In the last decade there has been an enormous shift in the drug discovery and development landscape. None of the following diatribe will be news to the life science mavens who get this...but I do want to set up for the thesis at the end of the article. Whereas R&D was previously limited mainly to a handful of pharmaceutical companies, new R&D paradigms have evolved that embrace collaborative partnerships amongst various stakeholders in the life science sectors: pharma, biotech, academic/research centers, government, and donor-backed foundations.

Lower productivity, as measured by the number of technology assets that make it to the patient coupled with increasing drug development costs, as well as higher attrition rates at all phases of the discovery and development process, have forced pharmaceutical companies to significantly pare down their internal R&D infrastructures and to increasingly focus on drug development, particularly post proof-of-concept. Thus, early-stage drug discovery is increasingly occurring outside of pharma for all but the 'big' diseases. This is the major change that has been driving the biotech investment environment. As the reader probably knows LSN's arena is matching up buyers and sellers in early stage drugs, devices, diagnostics and healthcare IT...

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The LSN Innovation Challenge is a competition held at every RESI Conference that provides early-stage companies with a unique opportunity to showcase their technologies at a meeting typically attended by 400 - 500 investors. LSN invites thirty top-tier early-stage fundraising companies to pitch their technologies in a poster format at a venue that provides ready access to a range of investors. The RESI Innovation Challenge has become an exciting event at each RESI meeting that attracts a lot of attention from entrepreneurs and investors alike.

The LSN scientific review team spends a lot of time reviewing applications, that now number in the hundreds, prior to selecting the top thirty. As the Innovation Challenge application deadline draws near (November 18th, folks!), we thought we would share with you how we select the winners. LSN's scientific review team has compiled some tips on how to submit a compelling Innovation Challenge application.

How do you achieve a high score on your application?

The LSN scientific review team uses a detailed rubric with a 200-point scoring system. Companies are stack-ranked on their scores and we invite the top 30 to present at RESI. Our evaluation process is based not only on scientific merit...

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Major pharma firms are increasingly looking externally for innovative technologies, and strategic venture investments are a key part of many firms' strategies for participating in the early stage ecosystem.  Firms may use subsidiary corporate venture funds, or may have an internal unit for making strategic investments in startups that are relevant to their pipeline.

At RESI San Francisco on Tuesday January 10th, the Corporate VC panel will bring together investors from 5 different corporate VCs to cover how they invest on behalf of their parent pharma companies.

The panelists are:

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