Pharma R&D productivity continues to be a critical issue for the industry. Making smart investments in R&D requires an understanding of the risk and return drivers across the product development cycle, as well as some good fortune. This week the

Earnout payments have been nearly ubiquitous in biotech M&A transactions for the past decade. Given the risks, costs, and timelines in drug R&D, these contingent value rights, or “biobucks”, play an important role in bridging the gap in valuation expectations

Everyone wants to invest in a Unicorn, or so it seems. These are the investments that legendary track records are made of. But truth be told, Unicorns don’t always lead to the biggest pots of gold at the end of

This blog was written by both Bill Marshall, CEO of MiRagen Therapeutics, and Ron Renaud, CEO of RaNA Therapeutics, as part of the From The Trenches feature of LifeSciVC. Recent news from Alnylam, Ionis, and Mirna Therapeutics regarding toxicity-related setbacks

Venture capital has been on a good run over the past few years across a range of sectors; even with recent slowdown relative to 2014-2015, venture-backed investments remain above historic averages.  In fact, the first three quarters of 2016 alone

This blog was written by Jason Gardner, founding CEO of Magenta Therapeutics and Atlas Entrepreneur-in-Residence, as part of the From The Trenches feature of LifeSciVC. Imagine the conversation today between a patient and doctor on the decision to have a

This blog was written by Samantha Truex, former CBO of Padlock Therapeutics and Atlas Entrepreneur-in-Residence, as part of the From The Trenches feature of LifeSciVC. The search for creative deal structures that strike a “win-win” balance is a noble one.

A biotech’s Board often plays important roles in shaping the company’s success or failure: contributing strategic guidance, providing proper governance, stewarding fiduciary responsibilities, raising a startups’ profile, aiding business development, to name a few. Over the life of a biotech,

Fund flows between sectors are a critically important dynamic in the equity capital markets: when net fund flows are positive, more demand for equity exists and stock price movement bias upwards; conversely, when fund flows are negative, the selling pressure

A new FDA approval marks a major milestone in the biopharmaceutical business; relatively few biopharma companies are ever able to lay claim to having discovered, developed, or marketed a recently approved medicine. As of mid-October, the FDA has approved 17

Although many wrote off the biotech IPO markets as moribund earlier in 2016, the sector has been quietly issuing a steady stream of new offerings. Despite the volatility related to drug pricing, and disastrous first six-weeks of the year, we’ve

This blog was written by Ankit Mahadevia, CEO of Spero Therapeutics, as part of the From The Trenches feature of LifeSciVC.  Relative to a decade ago, those of us that have spent time finding new ways to outsmart drug-resistant bacteria