Monthly Vibe Bio Newsletter - June 2023
Every Cure for Every Community - More Shots on Goal ⚽
Welcome to ’s Monthly Newsletter! Stay up-to-date with our latest company updates and insights into the ever-evolving biotech funding landscape.
In our May newsletter, we introduced Vibe Bio’s Inflection Point Financing model, providing biotech companies a way to fund their pivotal study and reach their next value inflection point.
In this month’s edition, we share some of the feedback from entrepreneurs and drug program leaders struggling with some of the biotech funding problems Vibe Bio aims to solve.
Industry Problem: Drug Programs are Dropped Prematurely
Many executives struggle to keep their drug programs active when their funding pool starts to dry up. Often times, these potential treatments are promising, however, economic circumstances force the CEOs of these companies to decide to pull the plug.
In biotech, we need more shots on goal. We need more biotech companies to pursue their novel research and test their hypotheses so we don’t lose their scientific momentum. When a drug program is shelved or considered inactive, it may never be revisited again.
Biotech founders love their science, they want to push the limits of their research. They want to have predictability in their drug program’s financial and operating future. In our current biotech economic system, too many programs are unable to meet the intense data demands of VCs and are left at the mercy of funding miracles.
Let’s not wait on miracles to financially support potentially life-saving cures. Let’s develop a new model where we can scale biotech funding, allowing for more shots on goal.
Our Proposed Solution: Inflection Point Financing (IPF)
Vibe Bio’s strategy supports biotechs through Inflection Point Financing (IPF).
Utilizing our extensive network of industry experts, Vibe Bio expeditiously assesses high-potential drug programs, unlocking capital through a deferred payment arrangement.
IPF:
✅ is a commitment between a biotech company and Vibe Bio
✅ can cover external expenses (i.e. CRO, equipment, etc.)
✅ has an extended repayment period
✅ offers a deferred repayment (Buy now, Pay later) until your company’s next influx of capital
✅ offers additional support beyond financing - pitch deck development, experiment design, CRO contracting support, warm introductions to Vibe Bio’s VC network.
✅ is non-dilutive (avoids direct equity in your company)
❌ is not a loan or venture debt
❌ has no covenants
IPF enables biotech companies to dedicate more time on science and less time fundraising, marking a shift in the biotech fundraising paradigm and prevents potentially groundbreaking research from being abandoned.
💰 If you are seeking novel and rapid financing strategies to drive you towards your next inflection point, Vibe Bio would like to speak with you. Let’s explore opportunities together.
VibeCast Updates 🎙️
On VibeCast, our Industry Engagement Manager and show host Ray Dogum, interviews Vibe Bio community experts who come from diverse backgrounds and career paths. However, one commonality that all VibeCast guests have is a passion to improve society by encouraging research and educating others by sharing their own experiences.
Collectively we have the skills. We have the technology. We have the passion. We now need the community catalyst to bring it all together. That’s Vibe.
In addition to our YouTube channel, you can listen to episodes on:
We are always looking for interesting and knowledgeable people to interview on our show. If you know of a community member who would be a great guest, please let us know. You can suggest a guest by sending us an email, leaving a Substack comment below, or reaching out via social media.
Check out the latest episodes 12-15 below.
Brigitte Piniewski, MD on Wealthcare, Crowdfunding, & Data Ownership | VibeCast Episode 12
Brigitte Piniewski, MD is a physician, ex-healthcare executive, researcher, author and angel investor who has witnessed healthcare from every angle. While providing investor education in Web3 technologies, she has articulated an urgent need for health transformation and the pivotal achievements that these new technological approaches are likely to produce. To this end, Dr Piniewski advises teams and corporations via her role as a subject matter expert for Nex Cubed, a leader in early stage innovation and start-up acceleration. She has worked with international founders from Singapore, Korea and Canada as well as within the United States. Dr Piniewski received her medical degree from the University of British Columbia and McGill University, Canada and she currently resides in Portland, Oregon.
