Attracting VC Funding For C&G Therapies In 2023 With AdBio's Miguel Forte
By Life Science Connect Editorial Staff
The translation from concept to product, particularly for advanced therapy products, requires a unique intersection of scientific and entrepreneurial experience. Miguel Forte, president-elect of ISCT and entrepreneur in residence at AdBio, a Paris-based venture capital firm, knows firsthand the importance of being able to vet a company or asset from every angle – his wide-ranging experience in academia, regulatory affairs, and industry has afforded him the knowledge to help identify promising therapeutic assets in an ever-expanding sea of research and development.
In his current role, Forte works to “scan the environment for good opportunities and help them to flourish,” with a focus on cell and gene therapies poised to further disrupt the healthcare landscape. In a recent episode of Cell & Gene: The Podcast, Forte sat down with host, Cell & Gene’s Chief Editor, Erin Harris to explore the current forecast for cell and gene therapies in 2023, as well as tips for pursuing VC partnerships, and what to expect from ISCT 2023 Paris.
The Year Ahead For Cell And Gene Therapies
According to Forte, there are indicators that the pharmaceutical sector broadly may get back to “normal investment attitudes” in 2023. As such, attitudes toward risk for investors and players are likely to improve and make garnering funding easier, he explained. “We’ll have to see it happen before we feel comfortable,” he said, “but all the indexes are there in terms of the deals that are happening, the attitudes, and even the annual reviews.” For the cell and gene therapy space in particular, Forte foresees an exciting 2023, citing new technologies, innovations in promising techniques such as gene editing, and a sector-wide push toward standardization as drivers of new investment. “If we have the right attitude toward risk, the right money available, and the right people stepping forward, there is a lot that could happen in cell and gene therapy.”
That potential comes with considerations, Forte added – increased investment in the advanced therapy space has galvanized conversations around the reimbursement models and cost of these drugs on the payor side. “We have seen some concerns about the cost of medications and medications that didn’t reach the market, and I think that needs to be put in the right perspective,” Forte said. “If we have the investment and we have the technology, we have to get these therapies to the patients, and hopefully we will see some of the concerns we’ve had around access not materialize in the coming year.”
When it comes to pursuing VC partnerships, Forte advises sponsors to first take a step back and try to view their asset from the perspective of those new to it. “Be prepared to be very simple, very to the point, to not dance around too much, and understand that on the other side, they will not know as much about your project. They will know the field and the science, but not your project.” There are varying levels to establishing proof-of-concept, Forte explained, and sponsors must ensure that their approach is appropriate to the stage of their asset’s development. This includes having conducted the right experiments to demonstrate theoretical proof of concept, including in vivo animal data, if possible. The other core element of this equation is being able to show investors that a team is in place and possesses the right cross-section of expertise to succeed. Once all of these elements are in place, Forte said, the focus becomes on communicating all of that value to an investor early, clearly, and often. “Communication is a dialogue, even if the other side is only listening,” Forte said.
Convening Expertise: ISCT 2023 Paris
As the newest president of the International Society for Cell and Gene Therapy, Forte said one of his core goals is to reinforce clinical activity related to these therapeutic modalities in Europe. While cell and gene therapy development has grown steadily in the U.S. and has seen a marked, if somewhat impenetrable, surge in China, Europe’s landscape has had a more uneven – and sometimes stagnant – journey in the last few years, with fewer clinical trials and a struggling investment landscape. “It’s a generational moment to be able to do it right and take advantage of where we are and what we’ve learned,” he said. “It’s making sure the competitiveness in Europe is sustained, as we have fantastic academic groups and research going on.”
Forte came into his role with an overarching goal of ensuring ISCT is aligned with the current state of the cell and gene therapy field. Research has come a long way since the organization’s founding, when procedures like bone marrow transplant were at the forefront of innovation, Forte explained; today, the complexity and number of advanced therapy products necessitates a redoubled focus on clinical and commercial translation. ISCT’s three core pillars are centered on academia, regulatory, and commercialization, and Forte said reinforcing that third pillar is a key focus for the organization moving forward. “A lot more of our focus is now on products reaching the market, and so that industry pillar needs to be reinforced.”
According to Forte, ISCT’s annual meeting, hosted this year in Paris between May 31 and June 3, is intended to be truly global, focusing on the translational pathway, from preclinical and clinical development to regulatory approval to market access. “With a background of global engagement, understanding the needs of Europe, and looking at the path of development for these products, we’re really bringing all of the players together in an exciting annual meeting,” Forte said.
For more information on ISCT and its annual meeting, visit www.isctglobal.org. To listen to this and other episodes of Cell & Gene: The Podcast, click here.