Back in March I blogged about — and sang the praises of — the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program and its companion STTR program. Together, those Federal programs provide nearly $2.5B of non-dilutive grant funding annually to technology start-ups and other small businesses. As I pointed out, there’s a regional “SBIR deficit,” meaning that while Pittsburgh’s universities are doing …
By Hank Safferstein, Ph.D., J.D. PLSG Executive In Residence Cognitive disorders, such as Alzheimer’s dementia, are devastating and will put an increasing strain on our healthcare system as the population ages. As of February 2016, there were approximately 174 drugs in clinical development, with only 5 marketed therapeutics. This disparity, in large part, is due to difficulties demonstrating efficacy in …
In Part I of this two-part series, we noted that the rise of data analytics in the business of health care represents important changes in roles and responsibilities. This includes the fact that more physicians and clinicians – because of their prior experience in analyzing data – are finding themselves moving up to the executive suites of their organizations. The …
As healthcare organizations shift to a value-based care approach, more clinicians, physicians, and nurses can expect to be armed with easy-to-use, self-service analytics. The common denominator promises to be enormous amounts of data. But simply gathering data makes up only half of the equation. The other half requires careful analytics, performing quality evaluation and interpretation of that data, to drive …
In my most recent blog for PLSG, I described the value – both in the short-term for immediate funding and in the long-term for potentially gaining access to Federal sources of capital – of the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and the companion Small business Technology Transfer Research (STTR) programs. These Congressionally mandated programs require all agencies that fund R&D …
Say, Mr. or Ms. Life Sciences Entrepreneur – How does a direct path to Federal funding sound? A means of gaining capital to accelerate technology development? A way to leapfrog your way to product commercialization? Sound good? You bet it does. That’s why, if you’re a startup or other small life sciences business and you aren’t plugged into the Small …
The IP Pyramid™ – How to Create a Comprehensive IP Strategy By Alan West, Resident Entrepreneur, PLSG Companies routinely write comprehensive business plans to communicate their commercialization strategy, including detailed sections describing product development, manufacturing, marketing and sales, and financial projections. Naturally, such business plans help clarify the company’s objectives, organization, and strategies for future growth and a competitive vision. …
By Jim “Oz” Osborn, Investment Manager – Grant Programs In Bessemer Ventures’ report in May 2016 on how technology companies are responding to the shift from fee-for-service to fee-for-value (also known value-based payments), telehealth was cited as one of three standout segments. The reason? Telehealth combines two essential ingredients of the value-based approach: engaging the consumer/patient and lowering the cost …
By Jim Jordan, President and CEO, PLSG The life sciences industry presents an unending resource of fascinating ideas generated by brilliant minds, all in the pursuit of improving the health of people. One critical area – and one that may not, at first glance, appear as exciting as a new cure for disease or a new method of treatment – …
By Marissa Kuzirian, Investment Manager, PLSG In collaboration with Fourth River Solutions Innovations often require backing from those with the foresight to believe in them, and faith is required to overlook the risk associated with innovation. This is amplified in groundbreaking segments without much market validation. Such is the case today with nanomedicine, defined as the application of knowledge and …