Full Transcript for Ernesto Chanona: What Tech Transfer Can Learn from Business Development

05:24.807 --> 05:29.655 [SPEAKER_01]: And then really helping that company expand internationally. 05:29.675 --> 05:44.338 [SPEAKER_01]: And my love for business development and would it meant to bring the credibility and the trust and the partnerships to a company with something that I realized that I absolutely love doing. 05:45.820 --> 05:50.848 [SPEAKER_01]: And so that was the genesis then for founding American business development to my company. 05:51.166 --> 05:59.480 [SPEAKER_01]: and I serve as CEO, we're a team of about 14 individuals, and the rest is history. 06:00.321 --> 06:02.985 [SPEAKER_00]: Well, so let's talk about business developing. 06:03.126 --> 06:04.568 [SPEAKER_00]: What is a business developer? 06:04.708 --> 06:07.673 [SPEAKER_00]: And especially what does that look like in the life sciences? 06:08.648 --> 06:31.893 [SPEAKER_01]: That's a nice long question, and it's something that I've thought about for years now, because oftentimes professional services, contract research, contract manufacturers, regulatory consultancies, they don't have a formal structure by which they onboard and train their business development team. 06:32.654 --> 06:36.158 [SPEAKER_01]: Business development is often associated with sales. 06:36.138 --> 06:36.739 [SPEAKER_01]: And it is. 06:36.839 --> 06:45.294 [SPEAKER_01]: I mean, there is a big component to bringing in business to the company as the business development team. 06:46.096 --> 06:55.412 [SPEAKER_01]: But in life science was a little bit different because a business developer absolutely has the mandate to be a salesperson. 06:56.050 --> 06:58.012 [SPEAKER_01]: but also a subject matter expert. 06:58.593 --> 07:01.175 [SPEAKER_01]: You need to understand the technology. 07:01.215 --> 07:04.999 [SPEAKER_01]: And it helps to have a life science is background. 07:05.700 --> 07:12.747 [SPEAKER_01]: Because at the end of the day, you're establishing a relationship and you're building trust with the person sitting across the table from you. 07:12.807 --> 07:19.233 [SPEAKER_01]: And the person is typically an entrepreneur who has, who is a life scientist, or who is an engineer. 07:19.293 --> 07:25.399 [SPEAKER_01]: And so being able to talk to talk with them about their technology is so integral. 07:25.953 --> 07:44.948 [SPEAKER_01]: for them to not just trust the business developer, but then trust the brand that that business developer represents, and so in addition to salesmanship, or saleswoman'ship, subject matter expertise is incredibly important, and we're also consultants. 07:44.968 --> 07:49.176 [SPEAKER_01]: And that's kind of a third pillar of being a business developer. 07:49.156 --> 07:54.853 [SPEAKER_01]: there is in the example of a regulatory consultancy. 07:54.893 --> 08:02.777 [SPEAKER_01]: There's only so much free advice a regulatory consultancy can give a perspective client. 08:03.247 --> 08:11.260 [SPEAKER_01]: In order to get that trust and to demonstrate that, yes, we know what we're talking about as a regulatory consulting firm. 08:12.422 --> 08:19.092 [SPEAKER_01]: And it's very tough sometimes for consultants, especially sole proprietors to know where to draw that line. 08:19.112 --> 08:21.296 [SPEAKER_01]: It's like, what am I gonna tell you for free? 08:22.017 --> 08:25.963 [SPEAKER_01]: Versus, what do you need to start paying me for? 08:26.028 --> 08:35.220 [SPEAKER_01]: And so business developer has that unique responsibility of being able to begin the strategy conversation at a high level. 08:35.781 --> 08:39.746 [SPEAKER_01]: Yeah, it sounds like your technology is a traditional class to device. 08:40.106 --> 08:44.852 [SPEAKER_01]: You're probably going to have to go through a 510K or maybe you didn't know a 510K. 08:45.533 --> 08:55.326 [SPEAKER_01]: And demonstrate that while, for instance, I couldn't talk regulatory with the perspective 08:55.390 --> 09:04.599 [SPEAKER_01]: And for the details, we would have to engage and in a professional manner so that they have access to our consultants. 09:05.440 --> 09:25.060 [SPEAKER_01]: And so that consulting part that teaching part of a business developer is incredibly important, while maintaining that charm and drawing the client into, yes, that makes sense. 09:25.040 --> 09:40.973 [SPEAKER_01]: contract so that I can get the best help from the company as possible and tap those consultants that that can then file and defend that regulatory pieces that they're putting for to the USFDA. 09:41.240 --> 09:57.848 [SPEAKER_01]: It's not an easy role, but it is an important one because at the end of the day, you hold the relationships that are so critical to the company. 09:58.756 --> 10:15.385 [SPEAKER_01]: And so folks interested in business development and CEOs interested in expanding a business development operation have to know that if a business developer in your company leaves, it's not just one person leaving. 10:15.425 --> 10:22.097 [SPEAKER_01]: It's that person and all those relationships that they hold. 10:22.364 --> 10:42.195 [SPEAKER_01]: And so it's a position that I find to come with a lot of respect and people take a lot of pride in this role because it's so important, so important. 