Adam BRISTOLPortfolio Manager, Biotechnology Value Fund, LP

Biotech companies face a conundrum: they need cash to validate their technology, yet they need validated technology to raise cash. How can biotech companies solve the problem of increasing the value of their technologies in a capital-constrained, competitive environment? Should public and private companies adopt different strategies? How can entrepreneurs position their company as an attractive investment opportunity in the face of depressed public markets, increasing regulatory scrutiny and development costs, and industry consolidation?

In this talk, I will reflect upon my experiences with both public and private biotech companies and provide offer a set of principles to guide early value creation. Specifically, I will emphasize the value of advances in preclinical testing, the benefits of comprehensive business development, and the virtues of fiscal restraint. I will argue that companies that excel in these areas have a higher likelihood of achieving a rare goal in biotech: controlling their own destiny.