Venture Capital | Leaders in Pharmaceutical Business Intelligence (LPBI) Group

Archive for the ‘Venture Capital’ Category

The Vibrant Philly Biotech Scene: Recent Happenings & Deals

Posted in BioTechnology - Venture Creation, BioTechnology - Venture Creation, Venture Capital, Drug Development Process, Global Partnering & Biotech Investment, Innovations, Institutional Capital Raised by Female Founders, Intellectual Property, Innovations, Commercialization, Investment in technological breakthrough, International Global Work in Pharmaceutical, Investment in Technological Breakthrough, Pharmaceutical Discovery, Pharmaceutical Drug Discovery, Pharmaceutical Industry Competitive Intelligence, R&D Expenditure, Venture Capital, tagged biotech incubator, Biotech Investment and Venture Growth: The Franchising of Intellectual Property as a Business Model, biotech startup, Biotechnology, Investment in Technological Breakthrough, philadelphia on March 11, 2023| Leave a Comment »

The Vibrant Philly Biotech Scene: Recent Happenings & Deals

Curator: Stephen J. Williams, Ph.D.

As the office and retail commercial real estate market has been drying up since the COVID pandemic, commercial real estate developers in the Philadelphia area have been turning to the health science industry to suit their lab space needs. This includes refurbishing old office space as well as new construction.

Gattuso secures $290M construction loan for life sciences building on Drexel campus

Source: https://www.bizjournals.com/philadelphia/news/2022/12/19/construction-loan-gattuso-drexel-life-sciences.html?utm_source=st&utm_medium=en&utm_campaign=BN&utm_content=pl&ana=e_pl_BN&j=30034971&senddate=2022-12-20

By Ryan Mulligan – Reporter, Philadelphia Business Journal

Dec 19, 2022

Gattuso Development Partners and Vigilant Holdings of New York have secured a $290 million construction loan for a major life sciences building set to be developed on Drexel University’s campus.

The funding comes from Houston-based Corebridge Financial, with an additional equity commitment from Boston-based Baupost Group, which is also a partner on the project. JLL’s Capital Markets group arranged the loan.

Plans for the University City project at 3201 Cuthbert St. carry a price tag of $400 million. The 11-story building will total some 520,000 square feet, making it the largest life sciences research and lab space in the city when it comes online.

The building at 3201 Cuthbert will rise on what had served as a recreation field used by Drexel and is located next to the Armory. Gattuso Development, which will lease the parcel from Drexel, expects to to complete the project by fall 2024. Robert A.M. Stern Architects designed the building.

Enlarge

A rendering of a $400 million lab and research facility Drexel University and Gattuso Development Partners plan to build at 3201 Cuthbert St. in Philadelphia.

The building is 45% leased by Drexel and SmartLabs, an operator of life sciences labs. Drexel plans to occupy about 60,000 square feet, while SmartLabs will lease two floors totaling 117,000 square feet.

“We believe the project validates Philadelphia’s emergence as a global hub for life sciences research, and we are excited to begin construction,” said John Gattuso, the co-founder and president of Philadelphia-based Gattuso Development.

Ryan Ade, Brett Segal and Christopher Peck of JLL arranged the financing.

The project is another play in what amounts to an arms race for life sciences space and tenants in University City. Spark Therapeutics plans to build a $575 million, 500,000-square-foot gene therapy manufacturing plant on Drexel’s campus. One uCity Square, a $280 million, 400,000-square-foot life sciences building, was recently completed at 38th and Market streets. At 3151 Market St., a $307 million, 417,000-square-foot life sciences building is proposed as part of the Schuylkill Yards development.

Tmunity CEO Usman Azam departing to lead ‘stealth’ NYC biotech firm

By John George – Senior Reporter, Philadelphia Business Journal

Feb 7, 2022

The CEO of one of Philadelphia’s oldest cell therapy companies is departing to take a new job in the New York City area.

Usman “Oz” Azam, who has been CEO of Tmunity Therapeutics since 2016, will lead an unnamed biotechnology company currently operating in stealth mode.

In a posting on his LinkedIn page, Azam said, “After a decade immersed in cell therapies and immuno-oncology, I am now turning my attention to a new opportunity, and will be going back to where I started my life sciences career in neurosciences.”

Tmunity, a University of Pennsylvania spinout, is looking to apply CAR T-cell therapy, which has proved to be successful in treating liquid cancers, for the treatment of solid tumors.

Last summer, Tmunity suspended clinical testing of its lead cell therapy candidate targeting prostate cancer after two patients in the study died. Azam, in an interview with the Business Journal in June, said the company, which had grown to about 50 employees since its launch in 2015, laid off an undisclosed number of employees as a result of the setback.

Azam said on LinkedIn he is still a big believer in CAR T-cell therapy, noting Tmunity co-founder Dr. Carl June and his colleagues at Penn just published in Nature the 10-year landmark clinical outcomes study with the first CD19 CAR-T patients and programs.

“It’s just the beginning,” he stated. “I’m excited about the prospect of so many new cell- and gene-based therapies emerging in the next five to 10 years to tackle many solid and liquid tumors, and I hope we all continue to see the remarkable impact this makes on patients and families around the world.”

Azam could not be reached for comment Monday. Tmunity has engaged a search firm to identify his successor.

Tmunity, which is based in Philadelphia, has its own manufacturing operations in East Norriton. Tmunity’s founders include June and fellow Penn cell therapy pioneer Bruce Levine, who led the development of a CAR T-cell therapy now marketed by Novartis as Kymriah, a treatment for certain types of blood cancers.

In therapy using CAR-T cells, a patient’s T cells — part of their immune system — are removed and genetically modified in the laboratory. After they are re-injected into a patient, the T cells are better able to attack and destroy tumors. CAR is an acronym for chimeric antigen receptor. Chimeric antigen receptors are receptor proteins that have been engineered to give T cells their improved ability to target tumors.

Source: https://www.bizjournals.com/philadelphia/news/2022/02/07/tmunity-therapeutics-philadelphia-cell-azam-oz.html?utm_source=st&utm_medium=en&utm_campaign=BN&utm_content=pl&ana=e_pl_BN&j=30034971&senddate=2022-12-20

Jodie Harris is a Philadelphia native who has spent the last 15 years in the U.S. Department of Treasury.

By Ryan Mulligan – Reporter, Philadelphia Business Journal

Feb 23, 2023

The Philadelphia Industrial Development Corp. has tapped U.S. Department of Treasury veteran Jodie Harris to be its next president.

Harris succeeds Anne Bovaird Nevins, who spent 15 years in the organization and took over as president in January 2020 before stepping down at the end of last year. Executive Vice President Sam Rhoads has been interim president.

Harris, a Philadelphia native who currently serves as director of the Community Development Financial Institutions Fund for the Department of Treasury, was picked after a regional and national search and will begin her tenure as president on June 1. She becomes the 12th head of PIDC and the first African-American woman to lead the organization.

PIDC is a public-private economic development corporation founded by the city and the Chamber of Commerce for Greater Philadelphia in 1958. It mainly uses industrial and commercial real estate projects to attract jobs, foster business opportunities and spur overall community growth. The organization has spurred over $18.5 billion in financing across its 65 years.

PIDC has its hand in development projects spanning the city, including master planning roles in expansive campuses like the Philadelphia Navy Yard and the Lower Schuylkill Biotech Campus in Southwest Philadelphia.

In a statement, Harris said that it is “a critical time for Philadelphia’s economy.”

“I’m especially excited for the opportunity to lead such an important and impactful organization in my hometown of Philadelphia,” Harris said. “As head of the CDFI Fund, I know first-hand what it takes to drive meaningful, sustainable, and equitable economic growth, especially in historically underserved communities.”

Harris is a graduate of the University of Maryland and received an MBA and master of public administration from New York University. In the Treasury Department, Harris’ most recent work aligns with PIDC’s economic development mission. At the Community Development Financial Institutions Fund, she oversaw a $331 million budget, mainly comprised of grant and administrative funding for various economic programs. Under Harris’ watch, the fund distributed over $3 billion in pandemic recovery funding, its highest level of appropriated grants ever.