10:42.175 --> 10:54.648 [SPEAKER_01]: And as a founder and CEO, I was so highly appreciate what it means to have people in your corner to be able to leverage your network for help because no one CEO can do any of this alone. 10:56.150 --> 11:09.043 [SPEAKER_01]: And having a business developer that can help you maintain those relationships is invaluable, is absolutely critical to the growth and the success of a company. 11:09.361 --> 11:10.263 [SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, absolutely. 11:10.283 --> 11:11.946 [SPEAKER_00]: We actually we hear that sentiment. 11:12.006 --> 11:20.662 [SPEAKER_00]: I hear that sentiment echoed in so many of these conversations just about the central role that those relationships. 11:20.682 --> 11:30.019 [SPEAKER_00]: I mean, that's what an

ecosystem boils down to that's what the collaboration boils down to it makes perfect sense, but that's a big thing to hold. 11:30.691 --> 12:00.698 [SPEAKER_01]: it is and a CEO doesn't have the time necessarily to to maintain relationships and so they they have the relationship they know these stakeholders whether it be investors, FDA folks, academic or other private sector collaborators, trade organizations and of course folks like 12:00.678 --> 12:29.233 [SPEAKER_01]: That's a lot of people, and the CEO needs to indicate to the business development team when there's an initiative that requires to bring those folks to the table, but the business developers are the ones meeting with them on a quarterly or on a six-month basis to maintain that relationship and to ensure that the company that represents remains top of mind to these stakeholders. 12:29.213 --> 12:42.479 [SPEAKER_01]: And to your point, it's who's keeping the ecosystem in the loop, and that's the business developer, so that then frees up time for the CEO to do what they have to do. 12:43.521 --> 12:50.074 [SPEAKER_00]: So in this innovation ecosystem, in this web of relationships, where do federal labs fit in? 12:50.729 --> 12:59.060 [SPEAKER_01]: That's an excellent question, because federal labs are often unappreciated or underappreciated by the community. 12:59.140 --> 13:01.643 [SPEAKER_01]: And so it's great that the FLC is here. 13:01.703 --> 13:11.396 [SPEAKER_01]: The source of innovation from federal labs, I think, is and has been demonstrated by multiple federal labs. 13:12.558 --> 13:20.348 [SPEAKER_01]: It critical to innovation in the United States as a whole. 13:20.328 --> 13:32.987 [SPEAKER_01]: they are contributing partnerships and knowledge, subject matter expertise, in almost every discipline across engineering and the life sciences and the physical sciences. 13:33.305 --> 13:39.396 [SPEAKER_01]: And so understanding that value is critical for the private sector. 13:39.936 --> 13:43.202 [SPEAKER_01]: And I'm here to advocate for you guys because I see that. 13:43.603 --> 13:45.406 [SPEAKER_01]: And I've seen the companies that have come from that. 13:45.426 --> 13:48.932 [SPEAKER_01]: And I've seen the technologies that have come from federal labs. 13:49.313 --> 13:54.722 [SPEAKER_01]: And so helping spread the word of that value is something that I'm currently proud of. 13:55.394 --> 13:57.958 [SPEAKER_00]: We appreciate that, I don't say. 13:57.978 --> 14:11.361 [SPEAKER_00]: For listeners who maybe don't live in the world of business development, how do you define, we talked about defining business development, but in the context of technology commercialization, 14:11.712 --> 14:12.153 [SPEAKER_01]: sure. 14:12.173 --> 14:17.327 [SPEAKER_01]: The technology transfer is a very specialized type of business development. 14:18.229 --> 14:27.915 [SPEAKER_01]: And it's incredibly challenging for for these individuals that take transfer offices, because they don't often have business development training necessarily. 14:27.895 --> 14:44.655 [SPEAKER_01]: their experts perhaps in licensing or some intellectual property or technology scouting, but one thing that we bring to the table to technology transfer offices in terms of business development is number one, BD operations. 14:44.905 --> 14:47.170 [SPEAKER_01]: how are you organizing these relationships? 14:48.673 --> 14:57.270 [SPEAKER_01]: How are you structuring your CRM so that you're capturing the data that you need in order to analyze those relationships? 14:58.192 --> 15:04.585 [SPEAKER_01]: Who is the person or who is the group that's most engaged with your tech transfer office? 15:05.543 --> 15:22.270 [SPEAKER_01]: If there is a group that's interested or has licensed multiple technologies, but that point of contact leaves, who is in charge of finding out who the new point of contact is and reaching out and maintaining that relationship. 15:22.925 --> 15:40.090 [SPEAKER_01]: on the BD operation side, it can be as simple as follow-up, and how often, and how do we follow-up, and who takes ownership of the account, if you will, or that stakeholder that may be interested in licensing a technology. 15:40.390 --> 15:53.828 [SPEAKER_01]: How do you communicate the breadth of technologies within a portfolio to a prospective client, if you will, or prospective company interested in licensing a technology? 