HTBC Techbio Sess. 3: exploring the business strategies powering the techbio revolution
Led by Leigh Brody, Investment Manager
Posted
In Collaboration with:
Techbio Business Models: exploring the business strategies powering the techbio revolution.
The third session of the HTBC TechBio breakfast series, hosted in collaboration with Sofinnova Partners, focused on critical discussions about the future of healthcare, biotech, and investment. The event was well-attended by professionals in the field, fostering conversations about the current direction of the industry.
Leigh Brody, healthcare investor, AlbionVC led a panel of experts who addressed key challenges in techbio and investment. A central theme throughout the discussion was the importance of validation. Panellists emphasised the need for companies to demonstrate the effectiveness of their products or platforms using real-world data.
Robert Sehlke, CTO and Co-Founder of Graph Therapeutics, highlighted the importance of identifying a specific question and aligning models with clinical realities. He also stressed the value of having a strong advisory board with scientific expertise to guide decision-making.
Irina Babina, CEO at Concr, cautioned against prioritising revenue generation over validation. She warned that early revenue might attract certain investors, but the pressure to meet growth expectations can lead to significant challenges. Instead, she argued that companies should focus on robust validation of their models.
The conversation also touched on differences between the U.S. and European approaches to investment and development. Simon Turner, partner at Sofinnova Partners, noted that European researchers tend to focus on scientific achievement, while American researchers are more entrepreneurial. Babina added that American companies often benefit from a larger pool of advisory board talent.
Duleek Ranatunga, CEO of Pear Bio, discussed the differing expectations between therapeutic and techbio investors. Therapeutic investors often aim for large IPOs on exchanges like NASDAQ, while techbio investors tend to target smaller markets, such as the London Stock Exchange, resulting in lower capital investments.
As the session concluded, participants reflected on ongoing industry debates, such as the priority of platform versus product and the best methods for validation. Jonty Corrin, investor at Ananda Impact Ventures, suggested that platforms and products are not mutually exclusive but part of a company’s evolutionary path. He also noted that validation methods vary but stressed the importance of past performance in building investor confidence.
The growing potential of techbio in London and the need for collaboration between research and industry continue to rise.
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