New Biotech Funding Models: Is the Tech Revolution Coming?

November 12, 2019 8:00 AM - 10:00 AM

MassBio, 300 Technology Square 8th Fl, Cambridge, MA 02139

Add to Calendar 11/12/2019 8:00:00 AM 11/12/2019 10:00:00 AM New Biotech Funding Models: Is the Tech Revolution Coming?

Early-stage financing and company creation models have evolved significantly over the last two decades from heavily-funded, brick & mortar, do or die entities to angel-enabled, virtual and minimalistic proof of concept start-ups with hand-selected management and externally-enabled resources and ecosystems. Indeed, the Funding Model for emerging biotech companies appears to borrow from the tech company funding models from two decades prior, including incubators and accelerators, angel investors, shared laboratory and clinical facilities, “venture engineering” and shared resource programs. At this MassBio program, under the auspices of Entrepreneurs University, we will explore the current funding models in vogue today, the investor landscape, the impact of advancing science and technology, new types of partnerships, and the novel approaches early-stage companies are executing to advance to the next stage of existence – and funding round. Finally, our panel will provide their ideas on the future of venture funding and early-stage funding models in the biotech industry, and open the program to a lively discussion with the audience. Our moderator for this program is the inimitable, ever-effervescent John Hession. Please join us.

Sponsored by the MassBio Entrepreneurs University Working group.

MassBio, 300 Technology Square 8th Fl, Cambridge, MA 02139
Partner and VP of Business Development, Morse Law
John Hession is a Partner at Morse, Barnes-Brown & Pendleton, and a member of the firm’s Corporate, Venture Capital and Life Sciences practice groups. Previously, John was a co-founder of Cooley LLP's Boston office, and served as the Managing Partner of the Cooley Boston office for its first several years of operation, helping to steer and grow the Boston office from ten to seventy-plus professionals and staff. For the last thirty-five years, John has represented emerging-growth companies, as both a legal and business advisor, principally in the life sciences, medical device, hardware, software and software services sectors, as well as angels and venture capital funds in the investment process. John is also angel investor in emerging companies. John’s practice includes both start-up, emerging growth and later-stage company work, where he serves as outside general counsel. This work includes corporate governance; equity-based compensation strategies; mergers and acquisitions (representing buyers and sellers); and strategic alliances, corporate partnering, joint ventures, collaboration and development projects, and other strategic alliances involving technology transfers; as well venture capital and angel financings of companies in these sectors, representing principally companies and their management teams. John has structured and negotiated more than 400 debt and equity financings, ranging in scale from $500,000 to $250 million, and more than 350 acquisitions ranging in size from $1.0 million to $4.2 billion. During his thirty-five year career, John has represented more than 400 companies from the earliest stages of development, from cradle to culmination, from inception to liquidity (including public offering and acquisitions). John has won a number of industry awards during his career, including Best Lawyers in America, IP Stars (Managing Intellectual Property), Lawdragon 500 Leading Deal Makers, a Massachusetts Super Lawyer, and Best Lawyers in New England.