Last night I had the honor of moderating an all-star panel hosted by Pharmaceutical Consulting Consortium International (PCCI) in Philadelphia, focused on Crowdfunding in the life science space.
Our panelists:
- Don Skerrett, the President of PCCI and a serial entrepreneur, who spoke from the perspective of an early-stage life science CEO
- Barbara Schilberg, an experienced life science investor, the CEO of BioAdvance, a leading life science fund that has invested in almost 60 companies – leading to $1.7 billion of additional financing – and a senior executive in four active life science businesses
- Darrick Mix, a shareholder at Duane Morris and an expert in Federal and State securities laws
- Samuel Wertheimer, the Chief Investment Officer at Poliwogg, a Title II portal devoted to the health care industry and one of the most exciting and innovative portals of any kind in the world
Among the issues discussed:
- The advantages and disadvantages of Crowdfunding from the perspective of a life science company
- The nuts-and-bolts mechanics of Crowdfunding
- The role of portals
- The due diligence process for life science companies
- The legal liability of life science companies and portals
- The effect of Crowdfunding on the life science market specifically and the capital formation industry generally
The panel agreed that while Crowdfunding in the real estate market is very active, with more than 100 real estate portals already in operation, Crowdfunding in the life science market is at a very early stage. How the market will develop, how much capital it will provide to life science companies, how existing capital sources like BioAdvance will coordinate with new capital sources like Poliwogg, whether the life science market will divide into sectors as the real estate market is doing – these questions are all unanswered. But the panel also agreed that Crowdfunding holds great opportunities for the life science sector even if the details have yet to be worked out.
Thanks to those who attended, to PCCI for making the event possible, and especially to our excellent panelists for making the event so informative and worthwhile.
Questions? Let me know.