Harris has been a part of the Treasury Department for 15 years, including as director of community and economic development policy.

In addition to government work, Harris has previously spent time in the private, academia and nonprofit sectors. In the beginning of her career, Harris worked at Meridian Bank and Accenture before turning to become a social and education policy researcher at New York University. She also spent two years as president of the Urban Business Assistance Corporation in New York.

Mayor Jim Kenney said that Philadelphia is “poised for long-term growth” and Harris will help drive it.

Source: https://www.bizjournals.com/philadelphia/news/2023/02/23/pidc-names-next-president-treasury.html

A rendering shows the future Quartermaster Science + Technology Park at sunset.

By Paul Schwedelson – Reporter, Philadelphia Business Journal

Jan 31, 2023

Listen to this article 3 min

Real estate company SkyREM plans to spend $250 million converting the historic Quartermaster site in South Philadelphia to a life sciences campus with restaurants and a hotel.

The redevelopment would feature wet and dry lab space for research, development and bio-manufacturing.

The renamed Quartermaster Science + Technology Park is near the southwest corner of Oregon Avenue and South 20th Street in the city’s Girard Estates neighborhood. It’s east of the Quartermaster Plaza retail center, which sold last year for $100 million.

The 24-acre campus is planned to have six acres of green space, an Aldi grocery store opening by March and already is the headquarters for Indego, the bicycle share program in Philadelphia.

Six buildings totaling 1 million square feet of space would be used for research and development labs. There’s 500,000 square feet of vacant space available for life sciences and high technology companies with availabilities as small as 1,000 square feet up to 250,000 square feet contiguous. There’s also 150,000 square feet of retail space available.

The office park has 200,000 square feet already occupied by tenants. The Philadelphia Job Corps Center and Delaware Valley Intelligence Center are tenants at the site.

A rendering shows part of the Quartermaster Science + Technology Park as a redeveloped mixed-use life science campus.

The campus was previously used by the military as a place to produce clothing, footwear and personal equipment during World War I and II. The clothing factory closed in 1994. The Philadelphia Quartermaster Depot was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2010.

“We had a vision to preserve the legacy of this built-to-last historic Philadelphia landmark and transform it to create a vibrant space where the best and brightest want to innovate, collaborate, and work,” SkyREM CEO and Founder Alex Dembitzer said in a statement.

SkyREM, a real estate investor and developer, has corporate offices in New York and Philadelphia. The company acquired the site in 2001.

Vered Nohi, SkyREM’s regional executive director of new business development, called the redevelopment “transformational” for Philadelphia.

SkyREM announced the redevelopment of the Quartermaster campus in South Philadelphia into a life sciences campus with restaurants and a hotel. This rendering looks across Oregon Avenue toward the southwest corner of Oregon and 21st Street.

Quartermaster would join a wave of new life sciences projects being developed in the surrounding area and across the region.

The site is near both interstates 76 and 95 and is about 2 miles north of the Philadelphia Navy Yard, which has undergone a similar transformation from a military hub to a major life sciences and mixed-use redevelopment project. The Philadelphia Industrial Development Corp. is also in the process of selecting a developer to create a massive cell and gene therapy manufacturing complex across two sites totaling about 40 acres on Southwest Philadelphia’s Lower Schuylkill riverfront.

At 34th Street and Grays Ferry Avenue, the University of Pennsylvania is teaming with Longfellow Real Estate Partners on proposed a $365 million, 455,000-square-foot life sciences and biomanufacturing building at Pennovation Works.

A rendering shows part of the future Quartermaster Science and Technology Park in South Philadelphia. The 24-acre campus is planned to have six buildings with 1 million square feet of life science space.

SkyREM is working with Maryland real estate firm Scheer Partners to lease the science and technology space. Philadelphia’s MPN Realty will handle leasing of the retail space. Architecture firm Fifteen is working on the project’s design.

Scheer Partners Senior Vice President Tim Conrey said the Quartermaster conversion will help companies solve for “speed to market” as demand for life science space in the region has been strong.

A diagram shows the buildings that are leased (gray) and the buildings that are available (blue) at the Quartermaster site in South Philadelphia.

Source: https://www.bizjournals.com/philadelphia/news/2023/01/31/quartermaster-life-sciences-philadelphia.html

An artist's rendering of Brandywine Realty Trust's 168,000-square-foot, four-story life sciences building at 250 King of Prussia Road in Radnor.

By Paul Schwedelson – Reporter, Philadelphia Business Journal

Feb 6, 2023

Brandywine Realty Trust originally planned to redevelop a Radnor medical office into lab and office space, split 50-50 between the two uses.

After changes in demand for lab and office space, Brandywine (NYSE: BDN) recently completed the 168,000-square-foot, four-story building at 250 King of Prussia Road in Radnor fully for life sciences.

“The pipeline is now 100% life sciences, which, while requiring more capital, is also generating longer term leases at a higher return on cost,” Brandywine CEO Jerry Sweeney of the project said during the company’s fourth-quarter earnings call on Thursday.

At the same time, Brandywine is holding off on developing new office buildings unless it has a tenant lined up in advance.

The shift reflects how Philadelphia-based Brandywine continues to lean into — and bet big — on life sciences.

Brandywine is the city’s largest owner of trophy office buildings and has several major development projects in the works. The company is planning to eventually develop 3 million square feet of life sciences space. For now, 800,000 square feet of life sciences space is under development, including a 12-story, 417,000-square-foot life sciences building at 3151 Market St. and a 29-story building with 200,000 square feet of life sciences space at 3025 John F. Kennedy Blvd. Both are part of the multi-phase Schuylkill Yards project underway near 30th Street Station in University City.

Once its existing projects are completed, Brandywine would have 800,000 square feet of life sciences space, making up 8% of its portfolio.Sweeney said the company wants to grow that figure to 21%.

Brandywine is developing a 145,000-square-foot, build-to-suit office building at 155 King of Prussia Road in Radnor for Arkema, a France-based global supplier of specialty materials. The building will be Arkema’s North American headquarters. Construction began in January and is scheduled to be completed in late 2024.

Brandywine reported that since November it raised over $705 million through fourth-quarter asset sales, an unsecured bond transaction and a secured loan. The company has “complete availability” on its $600 million unsecured line of credit, Sweeney said.

Brandywine sold a 95% leased, 86,000-square-foot office building at 200 Barr Harbor Drive in West Conshohocken for $30.5 million. The company also sold its 50% ownership interest in the 1919 Market joint venture for $83.2 million to an undisclosed buyer. 1919 Market St. is a 29-story building with apartments, office and commercial space. Brandywine co-developed the property with LCOR and the California State Teacher’s Retirement System.

Brandywine declined to comment and LCOR could not be reached.

Brandywine’s core portfolio is 91% leased.

The project at 250 King of Prussia Road cost $103.7 million and was recently completed. The renovation included 12-foot high floor-to-ceiling glass on the second floor, a new roof, lobby, elevator core, common area with a skylight and an added structured parking deck.

Located in the Radnor Life Science Center, a new campus with nearly 1 million square feet of lab, research and office space, Sweeney said it’s a “magnet” for biotech companies. Avantor, a global manufacturer and distributor of life sciences products, is headquartered in the complex.

Sweeney said Brandywine is “very confident” demand will stay strong for life sciences in Radnor. The building at 250 King of Prussia Road is projected to be fully leased by early 2024.

“Larger users we’re talking to, they just tend to take a little bit more time than we would like as they go through technical requirements and space planning requirements,” Sweeney said.

Jerry Sweeney, CEO of Brandywine Realty Trust.

While Brandywine is aiming to increase its life sciences footprint, the company is being selective about what it builds next. The company may steer away from developments other than life sciences. The Schuylkill Yards project, for example, features a significant life sciences portion in University City.

“Other than fully leased build-to-suit opportunities, our future development starts are on hold,” Sweeney said, “pending more leasing on the existing joint venture pipeline and more clarity on the cost of debt capital and cap rates.”

Brandywine said about 70% to 75%of suburban tenants have returned to offices while that number has been around 50% in Philadelphia. At this point, though, it hasn’t yet affected demand when leasing space. Some tenants, for example, have moved out of the city while others have moved in.