15:53.868 --> 16:03.802 [SPEAKER_01]: All of that, the intersection between the marketing and the science is something that's integral to a tech transfer office. 16:03.822 --> 16:07.427 [SPEAKER_01]: And that's a big component of business development. 16:07.542 --> 16:25.274 [SPEAKER_01]: If there's a website or marketing materials that are used linked in posts, any sort of digital asset that's used to market the tech transfer office business development typically has a role in writing that copy and translating that science. 16:26.356 --> 16:29.702 [SPEAKER_01]: Because your marketing team may not have a PhD, 16:31.572 --> 16:50.273 [SPEAKER_01]: which is perfectly understandable and so contributing to that marketing effort and ensuring that the message is aligned with that target audience is another way that business development at a tight transfer office is critically important. 16:50.253 --> 17:02.968 [SPEAKER_01]: because if people don't understand the technologies or the value or the activity within that university as marketed by the tech transfer office, the tech transfer office may be losing that opportunity. 17:03.668 --> 17:04.149 [SPEAKER_00]: Absolutely. 17:04.189 --> 17:17.104 [SPEAKER_00]: And so when you look at tech transfer offices and federal labs, where do you see gaps in that BD presence and those efforts? 17:17.742 --> 17:23.973 [SPEAKER_01]: And we've talked and engaged with several tech transfer offices locally and across the world. 17:24.014 --> 17:30.866 [SPEAKER_01]: And sometimes the tech transfer offices are just simply

short-staffed. 17:31.427 --> 17:38.180 [SPEAKER_01]: And so it's not as in so much a matter of capabilities or skills. 17:39.021 --> 17:41.185 [SPEAKER_01]: It's just a matter of bandwidth. 17:41.165 --> 17:59.410 [SPEAKER_01]: There's so much to do and a lot of internal relationships and to consider that can be very tough to navigate, especially faculty members that are very prominent or administrator that I mean, there's a lot. 17:59.390 --> 18:08.462 [SPEAKER_01]: to navigate that sometimes makes it challenging for any one person at a tech transfer office to to be the best in business development. 18:08.782 --> 18:15.291 [SPEAKER_01]: And so I think that yeah, the biggest challenge is off to just not having enough people, which is which is fine. 18:15.851 --> 18:20.217 [SPEAKER_01]: At our team, sometimes will serve as an extension. 18:20.197 --> 18:43.757 [SPEAKER_01]: of a tech transfer office and so taking on that responsibility of finding external partners or even identifying technologies within the portfolio that we believe through our market research are suitable candidates for out licensing or the better candidates for out licensing given what we see. 18:43.906 --> 18:50.033 [SPEAKER_01]: Now, externally, because we are talking to Big Farmer, we are talking to Matt Tech and Small Farmer and Small Met Tech. 18:50.093 --> 19:07.872 [SPEAKER_01]: And so, it's not always reasonable to expect that, in addition to everyone's internal functions that they're keeping up with the market, and more reasonably multiple markets across multiple indications and multiple modalities, 19:07.852 --> 19:12.698 [SPEAKER_01]: to be able to secure that license from the technologies and house. 19:13.760 --> 19:19.087 [SPEAKER_01]: And so, because that, you know, if somebody were to have that mandate, they wouldn't be able to sleep ever. 19:22.131 --> 19:29.861 [SPEAKER_01]: And so, that's the gap that we've seen that folks are interested in us to fill. 19:30.461 --> 19:34.787 [SPEAKER_01]: Because at the end of the day, we do want to get these technologies out the door. 19:35.510 --> 19:50.245 [SPEAKER_00]: When a lab says we need more industry partners, what are the first things that you typically evaluate to understand whether the problem is outreach or positioning or something deeper? 19:50.545 --> 19:58.479 [SPEAKER_01]: So step one is to just look at the breadth of data that's available for that individual technology. 19:59.901 --> 20:05.391 [SPEAKER_01]: Because I mean, I think it goes with that same that most people understand that these are early stage technologies. 20:06.172 --> 20:08.476 [SPEAKER_01]: Very, very early stage technologies. 20:08.496 --> 20:10.039 [SPEAKER_01]: And there's nothing wrong with that. 20:10.306 --> 20:21.202 [SPEAKER_01]: But there are early state technologies with a more complete data package that makes that technology a little bit more palatable to a partner. 20:21.222 --> 20:33.360 [SPEAKER_01]: And so oftentimes the first thing is if this is if after we've done our due diligence and we believe that there's true market potential. 20:33.340 --> 20:55.298 [SPEAKER_01]: what's missing from the data package that we could ask the inventor to do to make that a slightly stronger candidate so that we have a much more robust argument when we're out in the field talking to these companies as to why they should consider this technology for in licensing. 20:55.902 --> 20:58.786 [SPEAKER_01]: And so I think that that's typically the first step. 20:59.568 --> 21:12.347 [SPEAKER_01]: And then once that data package is solid, then marking the outreach, all of that can come very easily. 