Subaita Rahman

“The biotech industry is standing on the shoulders of public investment.” –Chris Gibson In an interview with Heerea Kaur Rikhraj at MM+M, Recursion co-founder and CEO Chris Gibson shares his personal motivation for launching the Altitude Lab Fund, a new pre-seed fund for early-stage biotech startups, backed by $1 million of his own money, along with additional private investment from David Bearss Ph.D. The fund – launched to help fill the gap created by recent federal funding freezes – will “provide companies with between $100,000 to $250,000 in pre-seed funding — a year’s worth of lab and office space and — as well as entry into Altitude Lab’s competitive accelerator program, which includes mentorship from industry stalwarts.” In the article, Chris talks about how Recursion benefitted from NIH grants in the company’s early years, and how the cuts are impacting scientists. “I’ve got a close friend who was part of the early days at Recursion — who’s still in academia — who doesn’t know if he’s going to be able to pay his postdocs for their work. A blanket cut is almost never the right way to do budgeting.” He calls on the private sector to “step up and stabilize innovation in the industry.” 👉 Read more: https://lnkd.in/eqDFAwWZ  

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Biotech Industry Trends in 2025, according to Labiotech 📈 A well-researched article by Willow Shah-Neville outlines some key trends that are likely to dominate conversations and dealrooms in 2025, many of which align with insights we’ve been discussing at LongeVC You should read the article as it provides a lot of details, but here is a quick overview: ✔️ Artificial intelligence continues to revolutionize drug discovery, predictive analytics, and trial design, making processes faster, more efficient, and targeted. ✔️ CRISPR advancements and innovative delivery methods (both viral and non-viral) are unlocking potential applications for genetic medicine beyond rare diseases. ✔️ Personalization in treatment is advancing with metabolomics and genomics, allowing companies to tailor therapies to patient-specific needs. ✔️ Despite market saturation risks, startups and established players are pursuing innovations in the GLP-1 space, a high-demand segment. ✔️ Increased investment and breakthroughs in biologics and targeted therapies are transforming how we approach autoimmune and inflammatory diseases. ✔️ Larger and even medium-sized biotechs are actively acquiring smaller companies to bolster pipelines, as highlighted by my colleague at LongeVC, Artem A. Trotsyuk. ✔️ AI, decentralized designs, and inclusive strategies are driving efficiency, diversity, and better outcomes in clinical trials. ✔️ U.S. policy shifts, including potential regulatory changes, are influencing biotech strategies, particularly in areas like vaccine development and alternative therapies. From myself, I would also add a considerable change in the status quo of who drives innovations. For instance, Eric Dai an investor with experience at Andreessen Horowitz’s Bio Fund and currently part of Dimension’s investment team, shared a striking observation from a recent Stifel Bank report: one-third of molecules acquired by major pharmaceutical companies now originate from China, compared to nearly none four years ago! Kudos to Where Tech Meets Bio (Substack Newsletter) for spotting this trend in their latest newsletter (link in the comments). Image credit: Labiotech

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Sofinnova Partners has closed its latest biotech acceleration fund, with €165 million earmarked for life sciences investments across Europe. Some of the beneficiaries so far include the new startups BioClec, Forth Therapeutics and SIGNADORI BIO, the last of which comes from a partnership it struck up with Gustave Roussy in 2023. #biotech #vc https://lnkd.in/gWm9AqAu

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Big News at Pack Ventures 🚀🐺🧬 We’re thrilled to welcome two outstanding Venture Partners to the Pack Ventures team! Jenny Cronin, PhD and William Canestaro, PhD are two of the most respected and well-connected figures in the Seattle biotech landscape. They strengthen our mission of building the leading pre-seed biotech fund in Seattle—a city we believe is one of the most important biotech markets in the world for the convergence of A.I. and Biotech! Seattle isn’t just home to world-class institutions like the Institute for Protein Design, University of Washington, Fred Hutch, and Seattle Children's —it’s also a global hub where AI and biotech converge. From David Baker’s recent #NobelPrize to the cutting-edge work coming out of the Paul G. Allen School of Computer Science & Engineering, Microsoft, Amazon, and the Allen Institute and Ai2 , the depth of A.I. talent here is extraordinary. At Pack Ventures, we’re doubling down on the Seattle and UW innovation ecosystem. Our belief is simple: the next generation of industry-defining biotech companies will be built here—and we’re here to help founders make that future a reality. With our new Venture Partners on board, we’re better equipped than ever to support early-stage founders transforming science into scalable solutions. #Biotech #VentureCapital #AIxBio #SeattleInnovation #PackVentures #UWSpinouts #TechBio

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