Earlier this month Consilium, alongside its sponsors, Citi, Cooley and Stifel, was proud to host its 10th Annual Healthcare Conference. The theme, Healthcare 2022: Learning from Tougher Times, Finding a Healthy Future, shone a light on the healthcare sector against the backdrop of the current financial, economic and geopolitical uncertainties such as rising inflation and interest rates, political instability, a war in Eastern Europe and the lingering effects of the pandemic.
Our first panel: Bursting the bubbles? Are hot therapeutic areas of investor focus a help or a hindrance to innovation? homed in on the idea of fashions in areas of therapeutic interest and sought to assess whether these work for or against innovation. Whilst working in a hot area can “certainly be a driver of innovation” according to Lars Wilde, Chairman, Chief Executive Officer & Co-founder, Pangea Botanica, clusters of therapeutic interest need to be able to weather the troughs alongside the peaks and as Ros Deegan Chief Executive Officer, OMass Therapeutics pointed out they have to have “enough investment to sustain [them] through the hard times.”
The unpredictability of regulatory decisions was cited as a major factor in the “cooling off” of hot areas, which companies and investors alike need to be aware of. Linden Thomson, Fund Manager, Healthcare, Biotechnology, AXA Investment suggested that regulators “change the goalposts at the very last moment” which can bring an additional element of risk that is difficult to discount when working in these areas of focus.
In Reimagining Healthcare: Engineering a healthcare ecosystem for the 21st century, the panelists focused on how COVID-19 has brought the need to optimise our current healthcare infrastructure. Lachlan MacKinnon, Chief Executive Officer & Co-Founder of Replay shone a light how vaccine innovation has benefited from venture capital interest following the pandemic and how it has taken a “black swan event for people to realise the economic case for investing” in the space. Melanie Lee, Chief Executive Officer, LifeArc noted that COVID-19 has forced a shift in the public’s sense of autonomy over their health and how “by arming patients…you will see suites of products coming forward.” Adding to this, Hugo Fry, Chief Executive Officer, RQ Biotechnology reflected on the times that innovation has occurred through “the power of the patient.”
Our final panel of the day: Managing a downturn, market and financing considerations in a bear market brought together leading investors and biotech C-suite executives to provide an overview of some of their recent experiences and some of their tips, for financing in a downturn. Lisa Anson, Chief Executive Officer, Redx Pharma gave insight into the company’s recent fundraising activity explaining how having clinical stage assets supported a “real, clear value proposition”, as well as “inside investor support being absolutely critical.” Adding to Lisa’s point, Jorge Santos Da Silva, Chief Executive Officer & Co-Founder, MoonLake Immunotherapeutics commented that whilst selectivity in the market has increased “the markets are not closed, however the money is moving towards clinically validated assets.” From an investor standpoint, Tom Burt, Partner, Crossover Strategy, Sofinnova Partners highlighted the “importance of the science and the management team.”
Taking a question from the audience, Sander Slootweg, Managing Partner & Co-Founder, Forbion provided his insight into how current macroeconomic factors are affecting the biotech life cycle stating that the healthcare industry “is somewhat shielded from them.”
To conclude the day, Justin Stebbing Professor of Oncology, Editor of Oncogene took the stage with Hannah Kuchler, Global Pharmaceuticals Reporter at the Financial Times in our annual Fireside chat. Justin discussed his work in oncology, the sector’s mission of “turning cancer from a chronic disease, even for those that have metastasized, to one that is curable” and what opportunities it will bring to patients and investors.
Consilium would like to thank all of its speakers, as well as the sponsors, Citi, Cooley and Stifel and the hundreds of attendees that made the day so special. Overall, the conference concluded, whilst the current market may be difficult, there are more than green shoots appearing on the horizon and the case for healthcare investment has never been stronger.
Highlights video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iGrIIOJktvc
Full recording: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5–RsrhoSFc