21:13.088 --> 21:17.455 [SPEAKER_01]: And so, because then the data's there, we can speak to that technology. 21:18.481 --> 21:26.230 [SPEAKER_00]: When you talk about building scalable BD frameworks, what does that look like in a tech transfer office? 21:27.340 --> 21:29.924 [SPEAKER_01]: That takes two main flavors. 21:31.146 --> 21:47.510 [SPEAKER_01]: The internal framework, which is how the team operates as a business development unit, similar to what I was looting earlier, what are the standard operating procedures for maintaining and developing these relationships? 21:48.792 --> 21:50.014 [SPEAKER_01]: How is the work divided? 21:50.675 --> 21:54.040 [SPEAKER_01]: What are the KPIs? 21:54.020 --> 22:05.532 [SPEAKER_01]: the metrics that we're capturing, and so internally, how are we organizing all of our prospective clients and partners and who's responsible for what? 22:05.782 --> 22:15.314 [SPEAKER_01]: So that's one framework, and then the second framework is how are we then operating and managing the relationships externally? 22:15.975 --> 22:17.637 [SPEAKER_01]: Are we consistent with our messaging? 22:18.178 --> 22:21.122 [SPEAKER_01]: Are we consistent with our outreach or follow up? 22:22.143 --> 22:24.987 [SPEAKER_01]: What does that look like across the entire team? 22:26.209 --> 22:31.215 [SPEAKER_01]: So that regardless of who's doing the outreach, 22:31.195 --> 22:39.754 [SPEAKER_01]: the brand of that university and the brand of that technology transfer is consistent and maintained throughout. 22:40.561 --> 22:44.648 [SPEAKER_01]: What does that presence look like when you're at a conference? 22:45.529 --> 22:48.734 [SPEAKER_01]: How do you prioritize what to do at that conference? 22:49.596 --> 22:53.762 [SPEAKER_01]: Your technology transfer office or the university has a booth, excellent. 22:54.463 --> 22:57.769 [SPEAKER_01]: So then what does that programming at the booth look like? 22:57.809 --> 23:00.193 [SPEAKER_01]: What does taking meetings at the booth look like? 23:00.233 --> 23:02.697 [SPEAKER_01]: What is greeting, perspective clients look like? 23:03.398 --> 23:06.062 [SPEAKER_01]: All of the, all of the, 23:06.262 --> 23:30.379 [SPEAKER_01]: standard operating procedures for engaging externally, that's the second set of frameworks that we we like to support

and establish and teach our clients so that they're the most empowered and the most efficient at building and growing those relationships with that ultimate goal of securing those licenses. 23:31.625 --> 23:38.179 [SPEAKER_00]: What separates technologies that are commercially ready from those that still need development? 23:39.963 --> 23:43.170 [SPEAKER_01]: Luck. 23:43.977 --> 23:56.674 [SPEAKER_01]: And I say that because external partners will have different tolerances and different appetites for how developed they want that data package to be when they're considering a technology. 23:56.715 --> 24:00.860 [SPEAKER_01]: And so it's hard to tell sometimes. 24:01.441 --> 24:13.798 [SPEAKER_01]: And so you do your best in positioning a technology with the data that you have and the 24:13.778 --> 24:25.437 [SPEAKER_01]: to try to secure that partnership, but really the commercial ready technology is as frankly the technology that you can make a really good case for. 24:25.477 --> 24:31.967 [SPEAKER_01]: There's been sufficient background in terms of market research. 24:32.828 --> 24:36.394 [SPEAKER_01]: We had a technology at a South Korea, for instance. 24:36.610 --> 24:45.864 [SPEAKER_01]: And the South Korean inventors, they shipped us in demo units of that technology. 24:45.944 --> 25:02.989 [SPEAKER_01]: We deployed that technology to universities, to get the voice of the customer, and for them to compare this, it was a laboratory instrument to compare the laboratory instrument to the instruments that are being used in house, which is a direct competition. 25:03.678 --> 25:18.885 [SPEAKER_01]: And they performed experiments side by side and then tested the outcomes on both instruments to demonstrate that look the South Korean instrument is working at the standard that Johns Hopkins is using in their research laboratories. 25:19.220 --> 25:34.242 [SPEAKER_01]: and we provided that and that's that was like a 100 page good market report and so with primary research and really stakeholder engagement. 25:34.222 --> 25:44.037 [SPEAKER_01]: that feedback can significantly allow an inventor or take transfer office to understand the market potential and that commercial readiness. 25:44.898 --> 25:50.247 [SPEAKER_01]: And so the more data you have like that, the more powerful the argument is. 25:50.307 --> 26:02.085 [SPEAKER_01]: And the more ready that technology is to be taken from world, whatever stage that all the way through to regulatory, 26:02.943 --> 26:13.274 [SPEAKER_00]: How should tech transfer offices balance supporting early stage high risk innovations with focusing resources on technologies that are closer to market? 26:14.455 --> 26:15.757 [SPEAKER_01]: Listen, that's a question. 26:15.917 --> 26:21.563 [SPEAKER_01]: And so it kind of goes back to I guess the the type of support. 