What One Entrepreneur And Investor Is Saying On the Unique Growth Opportunity In the Life Science Industry Innovator and inventor Leen Kawas is the managing general partner of Propel Bio Partners, a life science investment firm that drives its strategy with science and business expertise
By Ritesh Roy
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Life science companies that are working on therapeutics and technologies to treat diseases and improve our quality of life require significant innovation, talent, and upfront investment. From drug discovery to clinical testing and eventually regulatory approval and commercialization, it can take years before a product generates revenue. In today's market with a downward economic trend, one industry leader says the sector presents a unique opportunity for growth. if they invest in the right technology and team. "It is a classical secular-growth sector," Kawas commented. "There are several factors that will continue to impact the sector positively, aging population, heightened awareness and wealth effect is increasing healthcare spending, climbing obesity and metabolic disorders, this is just to list a few". Kawas added.
Innovator and inventor Leen Kawas is the managing general partner of Propel Bio Partners, a life science investment firm that drives its strategy with science and business expertise. In that role, she's in a prime position to track the industry's latest cutting-edge developments, welcoming progress on new products and identifying important changes in the market.
Kawas' firm primarily focuses on small to mid-cap public companies and early-stage private companies, where it is expected to have the greatest growth potential. As a co-founder and CEO who took her previous company through IPO, Kawas leverages her expertise and insight to identify opportunities that thrive even with economic pressure. There are many unmet needs in patient care, and there is a continuous demand for innovative therapies, which won't change regardless of the economic environment.
"My mission is to support life science entrepreneurs and influence a change in our industry, where clinical trials are operated with a scientific lens and have a patient-focused philosophy across all stages of product discovery and development," says Kawas, patient centricity in companies operations is something that Kawas is hyperfocused on and discusses on the scale by design podcast. "One thing we look for is the innovation in an organization, including the corporate structure with intentional hiring and lean business models" This is a model that the technology industry has leveraged and now there are pioneers in the life science industries that are applying some of these strategies and are utilizing strategic outsourcing models. " you need to understand your business and technology well to be successful in designing a network corporate structure and outsourcing models" as Kawas highlights in her latest piece on Forbes.
The potential benefits of significant investment in the life science industry are clear, with one California industry organization recently finding that the sector has helped to create more than 400,000 jobs throughout the state, with a positive economic impact of $376 billion.
There are significant benefits for the public to ensure dedicated investment in the life science industry. New medications and technologies to overcome chronic health conditions can potentially make life vastly less painful for suffering patients and alleviate the burden for their loved ones as well as society.
"Altruism is often just as important a reason as affluence for why someone decides to invest in the life science sector," says Kawas. "We invest methodically—if we invest in companies with successful products and capable teams—the financial return will follow."
There's also, perhaps, no other industry with an almost limitless future. More investment will lead to fresh breakthroughs, which in turn help develop market-ready products to target existing diseases and medical problems, from common ailments to those yet to be discovered. "Because of humans' constant evolution, there will always be a life science industry worthy of investors' attention," says Kawas.
