Strategies for rapidly and flexibly getting to Proof-of-Concept
Small biotechs are already doing what they do best; pivoting quickly to adapt to the changing market conditions and current challenges to the funding environment. With small privately held companies having less than a year or two of cash reserves, most biotechs are trying keep their heads above water and avoid being forced into selling assets or getting acquired at a reduced valuation.
A variety of measures are being explored; seeking out new or alternative types of investors, developing partnerships and out-licencing agreements, lowering the workforce bill either through payroll sacrifice, furloughing or staff reductions, taking on more debt, reducing capital expenditure, and many are delaying or cancelling certain drug development programs.
Biotech companies are seeing the current conditions impact on their pipelines. Delays in reaching key clinical milestones of 6-12 months are now anticipated for many molecules in development. In part this is down to the economic uncertainties and cash conservation by biotechs, but this is compounded by the impact in the service sector with clinical research organisations (CROs) already reporting delays in starting up new trials or completing ongoing trials.
This webinar will explore some of the challenges faced by industry today and discuss how early drug development timelines can be accelerated, whilst at the same time conserving cash flow.
Presented by
Dr. Mark Egerton,
Chief Executive Officer at Quotient Sciences
Mark joined Quotient as Chief Executive Officer in 2005 and has over 25 years’ experience in the pharmaceutical and biotech industry. He has worked in a range of organizations including large multinational pharmaceutical companies through to private venture funded biotechnology companies. Following his PhD (Biochemistry, University of Edinburgh) and post-doctoral research (Biochemistry, Biozentrum, Basel), Mark began his pharmaceutical R&D career at Novartis in Switzerland and then AstraZeneca in the U.K. and was responsible for discovery projects across several therapeutic areas. Mark then joined Incyte Pharmaceuticals, a Californian biotechnology company, where he was responsible for European Business Operations and prior to Quotient, he was the Chief Business Officer at Oxagen, a U.K. biotech company focused on novel therapeutics for Respiratory diseases.
Dr. Peter Scholes,
Chief Scientific Officer at Quotient Sciences
Peter has over 25 years’ experience in the pharmaceutical industry. In his role at Quotient Sciences he has been instrumental in identifying and implementing the innovative and flexible benefits of integrating pharmaceutical development and clinical testing in early research. Peter has served as a committee member for the U.K. Controlled Release Society and APS Biopharmaceutics focus group and in 2010 was named one of PharmaVOICE’s 100 most inspiring people in the life-sciences industry. He was appointed as an Honorary Professor in Pharmaceutical Sciences at Nottingham University in August 2015.