26:21.663 --> 26:32.815 [SPEAKER_01]: And so if there is a front instance of fund that they can have into to support, for instance, 26:32.930 --> 26:41.501 [SPEAKER_01]: I would just get external stakeholders to validate which of the high risk technologies should be prioritized and why. 26:41.942 --> 26:54.498 [SPEAKER_01]: And so, and that way there's a little bit more the office feels a little bit more secure and where they're placing their bets even and something that's incredibly early. 26:54.518 --> 27:01.047 [SPEAKER_01]: And so depending on the type of support you mean 27:01.583 --> 27:10.896 [SPEAKER_01]: a percentage of that fund, whatever is appropriate for that leadership to say, hey, this is going to be for the high risk. 27:10.916 --> 27:17.224 [SPEAKER_01]: With a little bit of homework, we can choose some some technologies with potential, and that's where we're going to place our bad. 27:18.686 --> 27:27.338 [SPEAKER_01]: And then the rest, the more perhaps commercial ready low risk, maybe there's some competitors out there, 27:27.908 --> 27:35.916 [SPEAKER_01]: There's some proof of concept and maybe some proof of concept that differentiates that technology from what's on the market. 27:37.337 --> 27:46.326 [SPEAKER_01]: Maybe that's then a great place to support those technologies that may not necessarily be as high risk high reward, but that's certainly have commercial value. 27:48.168 --> 27:55.975 [SPEAKER_00]: What are the biggest mistakes that organizations make when presenting technologies to industries or investors? 27:57.457 --> 27:58.959 [SPEAKER_01]: That's an excellent question. 27:59.980 --> 28:03.204 [SPEAKER_01]: Let me start with the investor question first. 28:03.764 --> 28:23.987 [SPEAKER_01]: And so, because we are a company host, an investor partnering conference every year during JPMorgan, called ABD Cabo Connect, and we bring on investors in our network, and we bring our startups together, and part of the investor readiness exercise. 28:24.524 --> 28:29.910 [SPEAKER_01]: is really understanding the investment thesis of the groups that are going to be present. 28:30.211 --> 28:31.598 [SPEAKER_01]: And so... 28:32.303 --> 28:42.196 [SPEAKER_01]: The biggest mistake can be sometimes not necessarily pitching to the wrong investor, but pitching at the wrong time. 28:42.256 --> 28:50.306 [SPEAKER_01]: And so investors will have very clear mandates on the size of the check that they write. 28:50.927 --> 28:56.033 [SPEAKER_01]: And so ensuring that the ask is appropriate for that check signs. 28:56.013 --> 29:01.579 [SPEAKER_01]: And oftentimes, the ask is too small for that chess size. 29:01.959 --> 29:03.541 [SPEAKER_01]: It'd be surprising enough. 29:03.701 --> 29:21.700 [SPEAKER_01]: If you're looking for $5 million, just to get you through prototyping and maybe some testing prior to submitting your 510K to the US FDA, maybe a clinical study for validating. 29:22.642 --> 29:28.050 [SPEAKER_01]: might that might not be an ask that's big enough for the groups that you're targeting. 29:28.611 --> 29:33.898 [SPEAKER_01]: Maybe just say $10 million so that it's soup to

nuts the whole thing. 29:33.958 --> 29:41.749 [SPEAKER_01]: And so that if the ask is too small or too big, then that's a that's a big problem. 29:43.151 --> 29:52.024 [SPEAKER_01]: Investors will also have sometimes a preference for indication. 29:52.375 --> 30:02.890 [SPEAKER_01]: They just do lung in pancreatic cancer technologies because it's a family office and that's they have a family history of that and that's what their focus is. 30:02.950 --> 30:11.582 [SPEAKER_01]: And so ensuring that you're targeting investors that have and you're meeting those specific requirements is incredibly important. 30:12.964 --> 30:21.876 [SPEAKER_01]: I think that the foreign investors, it's also important to demonstrate the use of funds and any sort of track record. 30:22.058 --> 30:29.602 [SPEAKER_01]: Um, and the outbound message, because typically what's happening is that there's a message being sent. 30:29.743 --> 30:32.271 [SPEAKER_01]: Are there an email or through a partnering app? 30:32.926 --> 30:42.319 [SPEAKER_01]: Ensuring that that message has a lot of detail with respect to, hey, I need $15 million to get us here. 30:42.579 --> 30:56.959 [SPEAKER_01]: We expect to exit in 2021 and we need the money for x, y, and z parts of the development and being very clear with the with the outbound message. 30:56.939 --> 31:03.144 [SPEAKER_01]: knowing what the requirements are, knowing what the investment thesis is of an investor group. 31:04.626 --> 31:15.635 [SPEAKER_01]: The biggest mistake that I've seen when people come to complain to me about how they're not getting any meetings with investors is that their message is too vague. 31:15.695 --> 31:17.577 [SPEAKER_01]: It's too high level. 31:18.578 --> 31:20.780 [SPEAKER_01]: We're commercializing a respirator. 31:20.800 --> 31:24.043 [SPEAKER_01]: We need 15 million dollars. 31:24.103 --> 31:25.444 [SPEAKER_01]: We'd love to meet with you. 31:26.673 --> 31:37.131 [SPEAKER_01]: And it's like, well, there's just not enough meat on that on the bones there, and investors are getting so many messages that they don't have the time to go to the home or for you. 31:37.972 --> 31:38.092 [SPEAKER_01]: Right. 