Dorothy Lou Bailey

“What is an engineering way to de-risk the possibility of reaching that type of prototype in the shortest amount of time possible?” I love the way Meliora Therapeutics CEO, David Li, thinks about this stuff, and Part 3 of my conversation with him for The Biotech Startups Podcast is an incredible deep dive into the combination of engineering, finance, and life sciences principles that are critical for bringing paradigm-shifting biotech solutions to market: – De-risking the “rifle shot” of biotech development, learning new business cadences, and learning to balance caution and urgency – Leveraging existing infrastructure, iterate quickly, and finding ways to run parallel experiments to accelerate prototypes and pre-clinical testing – Learning how to “make a call” when there’s endless experiments you could run… and a lack of concrete benchmarks for what an endpoint looks like – Rewiring beliefs around raising capital as a biotech vs software startup, and the critical importance of building (and flexing) your storytelling muscles, so you can do all of the above effectively It’s another don’t-miss episode, packed with multi-disciplinary learnings that traditionally, just don’t get enough airtime in biotech. Apple Podcasts & Spotify links in the comments below! 👇🏽 #biotechnology #lifesciences #podcast

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Squire Servance founded Syridex Bio, a #healthequity VC fund that invests in therapeutics that address health disparities to drive positive social change. Check out this excellent podcast hosted by Christian Soschner to learn more! 🚀 Investing with Impact: Squire Servance on Health Equity & Venture Capital - proving that profitability and purpose can coexist. 🎙️ What's in the Episode: 1️⃣ Investing in Overlooked Markets: Learn how health disparities create massive untapped opportunities for innovation and investment. 2️⃣ The Power of Diversity: Squire Servance explains why investing in diverse founders and solutions yields better outcomes for both society and investors. 3️⃣ Data-Driven Impact: Discover how Servance evaluates companies to ensure they drive both health equity progress and financial returns. 📌 Quotes: (00:08:10) "The love just kind of grew, grew from there." (00:39:02) "Accelerating health equity, while generating returns, transforms lives and society." (00:57:45) "You can do good and do well by directing capitalism towards health equity." (01:17:35) "We're leaving money on the table by not investing in diverse founders." (01:25:46) "Everyone has blind spots; that's why diverse teams perform better." (01:45:29) "There's no shortcut for success."

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If you're an emerging company looking for expansion or getting started out, make sure to register for this webinar next week. September 10, 2024 10am PT / 1pm ET From Funding to Footprint Finding the right lab space to grow your company https://lnkd.in/g5XiA-Ke In this webinar, learn the latest real estate trends and current market conditions while gaining insights from investors, promising start-ups and real estate professionals on the best approach to finding the right space for your company and considerations for planning for growth.

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"Be open to new possibilities and don't be scared to take that leap of faith. Things will work out. Whatever it is, they have a way of working out, I think, for the best." In Part 4 of The Biotech Startups Podcast, I spoke with Kate Neville, Partner at Marshall, Gerstein & Borun LLP, about embracing change and taking calculated risks in your career journey, from the lab bench to becoming a successful patent attorney. Some highlights from our conversation below: – The delicate balance between patent enforcement and business strategy in biotech ⚖️ – How startups can navigate tech transfer and build upon existing intellectual property ⛵️ 📝 – The importance of bringing in objective outside perspectives when commercializing scientific discoveries 👁️ – Finding opportunities in shelved compounds and abandoned patents from big pharma ♻️ – The value of diverse perspectives and backgrounds in building successful organizations 🌐 Such an enlightening and inspiring conversation about taking leaps of faith in your career while maintaining a strategic approach to intellectual property in biotech! Kate's success story, supported by numerous partners at the firm and friends who helped her navigate challenging times, shows how embracing new possibilities can lead to remarkable career transitions. She also expressed gratitude for the support of her husband and many mentors, including Stephen Miller from her graduate school days at Northwestern University. Apple Podcasts & Spotify links in the comments below👇🏽 #biotechnology #lifesciences #podcast

