Transcript Questionnaire Results - Alzheimer`s Association

Alzheimer’s Association Small Company Consortia
(AASCC) Meeting @ 2015 AAIC
Questionnaire Results & Poster
Jim Hendrix, Alzheimer’s Association
Richard Margolin, CereSpir
Joseph A. Araujo, InterVivo Solutions
Kira Sheinerman, DiamiR
Dennis Van Epps, NanoSomiX
July 21, 2015
Company Profiles
Number of Companies
Mission
Mission
12
10
8
6
4
2
0
Support
11%
Diagnostics
28%
Other
5%
Therapeutics
56%
 Currently, 20 member companies in the consortium.
 15 companies completed questionnaires.
 The majority of the companies in the consortium are therapeutic companies.
Funding: Current, Desired
3.5
Rank Sum/ # of Companies
3
2.5
2
Current Funding
1.5
12-18 mo. Strategy
1
0.5
0
Gov. Grants
Found. Grants
Angel
VC
Pharma
Partner
 A significant number of member companies indicated that currently they have only one
main source of funding.
 Angel investors and pharma partners represented the greatest ranked current funding
sources followed closely by VCs.
 Government grants and pharma partners are most highly ranked targets by member
companies as their primary funding strategy over the next 12 to 18 months, consistent with
a preference for a non-dilutive funding.
Funding: How much do funding difficulties impede your
company’s business goals?
5 = greatest difficulty; 1 = no difficulty
Funding Challenges
4.5
4
3.5
3
2.5
2
1.5
1
0.5
0
5
4
3
2
1
Collaborations & Partnerships
Type of Business /Partnership
Frequency Sought (%)
Pharma Partner
29
Other Biotech
21
Government Grants
17
CRO
12
Foundation Grants
9
Angel
7
VC
5
 Three companies currently participate in precompetitive collaborations/consortia
other than the ASCCC
 Four currently collaborate with academic groups
Collaborations & Partnerships within AASCC
Would you consider collaborations with one
or more of the AASCC member companies?
– Unanimous “YES”
Recognition & Visibility: how important is visibility to
funders or strategic partners to your company’s business
goals in the next 2 years?
Visibility
Very Important (12)
Moderate Importance (3)
Not Very Important (2)
 A higher percentage of member companies indicated that visibility is
very important.
Recognition & Visibility: publications by the AASCC Members
Publications
50
45
40
35
30
25
20
15
10
5
0
2013
2014
2015
 Large # of publications demonstrate that member companies are driven
by science, fundamentals
 13/15 companies indicated they are willing to collaborate on joint
publications with other consortium members
Recognition & Visibility: does your company present or attend
industry and investor conferences? Issue press releases? Employ
a PR firm?
12
10
8
6
Yes
4
No
2
0
Conferences
Press Releases
PR Firm
 Conferences Mentioned: AAIC, AD/PD, AAN, BIO, ACS, SfN, Brown University Day of Biology, The Early
Stage Life Sciences Conference, NEALS, Investment Banking Conferences, JP Morgan, NY Life Sciences
Summit, NYC Med Tech, ISSX, ESP, CHI Drug Discovery, SLAS, World Health, Goldman Sachs, NYAS, Angel
Venture Fair in New York, BioNJ
 Other strategies included: Website, LinkedIn messages, Networking Events, Membership in major
consortia with Pharma and Academia, Invited interviews with industry publications (e.g. genomeweb)
 Analysis: Member companies are less likely to use PR firms for achieving visibility
Information and Knowledge
Type of Information Ranked Most Important
Information Most Difficult to Obtain
Reg.
Biomark
8%
Regs. Ther.
8%
Regs. DX Ind. News
5%
9%
Reg. Biomark
14%
Sci. Journ.
17%
Regs. Ther.
14%
Comp. Intel.
10%
Sci. Journ.
48%
Comp. Intel.
67%
 ~50% of member companies ranked scientific journals as the most important type of
information for success of their business.
 ~70% of member companies ranked competitive intelligence as the most difficult type of
information to obtain for success of their business.
Information & Knowledge: are you interested in developing a network
of the member companies to share information about products,
vendors, services and/or consultants commonly utilized by small
biotech-related companies?
16
14
12
10
Yes
8
No
6
4
2
0
Products
Services
Consultants
Challenges Beyond Funding
CHOOSING PRE-CLINICAL MODEL
– Finding the most convincing collection of data points/assays for successful out-licensing
of lead
– Conducting preclinical studies that will predict and inform success in the clinic
– Model validation
– Access to AD mouse models, access to reagents
• INFORMATION ACCESS, EXPERT ADVICE
– Access to up-to-date information related to studies and clinical trials in the planning
stages
– Information on early stage in vitro / ex vivo models developed at other companies
– Identification of “trusted” experts on specific issues relevant to drug development in AD
space
• CLINICAL TESTING
– Clinical trial enrollment; keeping patients in the study
– Clinical validation
– Getting into clinic as soon as possible
• NETWORKING, EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATION
– Create exposure / Visibility for expanding operations
– Getting a seat at the table with larger players for a meaningful dialogue
– Networking with other companies in AD space
Other Topics Indicated as Potentially Relevant and Helpful to the
Mission & Development of the Consortium
 An event bringing small companies and potential funding groups together.
 Shared resource model – e.g. sharing control data to reduce study costs, sharing
industry reports, etc.
 Means of enhancing visibility for small companies with new technologies and advancing
the field based on scientific publications relevant to each company and of interest to
the general AD community and pharmaceutical companies working in the field:
sponsored presentations, webinars for new technology etc.
 General framework for “pre-competitive” collaboration (to be used as a starting point in
drafting specific agreements) – to streamline, expedite, provide a starting point for
negotiations.
 Databank of “trusted” experts on specific issues for drug development in AD space: preclinical; specific IND enabling studies currently required by FDA; appropriate clinical
study design; regulatory requirements in other countries: Europe, Japan, Canada,
Australia, China.
 Member access to competitive intelligence resources (e.g. limited access per member
company; access fees paid jointly by companies wishing to have access to the resource).
 AASCC Blog with contributions from member companies: relevant news,
announcements, discussions of recent scientific papers, requests for help, success
stories.
Do you have a success story that you would be willing to
share with the AASCC?
 “A couple fundraising stories as well as stories about how we
have designed our studies and thought about translatability.”
 Stories about setting up collaborations and meeting with
pharma.
 Non-dilutive funding experiences.
 The value of dog model in helping companies raise
subsequent funding and licensing to the veterinary industry.
Consortium Name: are you happy with “Alzheimer’s
Association Small Company Consortium”?
7 / 15 indicated “Yes”
Proposed Alternatives:
– SMEs- AA SMEC (to include medium size
companies)
– Alzheimer’s Association Growth Company
Consortium
– Alzheimer's Disease Biotech Consortium
Poster Information
Session: Developing Topics, Poster #6209
Talk Title: P4-280: Maximizing the Potential of Small
Companies in Alzheimer's Disease Research:
Challenges and Opportunities
Date: Wednesday, July 22
Time: 9:30 AM – 4:15 PM
Location: Walter E. Washington Convention Center,
Exhibit Hall D