| | MAY 20239The mRNA design and delivery platform invented by vaccine manufacturers can be utilized to quickly build boosters that can catch up with variantsalso facilitate the discovery of new cancer targets too. Data from sequencing of RNA from hundreds of cancer tissues or proteomics can provide information on immune system response too, which may lead to clues for cancer targets for certain type of cancer. Those startups with access to patient samples and AI capability may be able to secure such intellectual properties faster. Some of these startups may choose to focus on prediction and design of drug candidates, and outsource the validation and pre-clinical animal study to CROs. With that, they can be nimble and scale. Startups don't have to see through the whole cycle of clinical trials. One way for them to monetize is to license the drug candidate to international pharmaceutical companies for sizeable upfront fee and subsequent milestone payment and royalty, just with the pre-clinical data obtained.The paradigm shift driven by technological advancements and the convergence of disciplines has reshaped the market. Drug discovery used to be very brute force based, new generation of platform technologies makes such a discovery process more systemic and efficient. More than two decades ago, eCommerce platforms such as Amazon invented a new business model and apply this model from one category of products (books) to almost any categories of products needed by consumers, and dominate the market. Likewise, we believe there will be platform companies in the field of mRNA-based therapeutics and immuno oncology which can address a wide range of patient's needs, be it to fight against next few variants of Covid virus or new types of flu or Ebola or all sorts of cancers. We believe such platform companies are most worth pursuing for VC investors. Jeff Lin
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