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We end every episode of The Biotech Startups Podcast by asking if there’s anyone our guest would like to thank. Without fail, they thank their families – Mom, Dad, grandparents, spouses, partners. Often, there are shoutouts to early mentors, advisors, or colleagues as well. What all those people have in common, is that they’re the ones who believed in them and bet on them early. Whether it was family support during their formative years... Extraordinarily patient spouses/partners... Professors who said “Sure, come join my lab,” before they really knew a bunsen burner from a beaker… What we seem to attract in the life sciences, is a ton of good will, gratitude, and a willingness to pay it forward. I might be biased, but it always feels to me like we might have even more of that than any other industry. Maybe it’s the mission-minded nature of the life sciences. Maybe it’s something else. But it’s clear we’re extraordinarily lucky to have people willing to bet on us early and often. As far as pattern recognition goes, it’s one I’m happy to see again and again. #biotechnology #lifesciences #thebiotechstartupspodcast

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The FDA greenlighted one of our portfolio companies to move a novel antidepressant drug to Phase 2a clinical trial! I am excited to share important positive news from Freedom Biosciences, a San Francisco-based clinical-stage biotech we have invested in via LongeVC back in 2023. The company has just announced FDA approval of investigational new drug (IND) application for their FREE001 Phase 2a program in patients with treatment-resistant depression (TRD). Freedom Bio plans to initiate its Phase 2a clinical trial in the first half of this year, which has the potential to address a critical unmet medical need in patients suffering from TRD. FREE001 is a ketamine-based combination therapy for the treatment of TRD, which builds on John Krystal work in Yale University. He showed that the combination may extend the antidepressant effects of ketamine from 2-7 days up to 2 to 3 weeks. Major depressive disorder (MDD) is a debilitating and chronic condition with limited effective treatment options, and Freedom Bio tries to tackle its specific case, treatment-resistant depression, when a person diagnosed with MDD does not respond adequately to a course of appropriate antidepressant medication within a certain time frame. MDD is one of the most common mental health disorders in the United States (US), with an estimated 21.0 million adults (8.3% of all adults) having at least 1 major depressive episode in 2020 (link to statistics in the comments). MDD also impacts physical health, worsens outcomes of other medical conditions, and, on average, results in a 10-year reduction in life expectancy. I am inspired by the achievements of Dina Burkitbayeva and Freedom Bio’s team in this truly challenging and notoriously hard area of drug discovery! Way to go, folks. #neuroscience #drugdiscovery #FDA

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Startup growth is a marathon - no matter how much founders would like to sprint. If you’re a life sciences founder joining Innosphere Ventures’ incubator, here’s something to keep in mind: Your progress might not look like everyone else’s in your cohort, and that’s completely normal. The speed of your growth depends on a lot of factors - like your industry or how much time you can dedicate to your startup. For instance, founders juggling a full-time job outside their startup often don’t move as fast. And in life sciences, investor expectations and product timelines can add layers of complexity that ultimately slow down progress. While most founders are solid on their product, there are many more big hurdles to tackle: we measure 35+ other elements to achieve investor readiness, many of which are unfamiliar to founders entering the program. These steps - ranging from strategic planning to valuation - can feel alien to academic or expert founders who are deeply immersed in their field but new to the startup landscape. When those founders join our incubator, they might only progress half a stage in our 8-stage investor readiness framework during their entire time with us. This might not seem like much, but in the context of the entire startup journey, it’s a huge step in the right direction. After all, a half-step forward in six to nine months is incredible progress in what’s often a 10-year journey. Founders, remember: Your progress is your own, and it’s a reflection of the work you’re putting in - not just today, but for the future of your company.

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As AI shifts the focus in biotech from discovery to design, value will move up the stack. Companies leveraging AI in R&D will produce more safe, durable, and effective molecules over time. If you believe in this future, AI will make every chemist and wet lab biologist significantly more effective and efficient, and differentiation at the frontier will come from superior skills in clinical indication selection and clinical trial design.

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Biotech is Africa’s next leapfrogging opportunity and more pioneering science entrepreneurs are getting involved. Drug discovery using African genomic data, given its richness, means more effective medicines for Africans and humanity. How we harness insights from African genomic data, while ensuring intelligent safekeeping of the IP on the continent, will shape the future of global healthcare.

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Had to miss today's #BiotechHangout but will be listening on X to make sure that I don't miss the thoughtful discussion and insights shared earlier. I invite you to do the same ICYMI.

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More potent AAV... Great to see the public launch of Latus Bio from ex-spark founders. The company is developing novel capsids with significantly-higher transduction potential. This is exciting news and just in time for #ASGCT24. More potent AAV would simultaneously solve a number of key hurdles for the field, including: - low yields in manufacturing (including loss during downstream purification) - toxicities associated with higher doses The AAV field has been through a bit of a winter period but has the proven ability to be able to deliver to differentiated organs / targets. Its success will rely on companies like Latus solving these critical issues (and examples of commercial success, but perhaps Sarepta's starting to take care of that, too!) Reach out to discuss all things AAV and gene therapy in Baltimore next week. We'll be at booth 1962. #genetherapy #venturecapital #pharma https://lnkd.in/gtP9wQsB

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"Communication becomes so important. And even today, when you think you've communicated enough, you probably haven't. You need to over-communicate and over-communicate." 💬  In Part 2 of my conversation with Christopher Moxham, Founder and CEO of Transcripta Bio, on The Biotech Startups Podcast, we dive deep into the critical importance of communication in scaling leadership and building successful teams. In this episode, we explore some fascinating insights about growth and leadership: – The journey from managing small teams to leading 45+ scientists, and the essential leadership lessons learned along the way 🎯 – Building trust and rapport with team members, understanding individual work styles, and creating space for different communication preferences 🤝 – Leading a challenging $20M lab build-out in New York City, and the unexpected complexities of coordinating large-scale projects 🏗️ – Transitioning between big pharma and biotech, including experiences at Eli Lilly and Company, Merck, and the cultural differences between organizations 🏢 – The power of persistence and believing in your ideas, even when faced with initial resistance💡 This episode is packed with practical wisdom for anyone leading teams or scaling organizations in the life sciences - from communication strategies to project management. Don't sleep on this! 😴 Apple Podcasts & Spotify links in the comments below!👇 #biotechnology #lifesciences #leadership #podcast

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Working with Ksenia Burka and Giorgio Fracassoover the past six months was a pleasure. Delivery of genomic medicine is an important thesis area for us, and Reactosome opens up a new vector in this space. Reactosome's breakthrough is a Synthetic Nucleus, which mimics the functions of a cell nucleus, carrying with it a DNA/RNA payload and packaged enzymes to continuously and controllably express cargo sizes that existing methods cannot deliver. The company is looking for industry partners and pharma advisors as they advance the platform. Recommendations will be appreciated! One last thing, it was wild learning that this approach is inspired by Giorgio Fracasso's study of the origin of life. To study how life comes together he modeled life bottom-up with cell-free synbio methods - modeling how artificial cells can come together and operate as a system. Studying these complex and dynamic biological systems warrants one learn and work with biological noise and variability - building in many layers of control and tunability - something Reactosome's tech does exceptionally well. #synbio #demo-day #indiebio #series-seed #life-sciences

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The 3rd and final part of my conversation with Sherlock Biosciences President, CEO and Director, Bryan Dechairo is now live on The Biotech Startups Podcast, and it’s an incredible look at what it takes to bring consumer health products to market. Some highlights: – What it takes to make the funding work – from articulating the pitch, to the importance of curating support from multiple believers – Leveraging outside experts to help scale the business – because not every role requires (or is best served by) someone with diagnostic experience – Navigating the challenges of bringing consumer products to market, from technological and regulatory limitations, to logistics and supply chain – Using vision, mission, and innovation to attract (and keep) the kind of uber-talented people you need, when you’ve got a best-in-class, first-in-class mandate There’s so much more, I wish we’d had time to double-click on it all. As always, it truly takes a village, especially in the sciences. Here's a quick shoutout to thank the people who positively impacted Bryan's journey, including Richard Brown, John Taylor, Alisoun Carey, Gina Drosos, James Burns, Mark Capone, Paul Meister, David Wall, and to thank them for everything they've taught him along the way! Apple Podcasts & Spotify links in the comments below! 👇🏽 #biotechnology #lifesciences #podcast

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> Clinical folks wanted patient enrollment to be fast. They also wanted the trial to be as attractive to patients as possible. > This seemed in direct conflict with taking the time to ensure patients had the biomarker inclusion criteria or making sure they could provide a biopsy sample. > The research folks were prioritizing scientific validation. They wanted comprehensive tests that were expensive and tissue-heavy so they could mine for more biomarkers. This is a great overview. This is the exact problem which has bedeviled cytometry for years. And part of the reason cytometry is not as widely used as genomics in clinical trials.

