AsianScientist (Sep. 23, 2021) – Blockbuster drugs like the cancer-treating Herceptin and cystic fibrosis therapeutic Trifakta not only save millions of lives each year, but also bring in significant revenue for companies such as Genentech and Vertex that develop them.
While successful drug development clearly pays off in spades, taking a product from the bench to market is often paved with uncertainty. Domain experts, business advisors and financial resources are required to smooth the journey, and as with other life sciences firms, Genentech and Vertex’s early discovery activities were made possible with help from venture capital (VC) firms.
In these initial stages, VCs support a company’s growth by providing the funds necessary to turn ideas into reality as well as by providing valuable coaching to upskill the founders and develop them to become better leaders.
Whether it is strategic or operational guidance, connections to other investors and customers or help in hiring new employees, advisory support is just one of the many ways VCs add value. Given the high costs and failure rates of therapeutic programs, support from VCs is especially critical to success.
Venture creation is the process of discovering and turning new ideas and technologies into successful businesses. Venture creation focuses on bringing together the right founding team and investors to oversee and manage the initial start-up operations, develop and execute a strategic technology plan, and raise sufficient capital to support the start-ups.
Hence, by employing a proven venture creation process, experienced investors work closely with emerging scientist-entrepreneurs to build a company from the ground up and increase the likelihood of success.
A Singapore-based, life science-focused venture capital firm, Lightstone Singapore invests in companies in the life science industry sourced from or relocated to the Republic—with an emphasis on translating novel medical breakthroughs into clinically and commercially meaningful therapies.
