LSHC Horizons Brochure 2024 - Flipbook - Page 44
Hogan Lovells | 2024 Life Sciences and Health Care Horizons | Transactions
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Healthspan funding opportunities
Investment in the development of new drugs
and biologics is well calibrated for products that
treat a specific disease or condition – emerging
drug development companies routinely talk
of “targeting” a specific indication. Innovative
technologies for disease prevention likewise are
focused on a “one disease at a time” approach.
However, the emerging category of healthspan
products is geared to reducing the risk of onset
of major chronic diseases, such as cancer, heart
disease, diabetes, dementia, and frailty, by
addressing the underlying factors that make
aging the strongest dominant factor for most
major chronic diseases.
An already challenging life sciences financing
market can seem especially daunting for
companies pursuing innovative healthspan
technologies. Astute stakeholders can take
strategic steps now to better position their
healthspan development programs for success.
Particularly in today’s challenging fundraising
market, emerging companies should
consider available non-dilutive funding
opportunities to avoid impacting their cap
table. In the United States (U.S.), these include
government grants, such as from National
Institutes of Health (NIH), National Cancer
Institute (NCI), National Science Foundation
(NSF), Biomedical Advanced Research and
Development Authority (BARDA), U.S.
Department of Defense (DOD) as well as statesponsored options with significant global reach
including the Cancer Prevention and Research
Institute of Texas (CPRIT) and California
Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM).
Barry Burgdorf
Partner
Houston
Significantly, the newly announced and
constituted Advanced Research Projects
Agency for Health (ARPA-H) research funding
agency may provide a unique opportunity for
healthspan innovators to seek this type of nondilutive funding from the federal government
and the timing couldn’t be better for life
sciences entrepreneurs launching such efforts.
ARPA-H aims to support fundamental research
that cannot readily be accomplished through
traditional research or commercial activity.
In particular, ARPA-H’s Proactive Health
initiative supports preventative programs that
will promote treatments and behaviors that will
reduce the likelihood that people will become
patients. ARPA-H also provides opportunities
to work directly with the FDA to accelerate
innovation and accelerate better health
outcomes, i.e., companies seeking to introduce
new healthspan technologies into the market.
As with any government funding program, there
are considerations regarding governmental
rights and other restrictions on the use of funds
that grantees will need to navigate and account
for in their other fundraising efforts.
Finally, more traditional venture and
institutional equity financings will continue
to (must) play a role, but to successfully
attract such investment, emerging healthspan
companies will need to demonstrate a clear
and manageable regulatory path leading to
a significant market supported by a variety
of payors. Piecing these elements together
into a concise financing plan remains a
mission critical undertaking for any life
sciences company.
Public-private partnerships will likely play an
outsized role in the healthspan area not least
because of the less clear regulatory pathways
for approval of these therapies. Many chronic
diseases have national nonprofit foundations that
can provide funding opportunities for companies
involved in research and commercialization
within specific focus areas. Strategic development
partnerships with similar foundations are
another funding source to consider in the path
to developing and commercializing products
without impacting the cap table.
David M. Fox
Partner
Washington, D.C.
Blake E. Wilson
Partner
Philadelphia
