As RESI gears up for its second landing on MaRs in Toronto this April 4th we are proud to announce our latest batch of life science/health tech companies that will be participating in the RESI Innovation Challenge.

30 companies from across North America, hand selected by LSN's scientific and commercial review team, will compete directly on merits of innovation and commercial viability. Past RESI events have seen as many as 50% of innovation challenge contestants go on to receive funding or significant partnerships within a year from the competition.

From companies helping to detect oncoming seizures to those developing cost effective ways of growing blood stem cells, this diverse class of competitors is sure to impress. Come check them our yourself in the Exhibition Hall at RESI on MaRs on April 4th!

Therapeutic

Last week, LSN looked into the emerging life science hubs in Toronto and NYC to assess where the "Third Coast" of life sciences might emerge. This week, we'll take a look at two more cities that are looking to become beacons for the life science industry: Houston and Seattle. 

The emergence of Texas Medical Center's innovation programs has put Houston on the life science map. In 2015, JLABS @ TMC opened to provide wet lab space for young biotech companies. In Seattle, Juno Therapeutics has recently put the city back into the spotlight. Both cities are home to major research centers, and are looking to convert their scientific acumen into further commercial progress. Here's how they stack up.

	Houston	Seattle
Research institutions	Texas Medical Center comprises over 40 institutions, including major research centers such as MD Anderson, Baylor, Texas Children's, and Rice University	Major institutions include the University of Washington (UW), Fred Hutch Cancer Research Center, Allen Institute for Brain Science, and Seattle Biomedical Research Institute.
Pharma presence	Johnson & Johnson have opened JLABS @ TMC. Alcon, Lonza, Mylan, Bayer and Novartis also have facilities in Houston.	Pharma companies with Seattle operations include Celgene, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Novo Nordisk and Gilead Sciences. Juno Therapeutics is based in Seattle.
Local investors	The LSN Investor Platform tracks 52 life science investors based in Texas.	The LSN Investor Platform tracks 18 life science investors based in Washington State.
Government support	CPRIT (Cancer Prevention and Research Initiative of Texas) provides $3 billion in funding	From 2005-2015, the Life Sciences Discovery Fund provided support to biotech startups. This continued into 2017 as a competitive grant program.
Startup companies	The LSN Company Platform tracks 69 biotech and 123 medtech startups in Texas.	The LSN Company Platform tracks 61 biotech and 35 medtech startups in Washington State.

Please place your vote for the new Third Coast:

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Despite therapeutic companies' high-risk development timeline, investors continue to remain focused on investing in biotechnology, seeing its long-term impact and enormous potential in the healthcare industry. Along with the technology, entrepreneurs need to also consider capital intensity, fundraising and milestone timeline, management team, and endpoint selections, among other topics beyond the science.

LSN has assembled five active investors specifically interested in early-stage biotech therapeutics for RESI Toronto, occurring on April 4th. Held in the heart of Canada's healthcare innovation hub, MaRS Discovery District. 

The Early Stage Therapeutic Investors Panel will be moderated by Mark Day , Head, CNS Virtual Discovery of Purdue Pharma, and will be joined by: