After receiving some excellent feedback from past applicants, the RESI Innovation Challenge Review Team has re-tooled the online application to create a standardized and efficient Sourcing & Ranking Expert System. For years LSN has been evaluating technologies for government organizations, large pharma, and other groups using this system to vet biotech, medtech, diagnostics, and healthcare IT companies based on their science and "invest-ability".

LSN believes the RESI Innovation Challenge application process will now be more logical and easier to navigate, streamlining the process from beginning to end. The application has now launched online. The deadline to apply for RESI on MaRS is Friday March 2nd. We look forward to reviewing all of your impressive applications!

It's no surprise that pharma companies continue to make licensing deals at a rapid pace; in 2017, LSN's Licensing Deals platform on average logged one new deal every 3 days.  

Taking an overview of the data LSN gathered in this pacy year of dealmaking, we can see a few patterns emerging over the course of the year that show where pharma appetite is currently focused. (LSN's Licensing Deals platform only logs reported deals in which some financial information is available, whether it's an up-front payment or future milestones. Deals reported without any financial details are not included in our sample set. Corporate M&A activity isn't included either - just in-licensing). 

Deals Are Getting Earlier 

Some deals involved a research platform rather than a drug asset; however, in deals that involved a new drug, 2017 saw a substantial shift toward preclinical and Phase I opportunities...

1. China's Markets Are Very Different from US Markets 

According to our RESI panelists, one cannot assume that the market in China is the same as the market in the US or other Western countries. Many companies think that they'll do great in China simply by running population metrics and not taking into account that China's health system functions very differently compared to Western countries. China's system has a different reimbursement process, China's hospitals are all state-run and follow a different ruleset, and the government plays a large part in pricing. As a result, many digital health companies based in the US and Europe have no market in China, and many other device and therapeutics companies that assume they have a large market in China may not actually have that market...