In the fourth quarter, Brandywine had $55.7 million funds from operations, or 32 cents per share. That’s down from $60.4 million, or 35 cents per share, in the fourth quarter of 2021. Brandywine generated $129 million in revenue in the fourth quarter, up slightly from $125.5 in the year-ago period.

Brandywine stock is up 6.4% since the start of the year to $6.70 per share on Monday afternoon.

Many of Brandywine’s properties are in desirable locations, which have seen demand remain strong despite challenges facing offices, on par with industry trends.

Brandywine’s 12-story, 417,000-square-foot building at 3151 Market St. is on budget for $308 million and on schedule to be completed in the second quarter of 2024. Sweeney said Brandywine anticipates entering a construction loan in the second half of 2023, which would help complete the project. The building, being developed along with a global institutional investor,would be used for life sciences, innovation and office space as part of the larger Schuylkill Yards development in University City.

The company’s 29-story building at 3025 John F. Kennedy Blvd. with 200,000 square feet of life sciences space and 326 luxury apartments, is also on budget, costing $287.3 million, and on time, eyeing completion in the third quarter of this year.

Source: https://www.bizjournals.com/philadelphia/news/2023/02/06/brandywine-realty-life-sciences-development.html

Read Full Post »

Near Term Investment Outlook for 2023: A Perspective from Advisors Potentially Affecting M&A Landscape

Posted in Trends in Global Economy, US and Global Economy: Trends and Findings, Venture Capital, tagged bioinvestment, Biotech Investment and Venture Growth: The Franchising of Intellectual Property as a Business Model, Global Partnering & Biotech Investment, investing, JPM, Life Sciences, M&A Brokers FINRA Guidance Investment Platforms for Private Placements Investment Platforms for Private Funds Crowdfunding, Mergers and acquisitions, PWC, Wells Fargo on August 5, 2022| Leave a Comment »

Near Term Investment Outlook for 2023: A Perspective from Advisors Potentially Affecting M&A Landscape

Curator: Stephen J. Williams, Ph.D.

The following is an adaptation from various reports and the forseen changes in forecast for different sectors as well as the general investment landscape for the near future (2022-2023). Of course projections may change given changes in undewrlying fundamentals.

Many financial advisors and professionals feel the U.S. is in a late-cycle for its economy, with a significant slowing of corporate earnings in the midst of higher than usual inflation {although inflation estimates are being halved from its current 8-10% for next year}. Consensus investment strategies deemed favorable include US (not international) equities with high quality assest and away from cyclicals. This represents the near end of a business cycle. As growth returns and interest rates increase we may seen the entrance into a new business cycle, although this may not happen until later 2023. In general, it is advised investors move out of cyclicals as the economy continues to slow and into large and mid cap US equities.

This change in landscape may be very favorable to the overall Health Care and Information Technology sectors. In health care, Life Sciences Tools and Services as well as Medical Devices are expected to outperform. In IT, IT Services, software and Networking are favored sectors while communication services like Publishing Services are considered to be Neutral to Unfavorable.

What does this mean for Life Sciences and Health Related small companies looking for an Exit or M&A strategies?

With higher interest rates, credit markets may continue to deteriote and companies may have to look toward Global Macro to find any funding through cash or credit markets. Equity Hedge strategies may be neutral to unfavorable with Event Driven opportunities like distressed deals unfavorable but most analysts do consider Merger Arbitrage as Event Driven strategy to be favorable. A competitive and narrow merger and acquisition environment is expected to last through 2023.

A general consensus for a neutroal environment is seen for most Private Equity, although a more favorable environment for small and mid cap buyouts may exist. Recent short term weakness in the IT sector has led to diminished exit valuations however this may be a good entry point for Growth Equity and Venture Capital. Private Debt strategies look unfavorable due to potential US recessions and potential underwriting issues. Therefore Favored Private Capital strategies include Private Equity for Small and Mid Cap Buyouts and Growth Equity and Venture Capital.

Sources:

https://www.wellsfargo.com/investment-institute/2022-midyear-outlook/

Deals to pick up in second half of 2022

All of the stars are aligned for there to be a flurry of deals activity across all areas of the sector despite the slow start to the year so far. Many large pharma players are flush with cash (particularly those that have COVID-19 treatments in their arsenal), biotech valuations have been normalizing after years of a boom market and the 2025 patent cliff is rapidly approaching, all making for a strong deal environment.

Given the broader labor changes, supply shortages and constantly changing supply chain strategies and operations, the focus on quality can be challenging to sustain. Yet the downside can have massive impacts on businesses, including the potential inability to manufacture products.

The long litany of macroeconomic and regulatory headwinds has CEOs looking for transactions that are easily integrated and will get cash off their balance sheet as inflationary pressures mount.

Pharmaceutical & life sciences deals outlook

Increased scrutiny from the US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) around larger deals could mean that 2022 will be a year of bolt-on transactions in the $5 to $15 billion range as pharma companies take multiple shots on goal in order to make up for revenues lost to generic competition in the remainder of the decade. However, don’t rule out the potential for larger deals ⁠— consolidation is good for the health ecosystem and drives broader efficiency.

Expect to see big pharma picking up earlier stage companies to try and fill the pipeline gaps that are likely to start in 2024. While market conditions suggest bargain prices for biotech are possible, recent transactions indicate that pharma companies are still paying significantly above current trading prices (ranging from approximately 50 to 100% of current trading), but below the peak valuations of recent memory.

In the first few months of the year, semi-annualized deal value was down 58% from the same period last year, with companies investing just $61.7 billion so far. Only 137 deals were announced during that time, compared to 204 in the year-prior period.

Talk of drug pricing regulations continues in Washington as Congress bats around a pared down version of the Build Back Better plan. Expect some of that tension to ease in the fall if a new Congress takes on a different agenda.

Other areas of the sector like medical devices face similar headwinds from regulators, and continue to deal with a greater impact from semiconductor shortages. Even though semi-annualized deal value in the medical device space is down 85% from the same period the prior year, expect these companies to remain focused on M&A as the subsector searches for alternative forms of revenue ⁠— particularly from new consumer-centric technologies.

Macroeconomic headwinds and geopolitical tensions have created volatility in spending at CDMOs and CROs, limiting their willingness to deploy capital as the uncertainty persists.

Source: https://www.pwc.com/us/en/industries/health-industries/library/pharma-life-sciences-deals-outlook.html

From the JP MorgAN Healthcare Conference

Click to access pdf-dealforma-2022-Annual-outlook-final-ada.pdf

Deals Or No Deals, J.P. Morgan Sets The Tone For 2022

Collaborations, Not M&A, Dominate

12 Jan 2022

· OPINION

Mandy Jackson @ScripMandy Mandy.Jackson@informausa.com

Executive Summary

No big buyouts were revealed during the annual J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference for a third year in a row. Big pharma firms are in acquisition mode, but execs stress desire for easy integrations and scientific alliances.

Biopharmaceutical industry players – and reporters – eagerly await merger and acquisition announcements going into the annual J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference, hoping to scrutinize which big pharma is buying which other company for signs of what the deal-making environment will be like in the coming year. And in 2022, for the third year in a row, the meeting started with no big M&A deals.

Instead, Pfizer Inc., Novartis AG, Amgen, Inc., Bristol Myers Squibb Company and others announced collaboration agreements. (Also see “Deal Watch: Bristol, Pfizer Lead Off J.P. Morgan Week With Two Deals Apiece” – Scrip, 11 Jan, 2022.)

They and their peers insisted during J.P. Morgan presentations and Q&A sessions as well as in interviews with Scrip that they do intend to invest in business development in 2022, but with a primary focus on smaller bolt-on acquisitions as well as licensing deals and collaboration agreements. Bolt-on deals have been the focus for the past few years. (Also see “The Pandemic Hurt, But EY Expects More Biopharma Deal-Making In 2021” – Scrip, 11 Jan, 2021.)

Amgen CEO Bradway On Deals: Good (Smaller) Opportunities Are Vast

By Mandy Jackson11 Jan 2022

Amgen is enthusiastic about deals of all sizes, including a new Arrakis collaboration, and is interested in large transactions like its Otezla buy – but Bradway said right-priced opportunities are fewer and farther between.

