Venture Leaders Biotech 2022: Captain’s blog by Recolony CEO Ana Montalban-Arques

05.10.2022 09:00, Adriana Torello

In mid-September, the Venture Leaders Biotech 2022 traveled to Boston to meet with investors, experts and other entrepreneurs in what is considered the center of the U.S. biotechnology industry. We asked Team Captain Ana Montalban-Arques to share her experience and take us behind the scenes of the week-long roadshow.

Sunday
On Sunday 11th September, most of the team met at the Zurich airport from where we flew to Boston. Once we arrived, we got to know the dense traffic in Boston to get out of the airport. At around 9:45 PM we reached the hotel, checked in and went for some Mexican food near Harvard Square. A great week ahead was waiting for us.

Monday
The jet lag made it easy to get up early and start the day. At 8:45 AM we met at the front door of Irving House to head towards Swissnex, where Benjamin Bollmann, CEO of Swissnex, welcomed us. The first session of the day was about financing our biotech startup in the US, where we got some insights into the differences between Switzerland and US and what is important to consider when raising funds in the US. After that, we went for lunch to the Red House Restaurant, where we could try some typical food from Boston and we learned how difficult is to split a bill in the US. 
 
In the afternoon, we split the team in two for the private Expert Session. We had the opportunity to pitch for the first time and get beneficial feedback from different investors from MassVentures, Mass Med Angels, Evolution Growth Partners, and MPM Capital. To finish the day with a reception at the consul's house, we were invited to the consulate residence at Lexington, where Benjamin welcomed us. There, we had the opportunity to meet with EPFL alumni and share some experiences. We enjoyed nice food and drinks and a wonderful evening outdoors on the patio. 

Tuesday 
On Tuesday, we started the day with Erran Orr, Co-founder & CEO, XRHealth, telling us how reimbursement works in the US. A very interesting and complicated topic that he made very easy to understand. We learned from how prices are established for drugs, all the players involved in the process to how much it costs for a drug to make it into the US market.
 
Later, we had a session with Mark Lesselroth from BioPort USA, a company specializing in giving support to life sciences companies wishing to enter the US market. He gave us some tips on what we would need to open our business to the US, like looking for strategic partners and how to engage with the FDA for a successful regulatory process. Later on, Marc Sanchez joined online for a Q&A regarding the FDA. Tuesday´s lunch break was to enjoy some dumplings and Tilapia, which turned out to be a very productive lunch, where even new company names were created.

In the afternoon, we met MedSciences Ventures at Swissnex, where we counted with a very experienced panel of experts. Med Sciences Ventures is based in the US, Europe, and Asia and focuses on emerging life sciences and medical technologies with the aim of providing consulting services and making investments. Once again, the whole team had the opportunity to pitch in front of them and get valuable feedback.
 
The highlight of the day was the pitch fest in the boat. The whole team plus some US startups had the great opportunity to pitch in front of investors, entrepreneurs, and industry people in just 3 minutes, distributed in two different sessions. The audience got to vote by investing in the startups up to “2 million” in each session. In the end, Priyanka and Carlo came out as the winners of the night. Very well deserved, guys! We got to know very interesting people and had loads of contacts while navigating along the Boston Bay and enjoying wonderful views.
 
To finish the night, we didn't find the right rooftop bar, but we enjoyed some cocktails and snacks in a nice bar nearby to cheer for the winners.
   
Wednesday
The day began with Ulf Grawunder talking about creating value in our company from his experience as an entrepreneur. It was a very valuable and inspiring talk, full of tips for us to succeed as entrepreneurs. With that rush of self-confidence after the talk with Ulf, we headed to RA Capital for our next pitching session. Good that the Americans always take care of our stomachs before presenting and we could enjoy a nice lunch in the meeting room. RA Capital is focused on innovation in human health. Christina Ghenoiu, principal at RA, and the associates that joined the meeting had different backgrounds, including biochemistry, neuroscience or immune-oncology, which was very helpful to challenge our projects with great questions. 
   
To finish the day, we went to EY, where Gabriela Guentherodt, who was accompanying us the whole week, was waiting for us. At EY we got to know a bit more with is the current situation regarding investments in startups, VCs, and IPOs and how is expected to change in the forecast period. The talk was followed by a nice ápero with some drinks, which we welcomed happily.
 
Thursday
On Thursday, we started the day with an open session with Todd Boudreau. Todd Boudreau is a lawyer with a broad experience in investments, funds, and transactions. We could learn from him what we would need to incorporate our company in the US, the differences between Europe and the USA in terms of investments, and could consult some other specific questions related to our companies.

Afterward, we jumped in the Uber once more and visited Skyhawk Therapeutics, a company focused on designing small molecules that modify RNA expression. We had the chance to talk with one of the co-founders, Kathleen McCarthy, who shared with us her experience as an entrepreneur from the first and difficult days until having a successful company running.  

Back in Swissnex, we connected online with Gurnet Point Capital for our next pitch session, a private equity company focused on de-risked life-science companies. After a round of sharp questions and interesting feedback, we were done for the day and more than ready to go for the promised lobster. 

The evening was a highlight! After a tight ride in the Uber, we reached the Union Oyster House, the oldest restaurant in the USA, where we enjoyed oysters and lobster (not without fighting a bit with them). Thank you, Jordi, for the amazing experience!
 
Friday
We couldn't believe it, but it was time for our last pitch. The day was wonderful, so we decided to enjoy a morning walk from the hotel to the Novartis Venture Fund. Once again, we got very good feedback and a feeling of being done for the week. The last visit of the week was to Lab Central, where Olivier Boss welcomed us and told us about the lab facilities that are available for startups in Boston. After a busy morning, we went for some tasty tacos to recharge the energy before going sailing! The last stop on this trip and an unforgettable experience. It was great to enjoy a relaxed afternoon along the Bay with the team. 
     
Thank you very much for this great opportunity of connecting with the Boston biotech environment. Thank you to the sponsors to make it possible: Swissnex Boston, Debiopharm, EPFL Lausanne, ETH Zurich, EY - Ernst & Young, Swiss Biotech Association, VISCHER, Hansjörg Wyss, and Venture Leaders alum Ulf Grawunder.

Thank you to Swissnex for hosting us the whole week, for their hospitality, and for accompanying us during the week. Thank you, Benjamin, Oriane, Sebâ and Sagit.

Thank you, Ulf and Gabriela, for spending the week with us, and for the fruitful discussions, inspiring stories, and connections established. It was great to have the pleasure of meeting you both.

Thank you Venture Lab for organizing this trip. Thank you Jordi and Adriana for all the efforts you made to make everything work, both before and during the trip. I can´t imagine how many headaches came together with the emails, presentations, bookings, reminders, and in general, dealing with all of us, but always with a smile and full of energy.

And last, but not least, thank you to all Venture Leaders Biotech 2022. What an extraordinary team we had this year. It has been a pleasure for me to share that week with you guys, and learn so much from all of you. I have enjoyed a lot talking to you, getting to know each other, discussing business, having your support, and laughing with you. I wish you all the best and I am looking forward to continuing to interact with you all!

Learn more about the Venture Leaders Biotech 2022: