Creative Disruption - "The Big Picture" Report

This write-up is by Adam Michael, based on his attendance at the 10 July 2024 Creative Disruption Forum (CDF), produced by Graham Combe and hosted by Prof Tony Sedgwick.?

The #CreativeDisruption Forum (CDF) is a full-day event for business leaders made up of mainly CEOs, CSOs and R&D Directors from biotech and health innovation companies, as well as investors and BD professionals from Big Pharma and BD people from service companies.? The type of people we attract to each CDF depends on the topic.? Our next #CreativeDisruption Forum is on the 8 October 2024 and is all about "New Technologies in #SmallMolecule #DrugDiscovery."?This is held at the Inventa Building on Botley Road in #Oxford; find further details and tickets on Eventbrite:??

https://www.eventbrite.com/e/1012699470377?aff=oddtdtcreator

Our Creative Disruption Forums are produced to share “blue sky thinking” between peers and to help spark creativity, knowledge, and connections under Chatham House Rules. Most importantly, they are fun, engaging and informative! Below is a write-up of our 10 July #CDF, demonstrating some of the “Big Picture” thinking at our 10 July event.

The Big Picture in Healthcare Innovation from the 10 July CDF – by Adam Michael

Healthcare is not the only industry obsessed with safety and technological advancements. And we’re not the only industry that has to comply with highly demanding regulations. But, as biotech drug discoverers, and healthcare innovators, do we (how do we) take a step back and observe where our products lie in the whole matrix of healthcare?

The aeronautical engineering industry is currently under pressure to be faster and cleaner – but without compromising safety. However, aircraft can be bigger, fly longer distances, or be quieter. Indeed, in 2021, Airbus ceased production of its A380 – the world's largest passenger aircraft; Concorde’s primary failures were excessive noise, sonic boom, and fuel inefficiency. So, who and what is setting the priority commercial parameters in aircraft development? And who is setting those parameters in drug hunting and health innovation?

In aeronautics, that answer is simple: the customers! This is both the airlines purchasing aircraft to meet their customer’s needs, but also passengers primarily demanding cheaper flights, potentially with consideration to the environmental impact of flying.

In healthcare, however, the customer matrix is far more complex. The pharmaceutical industry employs battalions of sales reps to engage with the medical community and create awareness of the portfolios of drugs available to treat their patients, ultimately having physicians prescribe. However, it’s the patients who take and benefit from the drugs. Unlike flying, however, doctors and patients rarely purchase the drugs; that’s down to the state-run healthcare providers and medical insurance companies.

So, while there are driving forces behind the commercial parameters of successful drugs - it’s not always apparent what those forces are, and there is no clearly defined end goal. This “commercial ambiguity” resonates throughout the healthcare sector. Without a clear strategic endpoint, investors have to (to a certain extent) second guess the market - will doctors prescribe, will patients take, will payers reimburse, all stacked on top of: will regulators approve.

One parameter that consistently comes up as highly favourable commercially is “differentiation”. How does one developmental drug asset stand out from another? But this has its flaws. Take the asset that is a new #smallmolecule or #biologic, hitting a new target with a new modality to treat a previously unmet medical need. A full house of differentiating characteristics - surely highly desirable? But, from an investor perspective, this becomes an accumulator bet - too many unknowns stacked up, rapidly becoming too risky and uninvestable. Nevertheless, developing differentiated products is essential for a biotech or health innovation company.

Despite - or perhaps because of - the complexities and ambiguities around drug development, the industry makes extraordinary efforts to cross-pollinate ideas and seek partners to develop assets and technology platforms. At one of the recent and well-known business development conferences, nearly 6,000 delegates had over 30,000 one-to-one meetings over a few days. While deals and partnerships are struck up from these events, BD folks often feel like a melee of operatives in a primordial soup, overwhelmed by everything from everywhere, all at once. How many deals come from the 30,000 meetings?

The top tip for successful BD, from the Creative Disruption Forum group knowledge: “Find the Shepherd!” This is the business development / in-licensing executive in Pharma who can follow a potential collaborator through the whole process: from initial discussions to asset review to heads of terms to signatures and capital exchange—and all the steps in between. Shepherds are rare but do exist.

So, can biotech companies circumvent the classic business model of attracting venture finance, seeking pharma partners, and creating an exit route??

Self-commercialisation is a phrase used to describe the contemporary music industry. Where at one time only the record labels had the recording studios, media manufacturing, access to the airwaves, and the colossal marketing clout to sell new artists, today, all of those functions can be done on a laptop. The music industry has entered a new era of self-commercialised, highly successful artists.