Read the full article here

While investors and others are clamoring for potential buyers to execute large transactions, Amgen CEO Robert Bradway made the astute – and as he pointed out, obvious – observation that there simply are more small, early-stage ventures to partner with than there are large, later-stage companies to acquire. Bradway also noted that while Amgen would like to buy another growing commercial-stage product like Otezla (apremilast), not only are few available but there are few assets at a price that still leaves value on the table for both companies’ investors.

Source: https://scrip.pharmaintelligence.informa.com/SC145698/Deals-Or-No-Deals-JP-Morgan-Sets-The-Tone-For-2022

Impact of New Regulatory Trends in M&A Deals

The following podcast from Pricewaterhouse Cooper Health Research Institute (called Next in Health) discusses some of the trends in healthcare M&A and is a great listen. However from 6:30 on the podcast discusses a new trend which is occuring in the healthcare company boardroom, which is this new focus on integrating companies that have proven ESG (or environmental, social, governance) functions within their organzations. As stated, doing an M&A deal with a company with strong ESG is looked favorably among regulators now.

Please click on the following link to hear a Google Podcast Next in Health episode

https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9mZWVkcy5idXp6c3Byb3V0LmNvbS8xMjgyNjQ2LnJzcw?sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwil9sua2cf5AhUErXIEHaoTBQoQ9sEGegQIARAC

Greylock Partners Announces Unique $500 Million Venture to act as Seed Capital Funding for Earliest Stage Startups

Posted in BioTechnology - Venture Creation, BioTechnology - Venture Creation, Venture Capital, Pharmacodynamics and Pharmacokinetics, Technology Advance Assessment of, Technology Transfer: Biotech and Pharmaceutical, Trends in Global Economy, US and Global Economy: Trends and Findings, Venture Capital, tagged Biotech Investment and Venture Growth: The Franchising of Intellectual Property as a Business Model, biotech startup, Global Partnering & Biotech Investment, Greylock Partners, Reid Hoffman, seed capital, seed funding, startup funding, tech startup, Venture capital on October 16, 2021| Leave a Comment »

Greylock Partners Announces Unique $500 Million Venture to act as Seed Capital Funding for Earliest Stage Startups

Reporter: Stephen J. Williams, Ph.D.

Greylock Partners CEO Reid Hoffman announces a $500 million fund to help the earliest stage startups find capital.

See video below:

https://www.bloomberg.com/multimedia/api/embed/iframe?id=798828e9-7850-4c83-9348-a35d5fad3e1c

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/videos/2021-09-24/intv-sara-guoh-greylock-partners-video

See transcript from Bloomberg.com

00:00This is a lot of money for seed stage deals which is typicallysmaller. Why do you want to make seed such a priority.

00:09So see it has always been a priority for us. We’ve been activeat this stage for a long time and some of our biggest wins

00:15historically have been incubation and seed. So I think companieslike Workday and Palo Alto Networks and more recently abnormal

00:21and Snorkel. And then this year 70 percent of our investmentsyou must mints or seeds before we announce this fund. And so

00:29when we saw this level of opportunity we also want to make surewe had enough funding to really back entrepreneurs and to

00:36support them through their journey and make sure entrepreneursalso know they have different options at the seed for the type

00:41of partners they work with. Now at the seed stage you’re talkingabout companies in their infancy. How early are you investing. I

00:49mean is this ideas on a napkin stage with a couple ofentrepreneurs that you believe in or is it beyond that.

00:58So there definitely is a whole range. We don’t catch everysingle person. Like the day they left their job. Right. But you

01:04know abnormal was to see it in 2018 when it was a slide deck andtwo co-founders. We backed another company recently and self on

01:12first capital. That was a repeat founder we have history with.Similarly no product yet. Just an idea and an early team. And so

01:20the range of when we do see it really depends on when weencounter companies. We do like to get to know people as early

01:26as possible. And sometimes that’s the right time for us to writethe check. Obviously Greylock is a multi-stage venture venture

01:32capital firm and I think founders might have the question here.You know if you give me the seed funding we’ll follow on and

01:38reserves come out of that same bucket. And what could this meanin terms of a longer term relationship with Greylock. What’s the

01:46answer to that. So the first thing I’d start with is seeds forus our core investments. Right. So many firms look at them as

01:54options to then follow on. We look at seeds as investments we’retrying to make money on. We’re building a relationship for the

02:01long term to begin with. Right. So. So I’d start with that thenI’d say it is a third of our fund. So it is a big piece of our

02:09investing. And and you know there are many instances where wethen follow on and invest even more because our conviction

02:16continues or even grows. But the point of us doing seed is notjust a follow on it’s to make that investment. How big is each

02:24deal. I mean would you say that seed is the new series A.I think I think that.

02:33Well let’s see the market data would tell us that round sizesoverall have increased for the same level of progress. And I

02:41think that makes sense right. And the reason being the markethas become a lot smarter at the attractiveness of early stage

02:48technology opportunities. And so great returns in tech venturecapital over many years mean there’s more capital than ever and

02:57people are savvier about software and Internet companies. ButI’d say there is you know I think kind of the noble creature

03:04doesn’t matter so much. We think of it as being the firstinstitutional partner to go to a set of founders. The world is

03:12changing quickly. I mean we’re still in the middle of apandemic. And who would’ve known that you know working from home

03:16was going to be a thing 18 months ago. What are the trends thatyou are most excited about right now that you’re doubling down

03:22on at the seed stage.Yeah. So we invest across the technology spectrum business

03:30consumer. The one you just mentioned in terms of just the seachange of the pandemic in terms of how we do our work together

03:36as one. I’m really excited about but we’ve been we’ve beeninvesting in let’s say just this. There’s a shortage globally

03:44because the pandemic. But even before of human connection andand intimacy and people look for it online. And so we invest in

03:53companies like Dischord and Common ROOM and Promotion that helppeople connect more online. So that’s when we’ll continue to

04:00invest in. And then of course we’re investing across all of yourusual range of SAS social data A.I. etc. and then spending more

04:10and more time in fintech and crypto in particular. Now what arethe potential problems with seed stage. Is that at a certain

04:16point as the company develops maybe they pivot they change. Overtime they could potentially ultimately compete with another one

04:23of your core portfolio companies. How do you manage that.So it’s a good question but it is also something that doesn’t

04:30only happen at the scene and funnily enough Greylock has been aninvestor in several companies that were like great companies

04:37post pivot right. So like first semester and discord and nextdoor after they decided to be what they are today. And so that

04:46you know I’d start with the premise of our our philosophy isthat the company should do what’s best for the company. And we

04:53know our our philosophy is to be fully behind companies and notto go invest in a bunch of competitors in a sector just because

04:59we like this sector. But if that were to happen you know wewould we would just divide those interests within the firm and

05:06like make sure that there’s no information flow and just addressit in a reasonable way. I’ve talked with many of your partners

05:12over the years about investing in more women. And I’m curioushow you look at it as an opportunity to potentially you know

05:22spread the wealth a little bit across more women entrepreneurspeople of color people who historically haven’t gotten a chance

05:29in Silicon Valley and Silicon Valley hasn’t benefited from theirideas.

05:34OK. So I’d say this is an issue that’s near and dear to myheart. We are working on it. Two of the last three founders I

05:40backed are women. One is the seed stage founder. One of thefounders. I backed at the seed stage is Hispanic. But. But I

05:49would say you know one thing I want to make sure is clear. Likeyou want to back great founders from diverse backgrounds across

05:56the spectrum. And like we wouldn’t like do it more in seedbecause seed isn’t important. Because it is important to us.

06:02Right. It’s just across the portfolio. This is a priority.

From TechStartups

Source: https://techstartups.com/2021/09/22/greylock-partners-raises-500-million-invest-seed-stage-startups/

Greylock Partners raises $500 million to invest in seed-stage startups

Nickie LouisePOSTED ON SEPTEMBER 22, 2021

Greylock Partners has raised $500 million to invest exclusively in seed-stage startups. The announcement comes a year after the firm raised $1 billion for its 16th flagship fund to invest in early- and growth-stage tech startups.