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PoV: Biotech CEOs are Never NOT Raising Money Especially these days. If you haven't listened to this episode with Cheri Ackerman of Concerto Biosciences, you're missing out. When the funding gets tough, the tough get creative and scrappy. Come laugh and learn with Cheri! #BuildingBiotechs #BiotechLeadership #BiotechStartup #Podcast

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Good Q&A with Dash Bio co-founders on their story going from Moderna to a startup and how they intend to use AI and robotics to transform clinical bioanalysis https://lnkd.in/gmmiq4dQ

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The biotech industry is changing in a way not enough people are talking about. This realization came about after I finally had some time to reflect on my time at #bio2024 in San Diego a few weeks ago. I actually spent most of my time at the amazing Bullpen with my incredible dovetail biopartners team with a focus on growing our network to attract future clients and partners. But while doing this I noticed two trends different from last year… 1. Many startups are streamlining operations by keeping a core C-suite and outsourcing all other functions. This strategic move allows them to allocate resources efficiently, crucial in early stages where fundraising is challenging. By outsourcing research functions, startups can stay agile and focus on core competencies, accelerating growth. 2. Collaboration is now pivotal. With financial constraints, businesses are joining forces to innovate and reduce costs. Startups and large pharma alike are finding that partnerships enable them to access new markets, technologies, and talent that would be challenging to leverage alone. Both of these things seem beneficial for my company’s future… but I’m actually more concerned. Concerned about how scientific talent is going to be used moving forward. — So… With companies relying more on outsourced work and partnerships to get things done, the hiring landscape is poised for significant change. Even large pharmaceutical companies are increasingly turning to outsourcing. This shift raises important questions for wet and dry lab scientists who may have been laid off and are now seeking roles in biotech research teams. Will they need to adjust their expectations and consider opportunities with contract research organizations (CROs) or other non-traditional roles? And this isn’t even getting into the whole “#AI is going to replace humans” debate. (My 2 cents here, AI is in it’s infancy and promises far too much right now. We still need smart humans to extract insights and make decisions.) Navigating this new “lean” landscape requires proactive strategies where professionals can still find fulfilling roles that then help companies thrive. — I'm committed to hosting events that provide value to the biotech community, and want to keep opening up discussions on tough topics. Including what I wrote out here. I have some great stuff planned with Buzzed for Biotech this year and I’m always happy to brainstorm more. So let me hear your thoughts on this new biotech landscape below, and ping me if you have ideas for impactful events! #biotech #pharma #lifesciences #jobs #recruiting #fundraising

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"Life is short. You don't have to work with jerks." In the 1st part of my conversation with Derek Hennecke, former CEO and President of Xcelience (Acquired by Capsugel), on The Biotech Startups Podcast, we explore the importance of choosing the right people to work with and the valuable lessons learned throughout his extensive career journey. Some highlights from our conversation: – Derek's early exposure to science through chemistry kits and anatomy museums, fostering a curiosity that shaped his future career path – The transition from academia to sales, and why introverts often make better salespeople than extroverts – The critical importance of having a supportive partner (personal & business) when making big career decisions and taking risks – Why an MBA might not be necessary for entrepreneurs in today's business landscape, and when it can be beneficial – The power of youthful optimism and how it can drive you to take calculated risks that lead to incredible opportunities It's super fascinating to hear Derek's insights on navigating the business side of science and the personal philosophies that have guided his success. You definitely don't want to miss this series if you are contemplating starting a biotech or are on the entrepreneurial journey already. Apple Podcasts & Spotify links in the comments below 👇🏻 #biotechnology #lifesciences #podcast

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