Biotech Companies Overcoming Myths that affect Investors

Pitching to potential Investors is an art, especially when unfamiliar with the life sciences area or with preconceived notions about pandemic-focused businesses. However, during a recent webinar hosted by Johnson & Johnson Innovation and the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority, Peter Adams, executive director, and Dave Harris, director of operations at Rockies Venture Club (the oldest angel investment group in the United States), debunked those myths and offered strategies to combat them (BARDA).

Long exit durations and a large amount of cash are valid in some circumstances. Still, most of the time, the exit happens when the FDA approves an Investigational New Drug (IND) application or after Phase I or Phase II studies. Medical gadgets have shorter timescales and require less cash, according to Adams. The possibility of early-stage Investors being suffocated and pushed to accept unfavorable terms is accurate but not unavoidable. To address these challenges, biotech CEOs must think through their financial requirements and deadlines in great depth.

“We look through a’venturenomics’ lens,” Adams stated of the Rockies Venture Club. “We focus on how companies can generate a return through a great exit.” He said that vaccine, therapy, and diagnostic companies working on the COVID-19 pandemic face an extra set of falsehoods. The truth is that the interval between pandemics is shrinking. For example, the Spanish flu pandemic struck the twentieth century from 1918 to 1920, with no other pandemics occurring until the 1957-1958 flu pandemic, which originated in East Asia.

Last year, the United Nations estimated 1.7 unknown viruses in animals and birds, with roughly half of those capable of infecting humans. With global human mobility rising, the potential for any sickness to spread fast worldwide is heightened. However, many of the technologies developed to detect and treat the SARS-CoV-2 virus can be used to tackle other diseases.