Neil Thanedar on Biotech Investing and Diligence | VibeCast Episode 13
Neil Thanedar is the founder and solo GP of Utopic Ventures, a new pre-seed VC fund that invests the first $50K-100K in biotech startups led by scientist CEOs. He was previously founding CEO of Labdoor, one of Y Combinator's first scientist-led startups, and Avomeen, a contract research lab that was acquired for $30M+ in 2016.
Erum Azeez on Strategic Communications & Upcoming Tech in Biotech | VibeCast Episode 14
Erum Azeez Khan brings 15 years of experience in healthcare, life sciences, technology, entrepreneurship, and leadership. Prior to Messaginglab, Erum co-founded healthcare tech company Soundmind, where she led the successful fundraise and exit as CEO.
Erum studied Forensic Chemistry at West Chester University of Pennsylvania and started her career as an analytical chemist at GSK then J&J developing therapeutics. Erum left the pharma lab when she received a position at the University of Pennsylvania to work with the Dean of Sociology on special projects. After getting married in 2010, Erum lived internationally and found her calling in developing startups and tech ecosystems while working alongside TED, Singularity University, Google, and the UN before founding Soundmind.
Erum lives in Brooklyn, NY with her husband and son. She enjoys exploring the “Brooklyn” of different cities, supporting startup founders, and discovering the infinite possibilities of biotechnology and computation. Connect with Erum on LinkedIn or Twitter.
Jacob Glanville on Vaccine Development & Startup Funding Challenges | Vibecast Episode 15
Jacob Glanville is an serial entrepreneur, and computational immuno-engineer. He built and sold his first company Distributed Bio from founding in March of 2012 to a 104M dollar sale to Charles River Laboratories in December of 2020. During that period, he developed the core business model, the research teams, and the technologies that enabled Distributed Bio to become profitable without investment. As part of the acquisition agreement, he founded Centivax Inc and spun-out his assets in COVID-19 therapeutics, broad-spectrum vaccines, antivenom antibodies, anti-wound pathogen antibodies, anti-CXCR5 autoimmunity therapeutics, and blood-brain barrier translation technologies into Centivax, where he is now CEO.
Recent Event Recap
SynBio Beta 2023 - Oakland, CA
DeSci Workshop
A DeSci Workshop was conducted by Jelani Clarke, PhD, of DeSci World. This 3-hour intensive session was designed for both newcomers and seasoned professionals in the Decentralized Science (DeSci) ecosystem. Participants gained a comprehensive understanding of DeSci's core pillars, including funding, tooling, organization, data, publishing, and incentives. Speakers from LabDAO, - DeSciLabs, ValleyDAO, Molecule, and Vibe Bio shared their perspectives on DeSci.
Panel on DeSci Revolution: Can Blockchain and DAOs Unite Bioeconomy Infrastructure
Panel on Inflection Point Financing: Bridging Capital, Tools, & People to Accelerate R&D
In the fast-paced world of biotech startups, success or failure often hinges on securing adequate funding at critical inflection points in the development process. However, obtaining investment at these pivotal moments can be incredibly challenging, and many promising startups struggle to survive without it. This panel explored the dire need for inflection point funding and discuss opportunities for addressing this critical issue. They examine the risks and rewards of investing in early-stage biotech companies and explored how we can create a more supportive ecosystem for startups. They also discuss the high-value milestones and essential experiments needed to de-risk the company for institutional (traditional) investors.
As proud sponsors, we thank the SynBioBeta team for organizing such a great event. Shout out to John Cumbers, Alfred Brown, Anissa Cooke, and the everyone else who helped to make this year’s event so valuable and enjoyable. We’re looking forward to SynBioBeta 2024!
Check out the SynBioBeta DeSci Track Digest for more information.
Community Feedback
We encourage you to explore our Discord server and learn more about our mission to accelerate the development of new treatments and cures through inflection point financing. You can also follow us on social media to stay up-to-date with the latest news and updates from our community.
Tell us what else you’d like to see in future editions of the newsletter. We’d love to hear from you!
Sincerely,
The Vibe Bio Community Team
#EveryCureforEveryCommunity