31:38.112 --> 31:48.369 [SPEAKER_01]: And so outbound messaging to the appropriate investor with the appropriate asked is hands down the most critical stop. 31:48.910 --> 31:52.917 [SPEAKER_01]: And if there's any mistake there, they're not going to respond. 31:53.926 --> 31:59.785 [SPEAKER_00]: It's like that first impression, sort of gatekeeping piece, yep, that makes sense. 31:59.900 --> 32:00.861 [SPEAKER_01]: without question. 32:02.182 --> 32:08.188 [SPEAKER_01]: And so doing thorough homework as to what the investor's expectations are. 32:08.228 --> 32:15.876 [SPEAKER_01]: And then just knowing when data to include in that first message is critically important. 32:15.896 --> 32:29.569 [SPEAKER_01]: And if anybody wants anyone of your lead listenership wants to talk more about that, happy to do so because I see this every year at JP Morgan at our investor partnering conference. 32:29.549 --> 32:40.993 [SPEAKER_00]: I'm sure there will be people who do want to talk to you about that and will include links and information on the podcast page, but also while we're here, how should they reach out to you? 32:41.446 --> 32:49.156 [SPEAKER_01]: And so the easiest thing would be my email, which is Ernesto at AmericanBizDev.com. 32:49.196 --> 32:52.321 [SPEAKER_01]: That's B-I-Z-D-E-V.com. 32:53.102 --> 32:54.083 [SPEAKER_01]: I have to talk there. 32:54.183 --> 32:56.266 [SPEAKER_01]: Of course, I'm a very active on LinkedIn. 32:57.267 --> 32:59.811 [SPEAKER_01]: And so they can look me up on LinkedIn as well. 32:59.951 --> 33:01.273 [SPEAKER_01]: And send me a message through there. 33:02.154 --> 33:06.019 [SPEAKER_00]: Is that JP Morgan event open to federal labs as well? 33:06.472 --> 33:07.233 [SPEAKER_01]: without question. 33:07.413 --> 33:07.914 [SPEAKER_00]: Yes. 33:08.635 --> 33:11.358 [SPEAKER_00]: What should they know about getting involved in the next one? 33:11.518 --> 33:13.641 [SPEAKER_00]: When is it coming up and how did they do that? 33:14.442 --> 33:27.137 [SPEAKER_01]: And so registration opens early and late summer early fall because partnering begins sometime in mid to late November. 33:27.177 --> 33:30.201 [SPEAKER_01]: Typically like the week before Thanksgiving. 33:30.181 --> 33:47.274 [SPEAKER_01]: We open partnering up and so that's when folks then start doing the outreach to the investors and just strategic partners at the conference so that they have a full schedule of meetings come the second week of January, which is when the meeting typically takes place. 33:48.195 --> 33:53.185 [SPEAKER_01]: And as folks perhaps familiar 33:53.165 --> 33:55.528 [SPEAKER_01]: 90 plus events happening every day. 33:55.548 --> 34:04.000 [SPEAKER_01]: And so it's always good to understand what the the landscape of events are during JP Morgan healthcare week. 34:04.641 --> 34:09.628 [SPEAKER_01]: What sets us apart is that we really do try to be as affordable as possible. 34:09.709 --> 34:14.295 [SPEAKER_01]: Our registration fees are between $300 and $400. 34:14.275 --> 34:36.840 [SPEAKER_01]: Um, not $1,500 or $2,000 on that like, so with the other conferences out there, uh, because we know that it's been three years of no funding essentially for early stage technologies, and we feel the frustration that people have with the corporate partnering events. 34:36.820 --> 34:39.103 [SPEAKER_01]: that are astronomically priced. 34:39.563 --> 34:47.051 [SPEAKER_01]: And we did have the pleasure of having Vladimir Popov join us this year. 34:47.252 --> 34:50.976 [SPEAKER_01]: And he talked about the federal lab consortium as well. 34:50.996 --> 34:54.259 [SPEAKER_01]: This is wonderful work at the Frederick National Lab. 34:54.920 --> 35:02.068 [SPEAKER_01]: And so we welcome more speakers from the FLC and certainly more attendees that they

would love to join us. 35:02.521 --> 35:09.451 [SPEAKER_00]: So tell me about your international work and what are you seeing in terms of companies wanting to develop business in the US? 35:10.232 --> 35:11.674 [SPEAKER_01]: That's an excellent question, Andrea. 35:11.714 --> 35:18.884 [SPEAKER_01]: And so we have set up shop in Abu Dhabi as well as in Seoul and Tokyo. 35:19.745 --> 35:24.672 [SPEAKER_01]: These three locations because I've just done a lot of business in these regions. 35:24.933 --> 35:27.637 [SPEAKER_01]: And I can mention that I lived in the Emirates for a while. 35:27.837 --> 35:31.482 [SPEAKER_01]: And so it's easy for me to tap these markets. 35:31.462 --> 35:40.214 [SPEAKER_01]: But we see just significant competition from China with respect to development timelines. 35:41.235 --> 35:46.923 [SPEAKER_01]: And they've had wonderful licensing efforts, especially in 2025. 35:47.684 --> 35:50.688 [SPEAKER_01]: We see a lot of money in the APEC region deployed. 35:50.748 --> 36:00.000 [SPEAKER_01]: Perhaps there's an argument to be made that investors in the part of the world are not as hesitant as investors in the U.S. 35:59.980 --> 36:11.653 [SPEAKER_01]: that, of course, you know, geopolitics and war and conflict, you know, cause them to pause investment and we've seen that. 36:12.373 --> 36:21.784 [SPEAKER_01]: In addition to, of course, bright shining new technologies like AI, taking the spotlight away from health care innovation. 