of healthcare innovation, drawing attention from investors traditionally focused on other sectors. David Schilansky, CEO of Home Biosciences, rightly pointed out the shift in capital flow towards life sciences during this time. Sergey Jakimov, co-founder of LongeVC, highlighted how the urgency for rapid healthcare innovation elevated interest, not only in biotech but also in AI and similar fields. However, as the initial fervor around COVID-19 advances began to dissipate, many of these generalist investors, faced with the complex and specialized nature of the biotech industry, gradually exited the scene. Biotech investments require a deep understanding of scientific and regulatory aspects, posing a challenge for those lacking specialized expertise. Jakimov emphasized the market dynamics: overheated markets supported even mediocre tech, while cooled markets demanded merit and data-driven investments. This shift made it evident that specialized biotech venture capital firms, equipped with industry-specific knowledge, play a pivotal role in sustaining innovation. Specialized VC firms like Sofinnova and Medixci bring more than just capital to the table; they offer invaluable expertise crucial for navigating the intricacies of biotech ventures. Schilansky highlighted the importance of avoiding the path of learning while moving forward in this complex industry, making a case for the specialized knowledge that these firms possess. This isn't the first time generalist investors rushed into and then exited biotech; however, their departure didn't impede the sector's growth. Good science backed by solid evidence continued to attract funding, albeit at adjusted valuations. Yet, there remains room for collaboration between generalist and specialized investors. Jakimov stressed the importance of knowledge-sharing, advocating for specialized VCs to invite more generalist investors into rounds, fostering joint success stories. Healthcare, with its infinite demand, continues to allure investors despite the challenges. Should generalist investors re-enter the biotech industry, they may adopt a more cautious approach, having experienced the complexities of navigating the sector previously. #Biotech #HealthcareInnovation #InvestmentStrategies #SpecializedInvesting #CollaborationOpportunities #LinkedInPost

It was our pleasure interviewing Simeon George on the latest Silicon Valley Tech Talks episode. Simeon is the CEO and Managing Partner of SR One Capital Management - a Venture Capital firm focused on the BioTech and Lifesciences space. Simeon co-founded SR One Capital Management following its spin-off from GSK in 2020, raising over $1 billion across two venture funds. In our chat with Simeon, we learned about BioTech and Lifesciences industry trends and opportunities for entrepreneurs.  Following are the brief highlights of this interview: (1) Life sciences is the largest area of innovation within healthcare. Out of the $2 trillion healthcare market, two-thirds of venture capital investments go to Life sciences. Within the Life sciences, Therapeutics represents the dominant segment and is the focus of SR One's investments. SR One works with its portfolio companies to translate new technologies into next-generation medicines. (2) Like many other industries today, Life sciences and BioTech are also benefiting from modern-age technologies like Artificial intelligence. Learning how startups in these sectors can utilize these technologies was fascinating. (3) We learned how Venture Capital firms like SR One evaluate investment opportunities and which traits make specific opportunities more attractive than others. (4) Life sciences and the BioTech startup ecosystem have their unique challenges and risks. We got a Venture Capital perspective on these during the chat with Simeon. We also learned about some common pitfalls founders in this space can avoid. (5) We learned about the collaboration model SR One uses with its portfolio companies. It was fascinating to know how the support goes beyond the financial aspects. #biotech #lifesciences #innovation #artificialintelligence #ai #innovation #medicines #technology #siliconvalleytechtalks #srone #healthcare

Silicon Valley Tech Talks: I enjoyed my conversation with Simeon George. Simeon is the CEO and Managing Partner of SR One Capital Management - a Venture Capital firm focused on the BioTech and Lifesciences space. Getting insights and learning about this part of the healthcare industry was terrific, especially how new technologies like AI can play a role in the product lifecycle —also, great advice for entrepreneurs from a seasoned VC like Simeon. More details on the discussion are in the post below. #biotech #lifesciences #innovation #artificialintelligence #ai #innovation #medicines #technology #siliconvalleytechtalks #srone #healthcare https://lnkd.in/gN9JkxS6

QMB works with companies within life sciences to help them navigate the often complex regulatory landscape. Startup accelerators present a wonderful opportunity to engage and provide critical guidance to future innovators. Michel E. Moravia, MSE, MBA will be leading a regulatory workshop at Northeastern University's Evolve Accelerator on February 27th. If you are a life sciences accelerator or venture studio, please reach out and let us know if you would like to collaborate on something similar. #lifesciences #meddevice #regulatorystrategy #regulatoryaffairs Christopher Wallace Leonard Glatkowski Henry Kim

🚀 Dear Life Sciences Investors, The MedCity summer pitch event is only a week away on the 2nd of July! We have received applications from 38 life sciences companies spanning all sub-sectors, including digital health, advanced therapies, SAAS, MedTech, diagnostics, sustainability, and more. These companies showcase innovative technology and exceptional talent. 👉 Sign up for the event here and join us to meet these cutting-edge SMEs. Your support is crucial for the life sciences pipeline. https://lnkd.in/eqwFXBzt Although we would have loved to have all applicants present, we've chosen the top 10 after a thorough due diligence process. If you're interested in specific life sciences sub-sectors, feel free to request pitch decks. I will gladly connect you with the founders and share their decks. Looking forward to seeing you there and fostering innovation in life sciences together! 🌟 #LifeSciences #MedCity #Innovation #Investors #PitchEvent #DigitalHealth #MedTech #AdvancedTherapies #Diagnostics #Sustainability

��� The BioCapital Network is moving into Q4 with a 170+ strong community of members. Each and every individual is actively funding UK-based life science companies across all stages of development, from pre-seed through to Series C and beyond. 💸 These 170+ members are either individual #Angels or represent one of over 110 entities spanning grant funding organisations, angel syndicates, family offices, venture capital funds and corporate venture capital arms. Some of these are featured below. 🧬 All of these members are actively backing life science companies across verticals including #AgriTech, #ClimateTech, #DigitalHealth, #FemTech, #MedicalDevices, Research Instruments and Tools, #TechBio and #Therapeutics. 🤝 Once a quarter, the BioCapital Network gets together for informal investor-only meet-ups to share high-quality deal flow, open opportunities for co-investments and discuss the latest industry trends. 🌍 Although the majority represent UK-based capital, we're proud to have attracted many members who represent non-UK sources of capital from across #Europe, #NorthAmerica and #Asia. The BioCapital Network provides a medium for these non-UK sources to access investment opportunities in UK-based companies, unlocking new funding streams into the UK life science economy. 📨 Invites have already gone out for our Q4 meet-up back at Gallagher UK's HQ in London but if you're an active investor in the life sciences and would like to come along, register your interest on the form linked at the bottom of the page here: https://lnkd.in/ezpNRsCM 👀 I am so excited about the community being built here. We have a couple of initiatives in the pipeline including investment readiness sessions, meet-ups outside of London and ways for start-ups to get direct access to this investor community. Stay tuned for announcements soon. 🥰 A huge thank you to all of those already part of the community. Let's see if we can get to 200 members by the end of 2023? An initiative of the Science Entrepreneur Club. #investornetwork #angelsyndicate #familyoffice #venturecapital #BioCapitalNetwork

Valuations grew for life sciences companies in most stages of the life cycle in 2023, while deal sizes have declined as companies reduce their budgets and investors have become more selective. Overall, deal values remain slow but steady, while exit activity remains more muted.