Could biotech self-commercialise? Probably not, but it could consider other routes to marketing success. Given that investors and Pharmaceutical Companies are not the only parties involved in the drug development process, could, for example, CROs and CMOs be drawn into investing in the assets on which they will initially run clinical studies and, if successfully approved, be manufacturing? Could specialist pharma sales outfits invest in exchange for territorial sales rights? Any combination could be a new winning formula!

Drug discovery and development has always been a challenging sector. With more players and tighter funding, now is the time to look at the bigger picture and consider all options and routes to success. Even when there are only three employees, it’s not too soon. Tap into and rely on the network of advisors and consultants in the sector that could - for example - map out an early regulatory process for an asset to avoid delaying pitfalls and generate the data that pharma will seek or consider how your communications can resonate with all your audiences. Indeed, the earlier in the company development the Big Picture options are mapped out, the more agile, entrepreneurial, opportunistic, and potentially successful the business becomes.

Quote of the Day:

Ideas are two a penny; but the money is hard to come by!

Words of the Day:

Prototype Thinking – rapid exploratory reasoning: an iterative methodology of thinking that allows the presentation of new ideas, scenario testing and analysis, and revision to the original idea. Prototype thinking can be used to solve business challenges, and generate a level of validation to potential solutions prior to deployment.

Regulatory Science is the scientific and technical foundation of regulations. Regulators define Regulatory Science as the tools and standards to assess efficacy, quality, safety, etc.; developers of new products can harness regulatory sciences to maximise the probabilities of success when submitting to regulators for product approvals.

Dissemble/disassembly—presenting a false appearance: While generally considered an intentional act of deception, disassembly in drug discovery can be the omission of data considered of no interest or relevance that later transpires to be pertinent.

Thank you to our sponsors for this 10 July #CDF who were Dianne Lee (FTOPRA, CDir) Angela Bonich and Alisdair Falconer from DLRC Regulatory Consultancy the team from The Oxford Science Park (TOSP) Park James FRY and his team from Mills & Reeve , Mariana Vaschetto and her team at Collaborative Drug Discovery - CDD Vault and Dr Mridul Majumder and his team from M2M Pharmaceuticals Ltd

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Other Upcoming Events

As highlighted at the start, our next #CreativeDisruption Forum is on the 8 October 2024 and is all about "New Technologies in #SmallMolecule #DrugDiscovery."?This is held at the Inventa Building on Botley Road in #Oxford; find further details and tickets on Eventbrite:??

https://www.eventbrite.com/e/1012699470377?aff=oddtdtcreator

We are back in #London on 23 October, hosting an #AgileLeaders “Investor Pitch” Workshop

·??????? Are you a Founder or CEO pitching for investment?

·??????? Are you looking to learn from and share experiences with your peers and experienced industry professionals?

·??????? Would you like to participate in an informative, engaging and fun thought-leadership discussion on the content and performance of your pitch under Chatham House Rules?

·??????? Are you available on the afternoon of 23 Oct and can you get to the Mills Fabrica, 36-40 York Way, Kings Cross, London N19AB, it is next to Kings Cross Station??

If your answer is yes to these questions, then this #AgileLeaders Investor Pitch Workshop is for you. The session is run by Prof Tony Sedgwick who has had an esteemed career in Big Pharma, where he was Global Head of Clinical Research for 10+ years at Roche AG. Tony has also been CEO of 4 biotechs and Chairman of 10 biotechs. He also started a VC fund for Pierre Fabre, so he knows a thing or two about pitching to VCs and Pharma. Tony has also recently been inspired by an acting and comedy course where he can see parallels with pitching for investment. Instead, they pitch for a particular play, film, TV Show or other opportunity.

To be discussed:

Pitching with Confidence: The importance of content and PERFORMANCE:

This is the first of a series of #AgileLeaders events where we focus on helping entrepreneurs, founders, and CEOs be investor-ready. We will be thinking more like professionals coming into the performance space. We will be thinking of a space like a theatre space or an audition in which we want to impress the investors from the first time they see us. This session will be perfect for those who think mainly of the content and not primarily the performance they give.

Tony and Graham will be using all their experience as a scientist, Life Sciences Media & Events Specialist, CEOs, Chairman, VC, Acting and Comedy to help you deliver your best performance and gain the investor's attention so that you are memorable and get that investment you need to take your business to the next level. In today's world, it is all about differentiation and performance, and not only what's in the pitch deck, although that is also important. The science or idea will not sell itself. Instead, you need to focus on your performance too! ?As the old adage goes, “People buy people first, and the product/concept second”?

This session suits individuals or teams looking to raise money for health innovation.? Further information and tickets are on Eventbrite:

https://www.eventbrite.com/e/1034839301207?aff=oddtdtcreator

More information on our activities will be shared later on in October in our next #CoffeeBuddies Community Newsletter.

In the meantime Happy Hunting, best wishes

Graham Combe