Shanghai, China——March 2nd-6th, 2021, Viva Biotech successfully hosted the 2021 Partnership Summit. Over 300 attendees joined the Summit, including representatives from global investment institutions, R&D heads from pharmaceutical companies, and business development leaders.
As one of the largest annual events held by Viva, the Partnership Summit is committed to gathering the leading forces from the scientific research community, bio pharmaceutical industry, capital groups and more to assist biotech start-ups in achieving development success and commercialization.
For the opening speech of the Summit, Dr. David Xu, CBO of Viva Biotech, gave an overview of Viva BioInnovator’s (VBI) development and achievements to the more than 60 founders in attendance during the Executive Day. Along with the continuous expansion of Viva's technology platforms, VBI will continue to optimize their capabilities in multiple dimensions such as CRO services, cooperative ecosystems, and operating facilities.
Dr. Cheney Mao, Chairman and CEO of Viva Biotech, introduced the company's latest developments and future development strategies to the founders of the portfolio companies. Dr. Derek Ren, the president of Viva Biotech, gave a detailed explanation of the updates to Viva’s technology and capabilities. Dr. Jianguo Ma, President of Langhua Pharmaceutical, specifically introduced Langhua’s CDMO business capabilities and future development plans.
How can start-ups flexibly respond to market changes on the basis of adhering to the original R & D strategy? VBI portfolio company founders and investors participated together in a series of Panel Discussions themed on “Strategic and Tactical Considerations for BD and M&A”, “Considerations in Clinical Development,” and “Early-Phase Fund Raising Experiences”.
The market has witnessed the rapid development of the biopharmaceutical industry in 2020. How can start-ups better carry out business expansion and complete M&A transactions under the current environment? In the first panel, we invited Dr. Brian Hubbard, CEO of Dogma Therapeutics, Dr. Bingshi Guo, CSO of I-Mab Biopharma, and Dr. Wang Shen, CEO of VivaVision, to share their insights on business development and M&A.
* Dogma Therapeutics made acquisition agreement with AstraZeneca for the Oral PCSK9 Inhibitor in 2020; I-Mab Biopharma collaborated with AbbVie on an anti-CD47 monoclonal antibody lemzoparlimab (TJC4); VivaVision Biotech co-established Qiyuan Bio with Betta Fund focusing on autoimmune diseases.
During 2020, many of VBI’s portfolio companies have started clinical studies. In the second panel, Huang Qing, COO of ABM Therapeutics, Dr. Shunqi Yan, founder and COO of Arthrosi Therapeutics, and Dr. Dan Meyers, CMO of Anji Pharmaceuticals, shared insights and experience from their clinical trials.
* ABM announced first patient dosed in Phase 1 Clinical Trial; Arthrosi released Phase 2 Clinical Data of AR882; Phase 3 trials of ANJ900 will be initiated since April 2021; Anji phased 2 trials of ANJ908 is in progress.
Fund-raising is a crucial activity for all start-up, particularly for the biotech sector where initial costs can be so high. Dr. Hallie Kuhn, Principle of Alexandria, a well-known investment institution, Dr. Arthur Suckcow, CEO of DTx Pharma, Dr. Sam Cooper, CEO of Phenomic AI, and Dr. Kasper Roet, CEO of QurAlis, shared the perspectives of both investment institutions and startups. They discussed the key drivers of early financing and shared personal, practical experience.
*DTx completed 100 Million USD Series B Financing in March 2021; Phenomic AI completed 6 Million USD Seed Round Financing; QurAlis completed 42 Million USD Series A Financing.
During Demo Day Pro, held from March 3rd to 5th, selected 25 VBI portfolio companies gave presentations covering indications in CNS (roadshow company: Amacathera, Blue Oak Pharmaceuticals, Evecxia Therapeutics, Mebias Discovery, Path Therapeutics, VersaPeutics, Vincere Biosciences), Oncology (roadshow company: Argonaut, F5 Therapeutics, Proviva, Sisu Pharma, Totient, WMT), Inflammation/Metabolic Diseases (roadshow company: Anji Pharmaceuticals, Elgia Therapeutics, Forkhead BioTherapeutics, Saverna Therapeutics), as well as technology platforms such as Drug Conjugates (roadshow company: Focus-X Therapeutics, Grove, Morphogene SA, Synthis Therapeutics), and Gene/Cell Therapy (roadshow company: Basking Biosciences, DTx Pharma, Ophidion, Triumvira Immunologics). More than 150 representatives of domestic and foreign investors watched the roadshow.
The Partnering Platform of the Summit lasted from March 4th to 6th. Investors conducted more than 300 one-on-one online meetings with the founders and executives to better understand each company's technological highlights, development prospects, and investment needs.
To learn more about VBI portfolio companies, please visit: www.vivabioinnovator.com