Giant Health 24

Panel session: Transitioning from Healthcare & Life Sciences to the commercial ecosystem

Charlotte Roberts (Chair), Lotus Qi, Veronica Gray, Nara Daubeney

The current model of innovation relies on pharma scouring biotech for great research and technologies instead of investing in innovation in-house. About 20 years ago 80% of innovation came from pharma, but that figure has essentially reversed now as biotechs have the agility to take the risks that aren’t feasible for pharma. However, they can struggle at later stages to bring their tech to market, which is where commercial guidance from pharma is crucial. Relationships in life science are vital, and pharma relies on a vibrant biotech ecosystem.

Translating research from academia to industry is challenging because of:

  1. The lack of expertise at universities for emerging tech
  2. Difficulty in acquiring funding from VCs and equity investors at the early stages
  3. The mindset that technologies need to be novel rather than commercially appealing – getting good ideas is tough because what a researcher might think of as interesting is not always commercially viable.

To demonstrate value to different stakeholders you need to have conviction and confidence in your idea but be flexible to feedback. You need to be very clear, concise, and transparent about your story to communicate that value effectively to various stakeholders:

  • Initially you have to tell a good story to collaborators to get them on board with your idea
  • As the story goes on, you need to build on your messaging to demonstrate financial value for investors
  • Then you need to convince clinicians (who can be stubborn) and payers that your technology is going to make a worthwhile impact to patients
  • You’ll also need to interact with patients via patient advocacy groups to discuss their pain points and refine your tech

Pitching – When doing your pitch deck, listen to the feedback you get but also understand you can’t please everyone. Try and find someone who can be a sound mentor. Finally, practice, practice, practice! In your pitch you should communicate:

  • The problem
  • Your solution and your USP
  • The benefits your solution will bring
  • The market
  • The expected impact of your solution
  • Your funding ask and what you’re going to do with it
  • The risks

Audience questions:

Q. The NHS is one of the most difficult markets to get into. How do you approach the NHS with your new tech/solution?

The NHS can be helpful for early trials, but at later stages it’s not easy to access. You need to find the innovators in the NHS to champion your tech. It’s also best to break it down to smaller scales as the NHS isn’t one big entity, but rather a conglomerate of many different organisations. If you’re developing something that isn’t a therapeutic (which has a well-defined pathway to the NHS), you could show proof-of-concept on the ground between individual trusts before looking for wider adoption.

Q. Quality can be a stumbling block as investors dig into data packages. Do you think there should be more training after you’ve done your pitch for things like the preparation of work packages?

Yes. There are set formats for data packages and data presentation that investors/pharma prefer, so people should know about it. Generally speaking, there’s not enough conversations between pharma/investors and innovators.

Q. How do you choose the right people as a young business?

You need to really know and refine what it is you want to kick off and map it out. You should also find a mentor who’s done this type of thing before, and work with people who are willing to take the arduous journey with you.

My thoughts:

This session touched on so many aspects of commercialisation in life science in such a small amount of time! There was the universal recognition that it is tough to get into the NHS balanced with some helpful tips on how to approach it. There were also lots of practical tips around pitching, and the panel emphasised the importance of tailoring your story to different stakeholders to demonstrate the value of your technology/service.

Innovation in Action: Spotlight on Breakthrough Pitches

A word from former cohorts – Alicia Showering (BugBiome), Lexie Minter (Minter Hormone Health) Simon Carty (Amino)

How does a founder divvy up their time between business and accelerator programmes? – When you have limited resources it’s useful to have a programme that can visualise a research strategy, stress test ideas, and reveal blind spots to help you raise money and commercialise your tech.

Pitches from this year’s Discovery Spark programme

Ask Joan – Katie Longhurst

An app to help domestic abuse victims escape dangerous situations. The app uses a data analytics platform to monitor electricity use via smart meters in the home and detect any unusual use of household appliances. These surges of activity activate a panic button that can help victims escape the situation they’re in.

SmileScaff – Linh Nguyen

Dental medical devices to help patients recover faster from tooth surgery. The engineered scaffolds reduce recovery times from 3 months to 1.5 months, allowing follow-on surgeries to happen quicker.

RS&RS Scientific – Rugi Safari

Inhalable gene therapy for lung cancer treatment. It allows direct application of the therapy to the lung to reduce the side effects of treatment, with an aim of using sustainable materials and delivering a temperature stable therapy to enable widespread access to the treatment.

Pelvity – Rebecca Hyman, Naomi Hyman

Personalised pelvic health support via an app. The app will deliver pelvic health physiotherapy, nutritional support and health programs using validated outcome measures.

My thoughts:

It was great to see some of the newest cohort from the Discovery Spark programme pitch their ideas to an audience of over 100 people. All the founders did a great job, and a big congratulations to Katie Longhurst who won the pitching competition for her company Ask Joan! She powerfully drew on her own experiences during her pitch to emphasise the need for the app, and effectively demonstrated how her tech can help the victims of domestic abuse alongside a clear funding ask and route to market. Well done Katie!

Panel session: Navigating Investment: Insights, Funding Strategies, and Top Tips for Healthcare and Life Science Commercialisation

Michael Thomas (Chair), Kristina Pereckaite, Fred Basset, Filippo Falaschi

What things are attractive to investors right now? Using AI for Healthcare applications is a big deal right now. Although some investors are dubious, companies not using some form of AI will fall behind. Companies bringing value to the NHS are also ticking investors’ boxes. A counter trend is businesses that are repurposing existing technology to add value.

Mapping out strong milestones in your pitch is key to engaging investors. Be authentic and prepared in your pitch. 9 times out of 10 the questions you’ll be asked are highly predictable, so find programmes or accelerators that can help you prepare.

The main thing that changes between series A and series B fundraising for UK companies is the ability to generate traction. Many companies make the move to the US during this time to bridge the traction gap.

The networks that funders bring are really valuable and something to look out for when choosing an investor. You can get a sense of that and whether they’re willing to bring that network in when you talk to them, so test investors just like they’re testing you.

Audience questions:

Q. Are appetites for risk higher in the US?

In a word, yes. If you’re delivering value to the consumer there will be economic value, but it is all about the risk appetite of an investor. Early-stage capital is relatively easy to get in the UK, but funding for later stage companies, not so much.

Q. There is a catch-22 situation between needing to prove a concept and finding the funding to do it. How do you break the cycle?

The UK grant funding landscape is good for early-stage companies, and some funders will match fund grants. Investors also invest in people, so if you have strong validated support (e.g., a good board), you’re more likely to get funding even if you’re solo. Investors aren’t all the same, so approach lots of people until you find someone that is interested in what you’re doing. A key thing is being able to communicate what your vision is – if you can do that you can get funding even if you don’t have a strong data set.

Q. Top tips for attracting VCs?

Clearly articulate what you’re trying to achieve, what your value add is, and what sets you apart.

Q. Is there a role for investors to work with the NHS to speed up innovation?

Some investors have experience working with the NHS and have helped guide it to innovative companies. The harder thing is progressing a project past the pilot stage, and there is a realisation in the industry of the value of NHS collaborations. The only practical way to get an innovation into the NHS is to get the NHS to sell to itself (through accelerators or having organisations within it champion the product).

Q. How do you value your company as an early-stage company?

Start with how much money you need and how much of your business you can give away (at early-stage is should be no more than 30%). Good investors won’t want to take too much of your business because they want you to build the company and develop the technology. As an investor you’re buying into an idea and future growth.

Q. What’s the best way to pitch to angel investor syndicates?

Generally, you should apply through the route that syndicates prefer (but having referrals are valuable). If you’re using email to submit your pitch, try and get your headline to be engaging and know what the investor’s criteria is. For SE Angels they require everyone to go through their form to level the playing field. Pitches are reviewed for clarity, experience, and 10x scalability. Per month, SE angels:

  • Review 70 applications at the initial stage
  • Progress 35 applications and engage founders
  • Internally score the applications looking at people and pitches
  • Present a small list to members and refine the list
  • Present 4 applications to investors

Q. How do angel investors do due diligence?

Due diligence from angel investors is much lighter than VCs. They talk to potential customers of the application and experts in different areas to interrogate the idea. There’s no one person to follow up claims in application. For angels, it’s a personal thing to back deals as well as a business proposition. For VCs it’s more about areas they want to invest in, how much money they want to invest, and what return they want to see.

Q. How important is it for a start-up to have a marketing strategy?

You need to look professional, but investors aren’t concerned about start-ups having a formal marketing strategy. However, you do need to show a basic understanding of marketing principles in your deck, as it’s essential for communicating your value proposition and telling your story.

My thoughts

This was the most interactive and engaged session of the day. There was lots of time for questions, and it clearly wasn’t enough as the investors had queues of people waiting for them afterwards! They gave some really useful, practical tips when looking for funding from VCs and angel investors. I also loved the emphasis on the importance for start-ups to understand the basics of marketing so that they can communicate their proposition to investors (something that Mowbi is championing with our Scrappy Marketing guide).

Final thoughts:

It was an invigorating day at the Innovation, Investment, and Impact Show at GIANT Health 2024, meeting lots of founders with brilliant ideas that could impact many areas of healthcare. The sessions gave plenty of time for audience engagement, and the whole day showcased the work that Discovery Park is doing to foster innovation in life science outside of the golden triangle in Kent.