"The venture capital industry has long operated on a transactional model: evaluate the science, assess the team, write the check, and monitor progress through quarterly board meetings. This approach may work for software startups, but it fundamentally misaligns with biotechnology development realities. The path from laboratory breakthrough to FDA-approved therapy involves navigating regulatory mazes, recruiting specialized talent, and building relationships across interconnected scientific communities-challenges that capital alone cannot solve."
"Leen Kawas, Managing General Partner at Propel Bio Partners and former CEO who led a historic $400 million initial public offering, advocates for a fundamentally different model. Her approach centres on creating comprehensive support ecosystems that treat relationship-building and strategic guidance as equally important to capital deployment. This philosophy recognizes a critical truth: sustainable biotech success depends not just on funding milestones, but on building networks and expertise that can navigate inevitable obstacles between promising science and patient impact."
Traditional transactional venture capital—evaluate the science, assess the team, write the check, and monitor via quarterly board meetings—misfits biotechnology development. Biotechnology requires managing regulatory pathways, recruiting specialized talent, and building interdependent scientific and commercial relationships that funding alone cannot solve. A different model emphasizes comprehensive support ecosystems that prioritize relationship-building and strategic guidance alongside capital. Scientists often possess deep technical expertise but limited business networks, creating gaps in team recruitment, advisory development, strategic partnerships, and regulatory navigation when they become entrepreneurs. Networked, ecosystem-focused support increases the likelihood of translating laboratory breakthroughs into patient-impacting therapies.
Read at London Business News | Londonlovesbusiness.com
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