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Leveraging Biotech Ecosystems to Build Biomedical Startups
Kelvin S. L. Chan, PhD 7 Oct 2016 HATCH!
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Overview Overview of biotech ecosystems of San Diego and Singapore
Three challenges San Diego and Singapore ecosystems faced Startup Pentagon: Five essential elements of a biomedical startup
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Background 2006 BA (Hons) Natural Sciences University of Cambridge, UK 2009 Researcher – drug discovery A*STAR Institute of Chemical and Engineering Sciences, Singapore 2010 PhD (Organic Chemistry) The Scripps Research Institute, California 2014 Springboard Fellow CONNECT San Diego (business accelerator) Advisor PureWick (medical device startup) 2015 Managing Director Celsius Global Research Fellow – radiopharmaceuticals A*STAR Singapore Bioimaging Consortium, Singapore 2016 Mentor GBR GapSummit and SLoT forum
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The biotech ecosystems of San Diego and Singapore
San Diego’s biotech beginnings Early successes in R&D knowledge capital 1978 Ivor Royston founded Hybritech to use monoclonal antibodies to diagnose and treat disease No venture capitalists in SD at that time: supported by KPCB (San Francisco) Hybritech bought out by Lilly and fueled entrepreneurial growth
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The biotech ecosystems of San Diego and Singapore
San Diego now* 3rd largest biotech hub in the world R&D provided US$14b in annual economic impact 34,000 employees, 1100 companies (82 new in 2015) > 80 research institutions producing > 7000 STEM graduates annually Venture capital investment totaled US$620m for 45 deals Angel financing totaled US$28m in 53 companies *2015 data
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The biotech ecosystems of San Diego and Singapore
Singapore’s growth as a regional hub 2000 Biomedical Sciences Initiative – EDB, EDBI, A*STAR Phase 1 ( ): Building a Strong Foundation Physical infrastructure for basic science capabilities Establish critical mass of research talent – renowned scientists, and local talent Phase 2 ( ): Building up Singapore’s Translational & Clinical Research Research areas were chosen by relevance to Singapore’s healthcare challenges Developing MedTech industry in Singapore Phase 3 ( ): Integrating for Greater Economic and Health Impact Industry engagements focusing on economic outcomes Sector focus – Pharmabio, MedTech, personal care, nutrition
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The biotech ecosystems of San Diego and Singapore
Regional R&D and manufacturing hub 5% of national GDP RIE2020 (Phase 4 of BMS Initiative) commits US$14b to R&D, 20% spent on HBMS Chosen 5 therapeutic areas; diversification beyond MedTech, focus on health services research > 50 companies, 30 research institutes. Employs 5000 in R&D and 14,000 in manufacturing* Venture funding Early Stage Venture Fund (ESVF) totaled US$110m in last 8 years (not all for biotech) *2010 data
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Three challenges SD and SG ecosystems faced
1. Remoteness San Diego was geographically distant Surrounded by deserts, ocean, and neighboring country Remote from center of federal and state government Blank slate meant that there was freedom to operate Singapore was similarly remote pre-2000 Few biomedical partners locally and regionally then Globalization and vast improvements in telecommunications now allow and even enhance borderless partnerships
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Three challenges SD and SG ecosystems faced
2. Government support San Diego had no masterplan on how to develop the city’s economy Technological advances for the military spunout unicorns such as Qualcomm Today 24% of the county is still employed by defense spending Government later increased spending on fundamental biomedical research, and on infrastructure – which later led to formation of Hybritech San Diego still needs to lobby for support – organizations like Biocom continue to play a role in Washington D.C. Singapore’s biomedical hub was meticulously planned
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Three challenges SD and SG ecosystems faced
3. Private funding San Diego has substantial VC funding – US$620m in 2015 However, most funds come from outside San Diego (e.g., San Francisco Bay, Boston), especially after 2008 Number of local VCs is not always indicative of ability to start a biomedical startup Singapore’s funding is largely from government support and grants Lightstone Ventures has set up a US$50m fund for Singapore biomedical startups
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Five essential elements of a biomedical startup
Startup Pentagon Huge unmet need Innovative Business Model Disruptive technology Appropriate Funding Right People
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Five essential elements of a biomedical startup
1) Huge unmet need Innovative Business Model Disruptive technology Appropriate Funding Right People Find the NEED Can be in any aspect of the pipeline Must be a NEED vs a WANT Who are the people who will benefit from this problem being solved? e.g., in Singapore – ageing, robotics
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Five essential elements of a biomedical startup
Huge unmet need Innovative Business Model 2) Disruptive technology Appropriate Funding Right People R&D to build the product that will SOLVE the need What latent technology can you repurpose? Diversity of economy = convergence of sectors e.g., San Diego’s healthcare + IT = wireless health
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Five essential elements of a biomedical startup
Huge unmet need Innovative Business Model Disruptive technology Appropriate Funding 3) Right People Form a ‘A’ team with international gravitas Both as co-founders, and advisors Networking nodes are borderless Intermediaries Accelerators (CONNECT San Diego), incubators (Y Combinator, HATCH!); or Highly networked individuals
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Five essential elements of a biomedical startup
Huge unmet need Innovative Business Model Disruptive technology 4) Appropriate Funding Right People Early seed: grants, or competitions – e.g., OneStart Biomedical seed ~ US$1m vs other startup seed ~$100k (10x difference) Smart $: sophisticated VCs preferred this is important in biomedical sciences because timeline is longer Use mentors and advisors (“3. Right People”), and intermediaries to search globally Private VCs may be geography-agnostic
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Five essential elements of a biomedical startup
Huge unmet need 5) Innovative Business Model Disruptive technology Appropriate Funding Right People e.g., virtual drug discovery company Use distributed partnerships vs vertically integrated business model Do not need full function and service to get to a commercializable stage Use Contract organizations Use Partnerships
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Innovative Business Model
Conclusion Globalization = Network, leverage people beyond your shores Startup Pentagon Huge unmet need Innovative Business Model Disruptive technology Appropriate Funding Right People
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Kelvin S. L. Chan, Ph.D. kelvinchan@celsiusglobal.com @CelsiusChan
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