YC
Elizabeth Iorns on Biotech Companies in YC
@ Y Combinator
09/14/17
Takeaways
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Elizabeth Iorns
09/14/17
@ Y Combinator
I'm Elizabeth Iorns, the founder and CEO of Science Exchange, and I have a background in cancer biology, having completed my PhD at the Institute of Cancer Research in London and a postdoc at the University of Miami before starting Science Exchange in 2011 as part of Y Combinator's summer batch.
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Elizabeth Iorns
09/14/17
@ Y Combinator
Y Combinator is a great starting point for companies looking to successfully launch, providing expertise and resources for incorporating and achieving product-market fit.
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Elizabeth Iorns
09/14/17
@ Y Combinator
Biotech companies benefit from Y Combinator through access to capital, fundraising expertise, and interaction with diverse sectors, which can lead to unexpected advantages.
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Elizabeth Iorns
09/14/17
@ Y Combinator
Many biotech companies have raised significantly more capital through Y Combinator than they would have in traditional biotech venture settings, with over $200 million raised for these companies.
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Elizabeth Iorns
09/14/17
@ Y Combinator
During the three-month Y Combinator program, biotech companies focus on refining their go-to-market strategy and understanding market requirements, which helps them secure necessary funding and capital.
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Elizabeth Iorns
09/14/17
@ Y Combinator
Biotech companies often use their time in Y Combinator to conduct critical path experiments and work with external companies for proof of concept studies, which can advance their regulatory filing status.
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Elizabeth Iorns
09/14/17
@ Y Combinator
The focus for biotech companies is on de-risking their technology by obtaining experimental data and developing a viable therapeutic intervention, which is crucial before entering clinical trials.
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Elizabeth Iorns
09/14/17
@ Y Combinator
There's a significant gap in funding for early-stage biotech discoveries, leading many companies to apply to Y Combinator when they have initial data suggesting a promising approach to curing diseases.
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Elizabeth Iorns
09/14/17
@ Y Combinator
As PhD students near the end of their programs, they often consider whether to pursue a postdoc or explore entrepreneurship opportunities based on their research advancements.
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Elizabeth Iorns
09/14/17
@ Y Combinator
There's increasing acceptance of transitioning from academia to industry, as innovations often stem from academic research, and pursuing entrepreneurship can be a viable path for scientists. Most drugs on the market originate from discoveries made in academia, which are then commercialized by biotech or pharmaceutical companies.
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Elizabeth Iorns
09/14/17
@ Y Combinator
There's a significant opportunity for students to transform their academic discoveries into real-world applications by creating companies.
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Elizabeth Iorns
09/14/17
@ Y Combinator
Intellectual property (IP) is crucial in biotech; owning IP is necessary to justify the investment in development and clinical studies.
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Elizabeth Iorns
09/14/17
@ Y Combinator
Biotech companies need a period of exclusivity around their intellectual property to recover their investments before generics enter the market.
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Elizabeth Iorns
09/14/17
@ Y Combinator
In academia, most intellectual property is owned by universities, which complicates the process for researchers wanting to commercialize their discoveries.
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Elizabeth Iorns
09/14/17
@ Y Combinator
Y Combinator helps biotech companies develop strategies for licensing intellectual property, which is essential for their growth.
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Elizabeth Iorns
09/14/17
@ Y Combinator
There is a growing interest from early-stage technology investors in funding biotech companies, with many successfully raising significant seed funding.
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Elizabeth Iorns
09/14/17
@ Y Combinator
Biotech fundraising is increasingly resembling traditional paths seen in software, with many funds showing interest in innovative science companies.
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Elizabeth Iorns
09/14/17
@ Y Combinator
Successful biotech funds often incubate ideas internally before spinning them out as independent companies, which has proven effective in the industry.
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Elizabeth Iorns
09/14/17
@ Y Combinator
Providing a path for PhD students and postdocs to become entrepreneurs can leverage their deep knowledge of scientific discoveries for company success.
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Elizabeth Iorns
09/14/17
@ Y Combinator
Many PhD students and postdocs lack exposure to entrepreneurship, leading to misconceptions about funding and company formation.
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Elizabeth Iorns
09/14/17
@ Y Combinator
Programs like Y Combinator offer frameworks and confidence for entrepreneurs, clarifying the risks and opportunities in starting a biotech company.
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Elizabeth Iorns
09/14/17
@ Y Combinator
Staying in academia can be risky due to job uncertainty, making entrepreneurship an appealing alternative for many researchers.
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Elizabeth Iorns
09/14/17
@ Y Combinator
There is a growing trend of former students starting biotech companies, which encourages others to explore similar entrepreneurial paths.
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Elizabeth Iorns
09/14/17
@ Y Combinator
Science Exchange connects pharmaceutical companies with early-stage biotech firms, facilitating advancements in cancer biology and other areas. The application of artificial intelligence in the biological sector is leading to innovations in predicting drug efficacy and toxicity during the preclinical stage, which helps avoid clinical failures.
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Elizabeth Iorns
09/14/17
@ Y Combinator
There's significant innovation in designing clinical studies to quickly gather initial data from human trials, allowing for faster assessments of whether a drug is likely to work.
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Elizabeth Iorns
09/14/17
@ Y Combinator
CRISPR technology is game-changing, enabling us to edit genes in ways that were previously only imagined, allowing for high-throughput screens to understand the function of every gene at scale.
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Elizabeth Iorns
09/14/17
@ Y Combinator
Editing gene expression rather than the genetic code itself may face fewer regulatory barriers, as it involves transient changes rather than permanent alterations to DNA.
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Elizabeth Iorns
09/14/17
@ Y Combinator
Research on life extension is challenging due to the lack of clear endpoints in human studies, making it difficult to measure the impact of interventions on longevity.
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Elizabeth Iorns
09/14/17
@ Y Combinator
Caloric restriction research shows mixed results, with some studies indicating it can decrease lifespan in certain rodent strains, highlighting the complexity of aging research.
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Elizabeth Iorns
09/14/17
@ Y Combinator
The concept of parabiosis, where old and young mice share blood, is intriguing but remains controversial, as the specific factors causing observed effects are still unknown.
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Elizabeth Iorns
09/14/17
@ Y Combinator
Fasting can improve metabolic control and appetite regulation, but it can be difficult to maintain, as it affects cognitive function during the fasting period.
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Elizabeth Iorns
09/14/17
@ Y Combinator
Individual responses to dietary interventions vary significantly, suggesting that personalized nutrition could be key to effective weight management and health outcomes.
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Elizabeth Iorns
09/14/17
@ Y Combinator
Current research is focusing on measuring insulin responses to different food types, which could provide insights into personalized dietary recommendations.