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The constant use of resources such as virtual data rooms and shared labs makes it easier for biotech startups to grow. This is good news. We need more companies to tackle cancer from new angles, such as early detection using AI. And one of these days he may become a trillion dollar company. — anna
Expanding early cancer detection
Latest from Y Combinator request for startings (RFS) is worth reading. That's not just because it's been a while since the incubator shared an idea or category that its partners would like to see more people working on. As my colleague Sara Perez pointed out, YC hasn't updated the complete list since 2018.
Overall, YC's RFS is a great way to feel the zeitgeist. This list includes, of course, AI, but also climate technology, defense technology, and more. But zooming in on individual requests is also a valuable exercise.
One of the requests that caught my interest was about “how to eradicate cancer.” Written by Surbhi Sarna, a partner at YC Group and former CEO of a medical device company, this book focuses on MRI. “Most cancers are now treatable if detected early enough, so if this technology became widely available and affordable, cancer deaths would be dramatically reduced,” she said. writing.
My first thought was that MRI startups already exist. Just a few days ago, New York-based Ezra raised a new round of $21 million. And we're talking about a team that TechCrunch first covered in 2018. The company also has competitors such as Neko, backed by Spotify's Daniel Ek. Prenuvo offers a $2,500 full-body scan promoted by Kim Kardashian.
For Sarna, that price is part of the problem because it inherently limits scale, but it's not the only problem. “There is pushback from the medical community because MRIs also produce incidental findings (or false positives) and cost our health care system valuable time and money to investigate.” The jury is still out on whether it is beneficial to society. But YC is still counting on startups to help.
“For this to work, the world will need to increase the number of MRI scans it performs by at least 100 times. This will require innovations in MRI hardware, AI algorithms to interpret the scans and reduce false positives, and You need a business model and consumer marketing to make it a viable business.”
Of course, companies like Ezra want to bring some of this in-house. In its latest pitch deck, the startup boasted that it is “leveraging Al at every stage of the vetting process.” But if others can contribute from a different angle, I can see why he would be interested in YC. Me too.
Biotechnology collaboration
Shared lab space has been a game-changer for biotech startups, according to a report in Nature. Of course, coworking is nothing new, but coworking labs offer customers more than office space, saving them both time and money.
This reminded me of Startup Battlefield alum Parallel Health. Nathan Brown, the company's chief scientific officer, happened to mention shared labs when he spoke at Disrupt. He noticed that he liked reposting Nature articles, so he asked for his opinion. He acknowledged that the skin care startup he co-founded used shared facilities at his BioLabs in Los Angeles and highlighted some of the benefits of the concept.
BioLabs allows us to cost-effectively build consumer biotech products. They give you access to lab infrastructure without having to spend your entire seed round on capital investments such as DNA sequencing machines, laminar flow hoods, and lab-grade freezers. BioLabs also manages all aspects of environmental health and safety and infrastructure management, saving you tons of time. Perhaps most importantly, it creates a vibrant culture of innovation where startups can easily collaborate and learn from each other.
This may sound like a local endorsement, but startups don't need to be based in California to take advantage of this trend. BioLabs itself is a franchise that has expanded to 12 locations, and the same can be said for many competing facilities around the world. However, in an interview with Nature, founder and CEO of Accure Health Jessica Sang warned: “Some labs are better equipped and have a broader scope than others.'' “If you're thinking about starting a company, you should visit several companies and find out which one is best.'' Please check.”
virtual data room
Virtual data rooms are another important resource for biotech startups. a16z calls them the “unsung heroes of biotech finance” and points out that they can also be useful in business development discussions, explaining what biotech teams should and should not have in their data rooms. We have published a guide on what not to do.