Insights and full recording from our recent Southeast Life Science investor panel and webinar

On Tuesday, April 13, Southeast Life Sciences convened a panel of industry leading medtech and life science investors to discuss how activities have shifted and what the mid-long term ramifications will mean to early stage innovators. 

Bob Crutchfield moderated the discussion including insights from:

Gerry Brunk of Lumira Ventures, Joe Cook III of Mountain Group Partners and Kyparissia Sirinakis of Epidarex Capital.

A few of the top takeaways included:

  • There are, and will continue to be, significant disruptions in GLP preclinical work required to achieve an IND or entry into clinical trials. 
  • New medical technologies with ‘capex’ implications for hospital budgets will be at a significant funding and commercialization disadvantage for at least 12 to 24 months.
  • Telehealth and remote monitoring should be poised well for structural changes including adoption and reimbursement.
  • High net worth family offices have plenty of capital to invest. They will ‘lean in’ on increasing stakes in existing investments and in sectors or stages least likely to be impacted. The telehealth genie, for example, will not likely go ‘back into its lamp.’ Opportunity: What is going to really make it sing? 
  • Innovators need to adjust timelines to reflect new realities and resources required. Runway extension is the current name of the game, especially for technologies requiring clinical studies. Break up your pathway into ‘bite size’ milestones and discontinue using any pre-COVID-19 valuation and structure analogs.
  • Keep the conversation going. Investors are now considering technologies they may have passed on previously. They are continuing to do their due diligence. Many are focused more highly on solutions so transformative on patient benefit and cost reduction than they ever have been before. Early stage companies’ funding rounds will take longer, but great companies will always find funding.
  • The translational aspect of new medtech and life science innovations needs to be stronger than ever before.

We encourage everyone, especially early stage medtech and life science companies, to give the full session a watch or listen HERE.

Paycheck Protection Program Starts today – April 3, 2020

Today the Treasury Department is launching the Payment Protection Program that was created as part of the CARES Act. The program authorizes up to $349 billion in forgivable loans, up to $10M per company, to small businesses to pay their employees during the COVID-19 crisis.

The program is intended to be a simple process that will be implemented through your banks. Below is more for your review.

SBA overview of the program
More Information

Find eligible lenders
More Information

Dept of Treasury Fact Sheet
More Information

 Application
The application process is meant to be easy – fill in the application and take it to your bank.
Application Link

Venture-backed companies
 Uncertainty remains whether venture-backed companies would be eligible for the program, however there is a commitment from Congress and the Treasury Department to fix this problem. Due to the “affiliation rule” that was intended for companies owned by private equity, there is concern that venture-backed companies would not be eligible for the program. According to senior leaders in Congress, this has been or will be clarified by the Department of Treasury and venture-backed companies will be eligible.
Read More

If you would like more information, the Washington Post has a comprehensive FAQ to the program. Unlike most Washington Post articles, this is not restricted behind a paywall.
Read More

 

Apply for SE PitchRounds

The inaugural AdvanSE Life Sciences Conference is May 26 – 28, 2020, in Isle of Palms, SC. A highlight of the event is SE PitchRounds, our small company program.
We are looking for the best companies in the southeast in biopharma, medical devices, digital health, and diagnostics to present during the conference.
The deadline to apply is April 10. We accept applications from companies at any stage – from an idea on a napkin to profitable companies looking for expansion capital. Companies selected for PitchRounds will receive benefits including:
  • Two significantly discounted (more than 25%) off early-bird registration
  • In-depth workshops on topics such as Go-To-Market, Valuation, and Persuasive Pitch coaching
  • Mentoring with a team of investors, entrepreneurs, regulatory and reimbursement professionals, etc.
  • And more!
For more information or to apply, follow the links below.
MORE INFORMATION
APPLY FOR PITCHROUNDS

Southeastern Medical Device Association and Southeast BIO Merge to Form Southeast Life Sciences

Southeastern Medical Device Association and Southeast BIO Merge to Form Southeast Life Sciences

Atlanta – February 20, 2020 – Representatives from the Southeastern Medical Device Association (SEMDA) and Southeast BIO (SEBIO) have announced that the two organizations have officially merged to form Southeast Life Sciences. The merger provides a single platform for medtech and bioscience innovation, partnering and investor relations in the region.

“The convergence of medical technologies, including devices, with bioscience technologies including drugs, data, digital and combination products necessitates the convergence of these entities,” former SEMDA Executive Director and now Southeast Life Science Executive Director Jason Rupp says. “In order to respond to the combined needs of stakeholders in both ecosystems, the time has arrived for SEBIO and SEMDA to come together under one roof.”

Combining individuals, corporations, universities and other entities in one regional industry organization mitigates “death by one thousand conferences,” ensuring more efficient use of time and resources, Rupp says.

New technologies like nanoparticles and microneedles for drug delivery coming out of the Wallace H. Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering, a joint program of Emory University and Georgia Tech, are tangible examples of the potential for innovation when multiple scientific disciplines connect.

“With the advent of devices like Cardiomems that blend device with data and devices that deliver pharmaceutical therapies, close connectivity between medical device and bioscience innovators is advantageous to regional stakeholders, especially investors,” Rupp says.

“Because clients span the entirety of medtech innovation including devices, pharmaceutical therapies and combination devices, many companies like ours needed to support both organizations,” says former SEMDA Chair Tiffany Wilson, CEO of the Global Center for Medical Innovation (GCMI). “Financially, this meant telling them, ‘We have this amount of funding support for you. You have to figure out how to divvy it up.’ While both SEBIO and SEMDA flagship conferences had value, bringing them under the same roof brings connectivity, educational and financial efficiency gains for all concerned that should lift medtech and life science innovation and investment across the board.”

The inaugural ADVANSE Life Science Conference, Southeast Life Science’s flagship event will be May 28-29, 2020 in Charleston, SC. Organizers expect to convene more than 500 attendees, including a significant number of investors, highlighting innovations from 50 early stage medtech and bioscience companies over the two-day conference.

David Day, Executive Director of Southeast BIO, added, “Southeast BIO and SEMDA have been operating as sister organizations for medtech and life science stakeholders in the southeast. The resulting merger will provide a critical mass of innovation that will be more than the sum of its parts.”

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Contact
Jason Rupp
Executive Director, Southeast Life Sciences
jrupp@semda.net