Guo and general partner Saam Motamedi said in an interview the fund is part of an expansion of a $1.1 billion fund, which we reported last year, to $1.6 billion, The Information reported. The funding is among the industry’s largest devoted to seed investments, which often represent a startup’s first outside capital.

The pool of funds will give the 56-year-old venture capital firm the ability to write large checks at “lean-in valuations” and emphasize its commitment to early-stage investing, said general partner Sarah Guo. In a thread post on Twitter, Greylock said, “We at @GreylockVC are excited to announce we’ve raised $500M dedicated to seed investing. This is the industry’s largest pool of venture capital dedicated to backing founders at day one.”

Press Release from Grelock

$500M for Seeds

Real Time Coverage @BIOConvention #BIO2019: Keynote Address Jamie Dimon CEO @jpmorgan June 5 Philadelphia

Posted in Conference Coverage with Social Media, Ethics and Leadership, Executive Compensation - Big Pharma, Global Partnering & Biotech Investment, Income Geographic Distribution, Intellectual Property, International Global Work in Pharmaceutical, US and Global Economy: Trends and Findings, Venture Capital, tagged #JPM2019, Global Partnering & Biotech Investment, JP Morgan on June 5, 2019| Leave a Comment »

Real Time Coverage @BIOConvention #BIO2019: Keynote Address Jamie Dimon CEO @jpmorgan June 5 Philadelphia

Reporter: Stephen J. Williams, PhD @StephenJWillia2

Dr Janet Woodcock from FDA was given the BIO Heritage award for leading the FDA from safety focus of 90s to the Voice of the Patient. She became a champion for advocacy groups
Governor Phil Murphy, Governor of New Jersey, received the Governor of the Year Award. New Jersey known as medicine chest of the world, have first 3D printed drug on market and number two in biotech and number one on drug approvals. We must do more to foster stem education. It will take private and public capital investment. New Jersey matches federal dollars and had doubled the angel investor tax credit.
Dr. Kakkis CEO of Ultragenix wins the Genzyme Henri Termeer Award for visionary work. Dr. Termeer recently passed. Dr. Kakkis is awarded for work with patients of rare diseases and help formulating legislation to help patients with rare disease have access to investigational drugs quickly.
Dr. Jeremy Levin from OVID named new chair of BIO

Interview with Jamie Dimon, CEO of JPMorgan

Mr Dimon had recently survived throat cancer and now has a renewed dedication to improving people’s lives. With Amazon had embarked on a nonprofit experimental model to streamline healthcare for their employees. He said the hardest part of going through cancer was telling his parents and children.
On the bailout he said it was a lie all banks needed TARP but could not just give to some and not all. He says the financial system in US is very solid so next downturn will not come from financial sector and never is from geopolitical but trade issues could be a catalyst. Policy usually always does the opposite of what is intended. He announced no intention of running for President of US.
We need to keep a growth agenda which includes education and infrastructure, without these competitive business tax relief does no account for much. We need a better conversation of how government handles finances
Immigration, education very important. Higher education needs to reduce costs and incentivize the people they bring in to stay here.
on healthcare: JPM had reduced the deductables to zero for workers making $60,000 or less

Please follow LIVE on TWITTER using the following @ handles and # hashtags:

@Handles

@pharma_BI

@AVIVA1950

@BIOConvention

# Hashtags

#BIO2019 (official meeting hashtag)

#itstartswithone

#RightMixMatters

37th Annual J.P. Morgan HEALTHCARE CONFERENCE: News at #JPM2019 for Jan. 10, 2019: Deals and Announcements

37th Annual J.P. Morgan HEALTHCARE CONFERENCE: News at #JPM2019 for Jan. 8, 2019: Deals and Announcements

37th Annual J.P. Morgan HEALTHCARE CONFERENCE: #JPM2019 for Jan. 8, 2019; Opening Videos, Novartis expands Cell Therapies, January 7 – 10, 2019, Westin St. Francis Hotel | San Francisco, California

Read Full Post »

Real Time Coverage @BIOConvention #BIO2019: June 4 Morning Sessions; Global Biotech Investment & Public-Private Partnerships

Posted in BioTechnology - Venture Creation, BioTechnology - Venture Creation, Venture Capital, Conference Coverage with Social Media, Foundations for supporting Science and Education, Pharmaceutical Drug Discovery, Scientific & Biotech Conferences: Press Coverage, Venture Capital, tagged #biotech, academic partnership, bioinvestment, Biotech Investment and Venture Growth: The Franchising of Intellectual Property as a Business Model, Global Partnering & Biotech Investment, Public–private partnership, Translational Research on June 4, 2019| Leave a Comment »

Real Time Coverage @BIOConvention #BIO2019: June 4 Morning Sessions; Global Biotech Investment & Public-Private Partnerships

Reporter: Stephen J Williams PhD @StephenJWillia2

There is $200B in Global Investment in the Biopharmaceutical Sector Each Year. Who’s Getting It and Why?

115A, Level 100

Speakers

Meir Pugatch Managing Director & Professor atPugatch Consilium; University of Maastricht

Dr. Woei-Jer ChuangDirector General, Department of Life Sciences atMinistry of Science and Technology, Taiwan

Ancizar Guerrero GilForeign Investment Executive Director in the United States atProcolombia

Park Jee MinDeputy Director of the Division of Health Industry Promotion atMinistry of Health and Welfare (MoHW)

Michael PergineAssociate Vice President, International Policy and Government Affairs atMerck & Co.

Prof. Peter PittsPresident and Co-Founder atCenter for Medicine in the Public Interest

Each country have their own needs and most important drug cost structure. Must involve patients and providers.

BCI survey: countries output different, who improved who didnt

Is industry having collaboration with government? hardly ten percent by survey and worse vice versa

Transparancy and holistic view important for collaboration

Korea: lack of communication need input from government on pricing; wants global open innovation and enhance RD investments

Tawain: price, price but based on efficacy; pharma needs to talk with doctors hospital patients, find balance

Pitts: we need trust; staff that country offices with people who know that country. Price not defining value

Columbia: need to attract investors

Navigating Translation: Leveraging Public Private Partnerships to Turn Academic Discoveries into Health

112AB, Level 100

Speakers

Dr. Kathleen RouscheProgram Director at National Institutes of Health/National Heart Lung and Blood Institute

Joseph PiconeProfessor, Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Temple University

Dr. Suguna RachakondaSenior Director, Product Development Global Cardiovascular Innovation Center and NCAI-CC at Cleveland Clinic

Dr. Jesus Soriano MollaProgram Director at National Science Foundation

Chris VlahosGlobal Head, Rare Disease External Innovation at Ipsen

Please follow LIVE on TWITTER using the following @ handles and # hashtags:

@Handles

@pharma_BI

@AVIVA1950

@BIOConvention

# Hashtags

#BIO2019 (official meeting hashtag)

#itstartswithone

#RightMixMatters

Read Full Post »

Real Time Coverage of BIO International Convention, June 3-6, 2019 Philadelphia Convention Center; Philadelphia PA

Posted in Alzheimer's Disease, Big Data, Bio Instrumentation in Experimental Life Sciences Research, BioTechnology - Venture Creation, BioTechnology - Venture Creation, Venture Capital, FDA, FDA Regulatory Affairs, Foundations for supporting Science and Education, Health Economics and Outcomes Research, Healthcare costs and reimbursement, Institutional Capital Raised by Female Founders, LPBI Group, e-Scientific Media, DFP, R&D-M3DP, R&D-Drug Discovery, US Patents: SOPs and Team Management, Pharmaceutical Analytics, REAL TIME Conference Coverage Twitter's Hashtags and Handles per Presentation/session, Trends in Global Economy, Venture Capital, tagged #BIO2019, #biotech, @BIOConvention, @Biotech News, bioinvestment, biotech innovation, Biotech Investment and Venture Growth: The Franchising of Intellectual Property as a Business Model, Biotechnology and Pharmaceuticals, Conference Coverage with Social Media, Global Partnering & Biotech Investment, Pharmaceutical industry, pharmaceutical innovation on May 31, 2019| Leave a Comment »

Real Time Coverage of BIO 2019 International Convention, June 3-6, 2019 Philadelphia Convention Center, Philadelphia PA

Reporter: Stephen J. Williams, PhD @StephenJWillia2

Please follow LIVE on TWITTER using the following @ handles and # hashtags:

@Handles

@pharma_BI

@AVIVA1950

@BIOConvention

# Hashtags

#BIO2019 (official meeting hashtag)

#itstartswithone

#RightMixMatters

Please check daily on this OPEN ACCESS JOURNAL for updates on one of the most important BIO Conferences of the year for meeting notes, posts, as well as occasional PODCASTS.

