Investor Narratives

Founders often struggle to transform innovative discoveries into a fundable business strategy. They master the science, but rarely receive training in the commercial aspects of drug development. A drug development strategy without a clear path to revenue leaves VC firms and grant funders wondering how their investment(s) will pay off. Guide them by painting a picture of your first transaction.

Visualize your first transaction to shape your commercial roadmap. It will help you define what you are selling, who your target buyer is, and your desired cost structure. Start with the framework below:

1. Clarify the asset.

Be specific about what you will deliver. Are you developing a preclinical package with a defined mechanisms of action (MoA), validated target, and strong IP? A regulatory-enabling package ready for phase I entry?

2. Identify the target buyer.

Who will initially provide upfront costs and milestone payments for your developments? The first buyer is rarely the patient and is usually a pharma partner or biotech investor.

3. Why us and Why now?

Define why your team is uniquely suited to realize your vision and why the right time to act is now. Have you defined new value drivers to enhance patient utility? Serving patients with no other treatment options?

4. Build a roadmap.

Clarify the metrics, time, and funding for each development phase.

5. Define the financials.

Collaborate with your internal business and IP teams on asset valuation, pay structure, and agreement types.

Defining your buyer, value story, roadmap, and financials builds a clear path to investor returns.

Example: “Our first deal will be licensing our validated HIV bispecific antibody to a nonprofit with a target of $30 million upfront and milestones for IMD submission and the third patient dosed. We will focus on building a clinical proof-of-concept package for a single-shot prophylactic that combines our bispecific with Sunlenca.

If you cannot describe a path to revenue, funders will question your business model. Begin with your first sale and then expand.

Early-stage drug and platform programs cannot reach patients without capital. To raise that capital, founders must convince investors that their team can move a product from concept to the clinic and generate a favorable safety data package in Phase I to enter pivotal-stage trials.

To unlock capital, a team needs the right set of keys:

Strategies & Roadmaps

Teams need a clear understanding of what they are building and their approach to get there. Without a strategy and roadmap, teams burn time and money on activities that don't move the program forward.

Target Product Profiles

Strategy defines the approach, but the product itself must be designed with specific features and attributes that meet or exceed current standards of care. A clear target product profile tells investors you understand the unmet patient need.

Compelling Business Case

To gain investor interest, teams must present a commercially viable plan that addresses unmet patient needs and a return on investment.

Project X

The fundamental challenge in making choices is that we never feel we have enough information. We always want to know more before we commit. Every decision, from buying a car to developing drugs, needs data.

How can researchers access more data to make better choices while navigating drug and platform development?