36:21.824 --> 36:27.810 [SPEAKER_01]: And with that, the dollars for health care innovation. 36:27.790 --> 36:53.983 [SPEAKER_01]: And so, but that said, especially innovators in the healthcare space, whether it be drugs, devices, or diagnostics, or even digital health products, appreciate the size of the US market. 36:54.402 --> 36:57.786 [SPEAKER_01]: closely knit healthcare ecosystem. 36:58.647 --> 37:00.129 [SPEAKER_01]: We are fragmented. 37:00.149 --> 37:04.094 [SPEAKER_01]: It's a fragmented private healthcare system. 37:04.975 --> 37:13.365 [SPEAKER_01]: And so oftentimes, a lot of companies wishing to expand to the US have a hard time knowing where to begin. 37:13.425 --> 37:24.358 [SPEAKER_01]: And we do support them in that effort, because it is about choosing a biotech hub to start with. 37:24.338 --> 37:36.694 [SPEAKER_01]: developing those alliances, developing the marketing towards that biotech hub, and then of course programming, whether it be a seminar or a webinar or a conference, 37:37.096 --> 37:45.890 [SPEAKER_01]: elevating that brand, elevating the thought leadership of the of the team at these companies wishing to come to the US. 37:46.671 --> 37:50.937 [SPEAKER_01]: So they become more trusted, more recognized partners here. 37:50.977 --> 37:59.791 [SPEAKER_01]: It's what what a lot of foreign companies struggle with is that they come they to a conference to do some partnering. 37:59.811 --> 38:02.395 [SPEAKER_01]: They meet some people and then they go back home. 38:02.375

--> 38:10.464 [SPEAKER_01]: And there's not an element that remains to maintain that brand awareness and maintain those relationships. 38:11.205 --> 38:14.569 [SPEAKER_01]: And so, every time they come over, it's like they're starting from scratch. 38:14.609 --> 38:16.431 [SPEAKER_01]: And it's really hard to do business that way. 38:16.911 --> 38:18.393 [SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, make any progress. 38:18.754 --> 38:29.766 [SPEAKER_01]: Absolutely, but companies also have a hard time knowing if they should hire somebody in country to be their business development person. 38:30.337 --> 38:33.261 [SPEAKER_01]: Where in the country should it be in Boston? 38:33.281 --> 38:34.583 [SPEAKER_01]: It should be in San Diego. 38:34.603 --> 38:38.429 [SPEAKER_01]: How are they going to be in generating business? 38:38.489 --> 38:46.541 [SPEAKER_01]: It's just one person and it's a model that hasn't worked out well for a lot of companies. 38:46.601 --> 38:50.387 [SPEAKER_01]: And then I hear that from our prospective clients. 38:50.553 --> 38:59.692 [SPEAKER_01]: when they hire somebody like us like ABD, they're getting entire team and so it's a slightly bigger footprint and we actually take on the brand of our clients. 39:00.374 --> 39:03.681 [SPEAKER_01]: We can white label our entire business development operation. 39:04.663 --> 39:09.473 [SPEAKER_01]: Maybe it's going to be a slightly larger in-country representation project. 39:09.453 --> 39:20.521 [SPEAKER_01]: But through that it's a lines management programming to then help maintain that brand and that trust with the community that they're trying to expand into. 39:20.541 --> 39:26.837 [SPEAKER_01]: And so those are the challenges and that's how we kind of, that's how we face those challenges. 39:27.256 --> 39:50.698 [SPEAKER_01]: in terms of just entrepreneurs wishing to commercialize a technology is really navigating sure the regulatory landscape it's it's a little bit influx especially in certain parts of the industry and so as the dust settled on the FDA it'll be a little bit easier for companies but they can hire regulatory consultant for that what's most important is 39:50.678 --> 39:57.030 [SPEAKER_01]: Who is, won't you be that strategic partner that's going to eventually buy that technology or license that technology? 39:57.111 --> 40:01.880 [SPEAKER_01]: How are they positioning that technology for acquisition? 40:01.940 --> 40:03.523 [SPEAKER_01]: How are they engaging? 40:03.904 --> 40:05.447 [SPEAKER_01]: Keeping in leaders. 40:05.815 --> 40:21.740 [SPEAKER_01]: physicians, investors, folks that are going to help amplify that message because as we know, it, yes, the science needs to be there and typically the better technology wins because the data says it all. 40:22.682 --> 40:31.215 [SPEAKER_01]: But in reality, like the best marketed technology wins, 40:31.195 --> 40:40.792 [SPEAKER_01]: helping companies understand that you're selling to a private, you're selling to the private sector, you're not selling to a government-run health care system. 40:41.974 --> 40:51.010 [SPEAKER_01]: It is challenging because then you need to onboard through medical affairs, private sector individuals that are going to be your champions. 40:51.108 --> 41:09.032 [SPEAKER_01]: But if you're selling into countries where the health care system is run by the government, and they're used to that, they sometimes are a hard time understanding how to then turn around and face the private sector, but privatized health care system. 