The BIO International Convention is the largest global event for the biotechnology industry and attracts the biggest names in biotech, offers key networking and partnering opportunities, and provides insights and inspiration on the major trends affecting the industry. The event features keynotes and sessions from key policymakers, scientists, CEOs, and celebrities. The Convention also features the BIO Business Forum (One-on-One Partnering), hundreds of sessions covering biotech trends, policy issues and technological innovations, and the world’s largest biotechnology exhibition – the BIO Exhibition.

The BIO International Convention is hosted by the Biotechnology Innovation Organization (BIO). BIO represents more than 1,100 biotechnology companies, academic institutions, state biotechnology centers and related organizations across the United States and in more than 30 other nations. BIO members are involved in the research and development of innovative healthcare, agricultural, industrial and environmental biotechnology products.

Keynote Speakers INCLUDE:

Fireside Chat with Margaret (Peggy) Hamburg, MD, Foreign Secretary, National Academy of Medicine; Chairman of the Board, American Association for the Advancement of Science

Tuesday Keynote: Siddhartha Mukherjee (Author of the bestsellers Emperor of All Maladies: A Biography of Cancer and The Gene: An Intimate History)

Fireside Chat with Jeffrey Solomon, Chief Executive Officer, COWEN

Fireside Chat with Christi Shaw, Senior Vice President and President, Lilly BIO-Medicines, Eli Lilly and Company

Wednesday Keynote: Jamie Dimon (Chairman JP Morgan Chase)

Fireside Chat with Kenneth C. Frazier, Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer, Merck & Co., Inc.

Fireside Chat: Understanding the Voices of Patients: Unique Perspectives on Healthcare

Fireside Chat: FDA Town Hall

ALSO SUPERSESSIONS including:

Super Session: What’s Next: The Landscape of Innovation in 2019 and Beyond

Super Session: Falling in Love with Science: Championing Science for Everyone, Everywhere

Super Session: Digital Health in Practice: A Conversation with Ameet Nathawani, Chief Digital Officer, Chief Medical Falling in Love with Science: Championing Science for Everyone, Everywhere

Super Session: Realizing the Promise of Gene Therapies for Patients Around the World

Super Session: Biotech’s Contribution to Innovation: Current and Future Drivers of Success

Super Session: The Art & Science of R&D Innovation and Productivity

Super Session: Dealmaker’s Intentions: 2019 Market Outlook

Super Session: The State of the Vaccine Industry: Stimulating Sustainable Growth

See here for full AGENDA

Link for Registration: https://convention.bio.org/register/

The BIO International Convention is literally where hundreds of deals and partnerships have been made over the years.

BIO performs many services for members, but none of them are more visible than the BIO International Convention. The BIO International Convention helps BIO fulfill its mission to help grow the global biotech industry. Profits from the BIO International Convention are returned to the biotechnology industry by supporting BIO programs and initiatives. BIO works throughout the year to create a policy environment that enables the industry to continue to fulfill its vision of bettering the world through biotechnology innovation.

The key benefits of attending the BIO International Convention are access to global biotech and pharma leaders via BIO One-on-One Partnering, exposure to industry though-leaders with over 1,500 education sessions at your fingertips, and unparalleled networking opportunities with 16,000+ attendees from 74 countries.

In addition, we produce BIOtechNOW, an online blog chronicling ‘innovations transforming our world’ and the BIO Newsletter, the organization’s bi-weekly email newsletter. Subscribe to the BIO Newsletter.

Membership with the Biotechnology Innovation Organization (BIO)

BIO has a diverse membership that is comprised of companies from all facets of biotechnology. Corporate R&D members range from entrepreneurial companies developing a first product to Fortune 100 multinationals. The majority of our members are small companies 90 percent have annual revenues of $25 million or less, reflecting the broader biotechnology industry. Learn more about how you can save with BIO Membership.

BIO also represents academic centers, state and regional biotech associations and service providers to the industry, including financial and consulting firms.

66% R&D-Intensive Companies *Of those: 89% have annual revenues under $25 million, 4% have annual revenues between $25 million and $1 billion, 7% have annual revenues over $1 billion.
16% Nonprofit/Academic
11% Service Providers
7% State/International Affiliate Organizations

Spark Therapeutics’ $4.8Billion deal Confirmed as Biggest VC-backed Exit in Philadelphia

Posted in Genetics & Innovations in Treatment, Genetics & Pharmaceutical, Institutional Capital Raised by Female Founders, Pharmaceutical Drug Discovery, Regenerative Biology and Medicine, Transformative Technologies in Healthcare, Venture Capital, tagged Ben Franklin Partners, Biotech Investment and Venture Growth: The Franchising of Intellectual Property as a Business Model, Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, gene therapy, Gene Therapy for Inherited Retinal Diseases, PennInovation, philadelphia, Roche, University of Pennsylvania on March 1, 2019| Leave a Comment »

From Technicall.y Philly.com

Reporter: Stephen J. Williams, PhD

Spark Therapeutics’ $4.8B deal confirmed as biggest-ever VC-backed exit in Philly

Quick update on this week’s news: The University City life sciences company’s acquisition by Swiss pharma giant Roche is the biggest acquisition ever of a VC-backed company within city limits, per PitchBook and PACT.

By Roberto Torres/ REPORTER

The eye-popping $4.8 billion sticker price on Spark Therapeutics’acquisition deal with Roche announced on Monday is shaping up to be the largest exit ever within city limits for a venture-backed company, according to data from financial data provider PitchBook and the Philadelphia Alliance for Capital and Technologies (PACT).

“Filtering down to just Philadelphia proper does reveal that Spark Therapeutics, once the deal closes, will be the biggest exit ever for Philly-based venture-backed exits,” the company said in an email, citing data from an upcoming report.

According to the Seattle-based company’s data, the current holder of the largest Philly-proper exit title goes to Avid Radiopharmaceuticals, which in 2010 announced its acquisition by Lilly in a deal valued at up to $800 million.

Founded in 2013, Spark is a publicly traded spinout of Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP), which invested $33 million in the company. The Philadelphia Inquirer reports that CHOP stands to reap a total return of $430 million for its minority stake in Spark Therapeutics.

As part of the acquisition deal, the company will remain based out of 3711 Market St., and continue to do business as a standalone Roche company.

“This transaction demonstrates the enormous value that global biotech companies like Roche see in gene therapy, a field in which Philadelphia is the unquestioned leader,” said Saul Behar, senior VP of advancement and strategic initiatives at the University City Science Center, the West Philly research park where Spark began and grew its operations. “[This] further validates Greater Philadelphia’s status as a biotech hub with a very bright future.”

Spark CEO Jeff Marrazzo said the deep pool of resources from Roche, the company plans to “accelerate the development of more gene therapies for more patients for more diseases and further expedite our vision of a world where no life is limited by genetic disease.”

