Why Don ' t Biotech Investors Run Replication Studies Before Investing?

Ichor Life Sciences is one of the earliest longevity industry companies, an interesting mix of contract research organization (CRO), biotech working on several different therapeutics, and investor in very early stage biotech startups. One of the Ichor co-founders here offers an interesting, though possibly biased perspective on how investors should behave in the biotech space. Inside companies, every new development program in the biotech industry starts with an attempt to replicate the research results that form the basis for the program, even given the existence of detailed, published papers and a coven of accessible researchers who suggest that it works. That replication often fails. Cellular biology is complicated, and many papers cannot be reproduced easily or at all. So why don't biotech investors do this before investing? 'VCs should run experiments to derisk longevity biotech investments' "It always surprises me how willing a venture capital firm is to write a $5 million check but will not run a $10k experiment to replicate key findings from a potential investee. This is especially surprising given the reproducibility crisis that exists in the life sciences." Before making an investment in an early-stage biotech, Ichor CEO Kelsey Moody says Ichor first makes sure it can replicate the key preclinical findings of the company seeking funding. "Importantly, this process also allows us to obtain a clear understanding of where the technical hurdles are for t...
Source: Fight Aging! - Category: Research Authors: Tags: Longevity Industry Source Type: blogs