The financing gap for translational research is widening. High-risk, long-term investments are needed to turn medical innovations into lifesaving therapies. However, an industry-wide funding gap for early-stage drug development coupled with a retreat by venture investors from all but late-stage life sciences have created the need for new inventive, sustainable funding models.
In order to accelerate medical solutions, novel approaches to early-state drug and device development are needed to better manage risk, lower capital cost, and improve research effectiveness, create diverse portfolios, leverage risk-tolerant capital and access new capital sources.
In the last year, many of these approaches from novel public-private partnerships to highly leveragable venture philanthropy investments to a new breed of institutional fund managers have come into their own, with early data supporting an optimistic view of what's ahead. There is also a growing movement to apply nontraditional models as a disruptive force in biotech.
Also, important financial research supports the ideas of extending medical financing beyond corporate R&D, venture and private equity to fixed income models for longer-term financing. How are these models improving the risk-return ratio for early-stage research, making it a more attractive opportunity? What are the pitfalls? How does the involvement of philanthropic and/or government funding create leverage and attract greater private investment?
Participants:
Dr. Roger Stein, Moody’s and MIT Center on Financial Engineering Dr. Leonid Bakman, Founder and Executive Director, Israel Innovation Institute
Dr. Einat Zisman,CEO, Hadasit Medical Research Services & Development.
Dr. Ora Dar, Director of Life Sciences, Office of the Chief Scientist, Ministry of Economy
Moderator: Glenn Yago, Milken Institute