37th Annual J.P. Morgan HEALTHCARE CONFERENCE: News at #JPM2019 for Jan. 10, 2019: Deals and Announcements

Posted in BioIT: BioInformatics, NGS, Clinical & Translational, Pharmaceutical R&D Informatics, Clinical Genomics, Cancer Informatics, BioTechnology - Venture Creation, BioTechnology - Venture Creation, Venture Capital, Conference Coverage with Social Media, Curation, Drug Development Process, FDA, FDA Regulatory Affairs, Genetics & Pharmaceutical, Molecular Genetics & Pharmaceutical, Pharmaceutical Discovery, Pharmaceutical Drug Discovery, Pharmaceutical Industry Competitive Intelligence, Pharmaceutical R&D Informatics, Pharmaceutical R&D Investment, Precision Cancer Medicine, REAL TIME Conference Coverage Twitter's Hashtags and Handles per Presentation/session, Scientific & Biotech Conferences: Press Coverage, Transformative Technologies in Healthcare, Translational Science, Venture Capital, tagged #JPM2019, AstraZeneca, bioinvestment, Biotech Investment and Venture Growth: The Franchising of Intellectual Property as a Business Model, Biotechnology and Pharmaceuticals, Business News JP Morgan Healthcare Conference Adaptive Biotechnologies Counsyl Danaher Human Longevity JP Morgan Qiagen Thermo Fisher Scientific, Drug development, gene therapy, Global Partnering & Biotech Investment, healthcare, new drug development, ovarian cancer, pharma deals, pharmaceutical business, vaccine on January 10, 2019| Leave a Comment »

37th Annual J.P. Morgan HEALTHCARE CONFERENCE: News at #JPM2019 for Jan. 10, 2019: Deals and Announcements

Reporter: Stephen J. Williams, Ph.D.

From Biospace.com

JP Morgan Healthcare Conference Update: Sage, Mersana, Shutdown Woes and Babies

Published: Jan 10, 2019 By Alex Keown

With the J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference winding down, companies remain busy striking deals and informing investors about pipeline advances. BioSpace snagged some of the interesting news bits to come out of the conference from Wednesday.

SAGE Therapeutics – Following a positive Phase III report that its postpartum depression treatment candidate SAGE-217 hit the mark in its late-stage clinical trial, Sage Therapeutics is eying the potential to have multiple treatment options available for patients. At the start of J.P. Morgan, Sage said that patients treated with SAGE-217 had a statistically significant improvement of 17.8 points in the Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression, compared to 13.6 for placebo. The company plans to seek approval for SAGE-2017, but before that, the FDA is expected to make a decision on Zulresso in March. Zulresso already passed muster from advisory committees in November, and if approved, would be the first drug specifically for postpartum depression. In an interview with the Business Journal, Chief Business Officer Mike Cloonan said the company believes there is room in the market for both medications, particularly since the medications address different patient populations.

Mersana Therapeutics – After a breakup with Takeda Pharmaceutical and the shelving of its lead product, Cambridge, Mass.-based Mersana is making a new path. Even though a partial clinical hold was lifted following the death of a patient the company opted to shelve development of XMT-1522. During a presentation at JPM, CEO Anna Protopapas noted that many other companies are developing therapies that target the HER2 protein, which led to the decision, according to the Boston Business Journal. Protopapas said the HER2 space is highly competitive and now the company will focus on its other asset, XMT-1536, an ADC targeting NaPi2b, an antigen highly expressed in the majority of non-squamous NSCLC and epithelial ovarian cancer. XMT-1536 is currently in Phase 1 clinical trials for NaPi2b-expressing cancers, including ovarian cancer, non-small cell lung cancer and other cancers. Data on XMT-1536 is expected in the first half of 2019.

Novavax – During a JPM presentation, Stan Erck, CEO of Novavax, pointed to the company’s RSV vaccine, which is in late-stage development. The vaccine is being developed for the mother, in order to protect an infant. The mother transfers the antibodies to the infant, which will provide the baby with protection from RSV in its first six months. Erck called the program historic. He said the Phase III program is in its fourth year and the company has vaccinated 4,636 women. He said they are tracking the women and the babies. Researchers call the mothers every week through the first six months of the baby’s life to acquire data. Erck said the company anticipates announcing trial data this quarter. If approved, Erck said the market for the vaccine could be a significant revenue driver.

“You have 3.9 million birth cohorts and we expect 80 percent to 90 percent of those mothers to be vaccinated as a pediatric vaccine and in the U.S. the market rate is somewhere between $750 million and a $1 billion and then double that for worldwide market. So it’s a large market and we will be first to market in this,” Erck said, according to a transcript of the presentation.

Denali Therapeutics – Denali forged a collaboration with Germany-based SIRION Biotech to develop gene therapies for central nervous disorders. The two companies plan to develop adeno-associated virus (AAV) vectors to enable therapeutics to cross the blood-brain barrier for clinical applications in neurodegenerative diseases including Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s disease, ALS and certain other diseases of the CNS.

AstraZeneca – Pharma giant AstraZeneca reported that in 2019 net prices on average across the portfolio will decrease versus 2018. With a backdrop of intense public and government scrutiny over pricing, Market Access head Rick Suarez said the company is increasing its pricing transparency. Additionally, he said the company is looking at new ways to price drugs, such as value-based reimbursement agreements with payers, Pink Sheet reported.

Amarin Corporation – As the company eyes a potential label expansion approval for its cardiovascular disease treatment Vascepa, Amarin Corporation has been proactively hiring hundreds of sales reps. In the fourth quarter, the company hired 265 new sales reps, giving the company a sales team of more than 400, CEO John Thero said. Thero noted that is a label expansion is granted by the FDA, “revenues will increase at least 50 percent over what we did in the prior year, which would give us revenues of approximate $350 million in 2019.”

Government Woes – As the partial government shutdown in the United States continues into its third week, biotech leaders at JPM raised concern as the FDA’s carryover funds are dwindling. With no new funding coming in, reviews of New Drug Applications won’t be able to continue past February, Pink Sheet said. While reviews are currently ongoing, no New Drug Applications are being accepted by the FDA at this time. With the halt of NDA applications, that has also caused some companies to delay plans for an initial public offering. It’s hard to raise potential investor excitement without the regulatory support of a potential drug approval. During a panel discussion, Jonathan Leff, a partner at Deerfield Management, noted that the ongoing government shutdown is a reminder of how “overwhelmingly dependent the whole industry of biotech and drug development is on government,” Pink Sheet said.

37th Annual J.P. Morgan HEALTHCARE CONFERENCE: News at #JPM2019 for Jan. 8, 2019: Deals and Announcements

Posted in BioIT: BioInformatics, Biological Engineering, BioTechnology - Venture Creation, BioTechnology - Venture Creation, Venture Capital, Cancer - General, Cancer Genomics, Conference Coverage with Social Media, Global Partnering & Biotech Investment, Institutional Capital Raised by Female Founders, Pharmaceutical R&D Investment, Venture Capital, tagged #biotech, #JPM2019, @Biotech News, anti-cancer therapeutics, bioinvestment, Biotech Investment and Venture Growth: The Franchising of Intellectual Property as a Business Model, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Business News JP Morgan Healthcare Conference Adaptive Biotechnologies Counsyl Danaher Human Longevity JP Morgan Qiagen Thermo Fisher Scientific, cancer therapeutics, CART therapy, Conference Coverage with Social Media, Eli Lilly and Company, FDA, JP Morgan on January 9, 2019| Leave a Comment »

37th Annual J.P. Morgan HEALTHCARE CONFERENCE: News at #JPM2019 for Jan. 8, 2019: Deals and Announcements

Reporter: Stephen J. Williams, Ph.D.

From Biospace.com

JP Morgan Healthcare Conference Update: FDA, bluebird, Moderna and the Price of Coffee

Published: Jan 09, 2019 By Mark Terry at https://www.biospace.com/article/jp-morgan-update-scott-gottlieb-bluebird-bio-eli-lilly-coffee-prices-and-more-by-mark-terry/?s=63

Tuesday, January 8, was another busy day in San Francisco for the JP Morgan Healthcare Conference. One interesting sideline was the idea that the current government shutdown could complicate some deals. Kent Thiry, chief executive officer of dialysis provider DaVita, who is working on the sale of its medical group to UnitedHealth Group this quarter, said, “We couldn’t guarantee that even if the government wasn’t shut down, but we and the buyer are both working toward that goal with the same intensity if not more.”

And in a slightly amusing bit of synchrony, U.S.Food and Drug Administration (FDA)Commissioner Scott Gottlieb’s keynote address that was delivered by way of video conference from Washington, D.C., had his audio cut out in the middle of the presentation. Gottlieb was talking about teen nicotine use and continued talking, unaware that his audio had shut off for 30 seconds. When it reconnected, the sound quality was reportedly poor.

bluebird bio’s chief executive officer, Nick Leschly, gave an update of his company’s pipeline, with a particular emphasis on a proposed payment model for its upcoming LentiGlobin, a gene therapy being evaluated for transfusion-dependent ß-thalassemia (TDT). The gene therapy is expected to be approved in Europe this year and in the U.S. in 2020. Although the price hasn’t been set, figures up to $2.1 million per treatment have been floated. Bluebird is proposing a five-year payment program, a pledge to not raise prices above CPI, and no costs after the payment period.

Eli Lilly’s chief executive officer David Ricks, just days after acquiring Loxo Oncology, offered up projections for this year, noting that 45 percent of its revenue will be created by drugs launched in 2015. Those include Trulicity, Taltz and Verzenio. The company also expects to launch two new molecular entities this year—nasal glucagons, a rescue medicine for high blood sugar (hyperglycemia), and Lasmiditan, a rescue drug for migraine headaches.

CNBC’s Jim Cramer interviewed Allergan chief executive officer Brent Saunders, in particular discussing the fact the company’s shares traded in 2015 for $331.15 but were now trading for $145.60. Cramer noted that the company’s internal fundamentals were strong, with multiple pipeline assets and a strong leadership team. Some of the stock problems are related to what Saunders said were “unforced errors,” including intellectual property rights to Restasis, its dry-eye drug, and Allergan’s dubious scheme to protect those patents by transferring the rights to the Saint Regis Mohawk Tribe in New York. On the positive side, the company’s medical aesthetics portfolio, dominated by Botox, is very strong and the overall market is expected to double.

One of the big areas of conversation is so-called “flyover tech.” Biopharma startups are dominant in Boston and in San Francisco, but suddenly venture capital investors have realized there’s a lot going on in between. New York City-based Radian Capital, for example, invests exclusively in markets outside major U.S. cities.

“At Radian, we partner with entrepreneurs who have built their businesses with a focus on strong economics rather than growth at all costs,” Aly Lovett, partner at Radian, told The Observer. “Historically, given the amount of money required to stand up a product, the software knowledge base, and coastal access to capital, health start-ups were concentrated in a handful of cities. As those dynamics have inverted and as the quality of living becomes a more important factor in attracting talent, we’re not seeing a significant increase in the number of amazing companies being built outside of the Bay Area.”

“Flyover companies” mentioned include Bind in Minneapolis, Minnesota; Solera Health in Phoenix, Arizona; ClearDATA in Austin, Texas; Healthe, in Eden Prairie, Minnesota; HistoSonics in Ann Arbor, Michigan; and many others.

Only a month after its record-breaking IPO, Moderna Therapeutics’ chief executive officer Stephane Bancel, spent time both updating the company’s clinical pipeline and justifying the company’s value despite the stock dropping off 26 percent since the IPO. Although one clinical program, a Zika vaccine, mRNA-1325, has been abandoned, the company has three new drugs coming into the clinic: mRNA-2752 for solid tumors or lymphoma; mRNA-4157, a Personalized Cancer Vaccine with Merck; and mRNA-5671, a KRAS cancer vaccine. The company also submitted an IND amendment to the FDA to add an ovarian cancer cohort to its mRNA-2416 program.

One interesting bit of trivia, supplied on Twitter by Rasu Shrestha, chief innovation officer for the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, this year at the conference, 33 female chief executive officers were presenting corporate updates … compared to 19 men named Michael. Well, it’s a start.

And for another bit of trivia, Elisabeth Bik, of Microbiome Digest, tweeted, “San Francisco prices are so out of control that one hotel is charging the equivalent of $21.25 for a cup of coffee during a JPMorgan conference.”

37th Annual J.P. Morgan HEALTHCARE CONFERENCE: #JPM2019 for Jan. 8, 2019; Opening Videos, Novartis expands Cell Therapies, January 7 – 10, 2019, Westin St. Francis Hotel | San Francisco, California

Posted in BioIT: BioInformatics, Conference Coverage with Social Media, Digital HealthCare – biotech & internet joint ventures, Pharmaceutical Industry Competitive Intelligence, Pharmaceutical R&D Informatics, Pharmaceutical R&D Investment, Uncategorized, Venture Capital, tagged #JPM2019, Business News JP Morgan Healthcare Conference Adaptive Biotechnologies Counsyl Danaher Human Longevity JP Morgan Qiagen Thermo Fisher Scientific, Cell therapy, healthcare, healthcare innovation, Mergers and acquisitions, novartis on January 8, 2019| Leave a Comment »

Reporter: Stephen J. Williams, PhD

The annual J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference is the largest and most informative healthcare investment symposium in the industry, bringing together industry leaders, emerging fast-growth companies, innovative technology creators, and members of the investment community.

Joe Biden on the Fight Against Cancer

Former Vice President of the United States joined the J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference to discuss cancer initiatives.

Watch Video

Bill Gates on the Current State of Global Health

In his keynote address at the annual J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference, Bill Gates spoke about the state of healthcare around the world.

Watch Video

Anne Wojcicki on Disrupting the Healthcare Industry

The CEO of 23andMe discusses at the J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference how her genomics company is activating the power of the consumer.

Watch Video

FierceBiotech Retweeted

Dan Budwick‏@DanBudwick15 minutes ago

More

Another packed house as panel including @bmsnews $BMY Saurabh Saha, @gritstoneonc $GRTS @AAllenMDPhD & @ThirdRockV Alexis Borisy discuss the rewiring of R&D for the digital age at @FierceBiotech Exec Bfast #JPM19

Novartis Talks Move to Cell and Gene Therapies at JPM

Published: Jan 08, 2019 By Alex Keown from Biospace.com

^Denis^Linine^{/ Shutterstock}

Following a strong post-hoc analysis of mid-stage data in the fall of 2018, Novartis announced this morning the company’s experimental humanized anti-P-selectin monoclonal antibody was crizanlizumab granted Breakthrough Therapy Status by the U.S.Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

Crizanlizumab received the designation as a treatment for the prevention of vaso-occlusive crises (VOCs) in patients of all genotypes with sickle cell disease (SCD). VOCs, which can be extremely painful for patients, happen when multiple blood cells stick to each other and to blood vessels, causing blockages.

The designation was awarded following results from the Phase II SUSTAIN trial, which showed that crizanlizumab reduced the median annual rate of VOCs leading to health care visits by 45.3 percent compared to placebo. The SUSTAIN study also showed that crizanlizumab significantly increased the percentage of patients who did not experience any VOCs vs placebo, 35.8 percent vs. 16.9 percent.

The FDA designation came one day after the Swiss pharma giant laid out its map for a future of success, sustainability and, if things work out, respect from consumers. In an interview with CNBC Monday, Novartis Chief Executive Officer Vas Narasimhan noted that the company is looking to become an entity that doesn’t draw its profits from treating disease, but will make money by providing cures. He pointed to the moves Novartis has made toward gene and cellular therapies that have the potential to cure patients of various diseases in what many researchers hope could be a “one-and-done” treatment. Narasimhan told CNBC that cures are what society wants and that is something they will value. The challenge will be determining the payment system.

As an example, the company is eying potential approval of a gene therapy for spinal muscular atrophy (SMA), a fatal genetic disease marked by progressive, debilitating muscle weakness in infants and toddlers. Novartis’ gene therapy Zolgensma is expected to be approved by the FDA this year and could have a price tag of between $4 and $5 million. While significantly high, non-profit SMA groups have already suggested that the gene therapy treatment could be more cost-effective than Spinraza, the only approved SMA treatment on the market.

During its presentation at J.P. Morgan, Novartis pointed to the moves it has made as the company pivots to this future of gene and cell therapies. The presentation noted that over the course of 2018, the company made several deals to sell off non-essential businesses, such as the $13 billion sale of its share of a consumer health business to partner GlaxoSmithKline. Not only that, but Novartis also made significant acquisitions to reshape its portfolio, including the $8.7 billion acquisition of AveXis for the SMA gene therapy. The deal for AveXis wasn’t the only gene therapy deal the company struck. Novartis began 2018 with a deal for Spark Therapeutics’ gene therapy Luxturna, a one-time gene therapy to restore functional vision in children and adult patients with biallelic mutations of the RPE65 (retinal pigment epithelial 65 kDa protein) gene.