41:09.518 --> 41:38.074 [SPEAKER_01]: And we bridge that, I mean, we have medical affairs experts on our team as well as investor relations experts, merger and acquisition experts as well as a Department of Defense Access and so for a lot of our clients using, wishing market access, it can be pretty comprehensive in the way that we support them because there's could be excellent business, 41:38.054 --> 41:46.564 [SPEAKER_01]: Then we try to cover all the bases, so that external companies see that return on investment from coming to the US. 41:46.604 --> 41:47.646 [SPEAKER_01]: And we want them here. 41:47.706 --> 41:49.808 [SPEAKER_01]: We want the best technologies here. 41:50.749 --> 41:54.294 [SPEAKER_01]: We want the best and brightest minds to be part of our ecosystem. 41:54.674 --> 42:01.142 [SPEAKER_01]: And so, you know, helping them navigate that, because it's so different from their home countries is something that we take pride in. 42:01.645 --> 42:04.550 [SPEAKER_00]: Will you have offered a lot of gems for our listeners? 42:04.650 --> 42:07.215 [SPEAKER_00]: Is there any other advice? 42:07.295 --> 42:13.926 [SPEAKER_00]: Anything that you would like while you have the ears of these federal labs and others in the innovation ecosystem? 42:14.006 --> 42:14.888 [SPEAKER_00]: What should they know? 42:14.948 --> 42:20.818 [SPEAKER_01]: The most important thing for anyone to know is that it takes a village. 42:21.203 --> 42:23.728 [SPEAKER_01]: leverage your network, ask for help. 42:23.929 --> 42:27.195 [SPEAKER_01]: You're not expected to know everything about everything. 42:27.235 --> 42:32.045 [SPEAKER_01]: And commercialization is hard, and it's an incredibly complex. 42:33.047 --> 42:37.997 [SPEAKER_01]: And so if you're thinking about commercializing a technology, 42:37.977 --> 42:42.028 [SPEAKER_01]: and you feel overwhelmed, then you're doing it right. 42:42.068 --> 42:45.356 [SPEAKER_01]: It should be. 42:45.396 --> 42:47.382 [SPEAKER_01]: Tap that network. 42:48.083 --> 42:52.154 [SPEAKER_01]: Much like a thesis committee for those that have PhDs. 42:52.575 --> 42:54.079 [SPEAKER_01]: Have your, have your, 42:54.059 --> 43:06.335 [SPEAKER_01]: career thesis committee or your innovation thesis committee, where you're bringing in mentors and they may not know that you're putting them on your thesis committee, but you're meeting with them regularly and you're tapping their expertise. 43:07.517 --> 43:15.207 [SPEAKER_01]: One thing that that has blown my mind is how incredibly helpful people want to be. 43:16.013 --> 43:16.734 [SPEAKER_01]: for free. 43:17.615 --> 43:26.225 [SPEAKER_01]: People aren't really out there, especially people in the industry who love who do this because they have a passion for the technologies, they have a passion for early stage. 43:27.466 --> 43:29.308 [SPEAKER_01]: It's not it's not so transactional. 43:29.428 --> 43:37.718 [SPEAKER_01]: People are really willing to give you advice, connections, and their investors money. 43:37.698 --> 44:06.304 [SPEAKER_01]: to do what you got to do and it's hard sometimes to ask for help and people want to figure everything out on their own but then they get stuck and it doesn't work that way and so reach out, leverage our network, leverage our expertise, let us help you because you be surprised about how willing people are to give their time and their knowledge to those that 44:06.841 --> 44:10.347 [SPEAKER_00]: everyone wants that same outcome, they want it to reach market. 44:10.748 --> 44:17.320 [SPEAKER_00]: So that's wonderful to know that's great perspective and Ernesto, we really appreciate your time and insights today. 44:17.340 --> 44:20.767 [SPEAKER_01]: Thank you so much for having me, Andrea, to pleasure and I can't wait for the next time. 44:20.827 --> 44:21.508 [SPEAKER_00]: Me too. 44:22.855 --> 44:25.798 [SPEAKER_00]: Thanks for listening and spreading the word about this podcast. 44:26.098 --> 44:32.365 [SPEAKER_00]: Tell your friends and colleagues about the podcast and leave us a review and rating because that helps other people find us. 44:32.885 --> 44:40.393 [SPEAKER_00]: Subscribe and listen to all of our episodes on YouTube, Apple, Spotify or your favorite podcast platform. 44:40.894 --> 44:48.762 [SPEAKER_00]: Check out the show notes or the episode page at federallabs.org for links to more resources and information. 44:49.433 --> 44:53.841 [SPEAKER_00]: Thanks, as always, to our producer and digital marketing manager, Carly Dunno. 44:54.362 --> 45:02.877 [SPEAKER_00]: Graphics Manager, Danny Batchler, Web Content and Systems Manager, Jess Klein, and the FLC staff and community for your support. 45:03.658 --> 45:07.425 [SPEAKER_00]: We'll see you back in two weeks on Transfer Files Tuesday. 45:08.975 --> 45:11.558 [SPEAKER_00]: Thanks for tuning in to the Transfer Files. 45:11.979 --> 45:15.022 [SPEAKER_00]: Your insiders look at federal tech transfer. 45:15.663 --> 45:29.380 [SPEAKER_00]: Don't forget to like, subscribe, and stay connected for more episodes exploring how hundreds of government laboratories and countless industry partners are driving innovations that shape our lives.