Gm in the PM! âThey-Who-Must-Not-Be-Namedâ were acquired by First Citizens yesterday. đ
[Welcome to Issue Number 27 of The House Brazeryen, where we break down the latest #startup, #biotech, and #SciComm-related news for you fortnightly, in roughly 5 minutes. Brought to you by Brazen Bio, Brazen Capital, and brainsurgerydropout.]
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RE: Winning $1M in STTRs on the First Try
by Shawn Carbonell, MD, PhD â Iâm a product of academia and I loved every moment of my overzealous training. So, Iâm super grateful for the grant funding (that I didnât have to raise myself) that paid for all that research.
However, the worst thing about academia IS the grants. Ugh.
As an undergraduate, I was fortunate to significantly participate in drafting my mentorâs R01. Even at the tender age of 19, I immediately recognized the whole system was FUCKED. [Anyone with any exposure to academic research is already vigorously nodding.] Too much politics, too much reliance on luxury journal publications, too much reviewer bias⊠a system ironically built to favor incumbents than people with fresh, innovative ideas.
In fact, it was that lame-ass experience that led to my original vision for Brazen Bio as an independently-funded, entrepreneurial research institute outside of the FUCKED academia-NIH axis. [Obviously, we arenât there just yet⊠billionaires, please reach out!]
SMALL BUSINESS INNOVATION RESEARCH (SBIR) GRANTS
Anyhoo, when I left academia to start my first biotech startup, OncoSynergy, THE LAST GODDAM THING I wanted to do was write NIH grants. But, having only raised our small âfriends and familyâ round at that point (2011) and seeing that some of my peers had raised MILLIONS in SBIRs and STTRs for their startups, I did what any rational scientist-CEO would have done. I started pitching VCs instead.
lolz.
Eventually, however, my academic cofounder helped to convince me to apply and the whole team pitched in to create what we believed to be a VERY strong proposal. The results? It was same shit, different day. Two reviewers gave us primarily 1s (highest score possible) and the third reviewer fucked us by giving us 4s and 5s, thus forcing us to revise and resubmit and wait ANOTHER 9 months.
Fine. We did that and with a completely new study committee the new and improved submission scored⊠WORSE than the first time!!! The reviewer comments, frankly, were pure caca đ©. Fed up, I shut down our grant writing efforts immediately (luckily, by then we already secured 7 figures in angel investments).
CHANCE TO REDEEM
In 2019, I gave a pitch at a regional innovation summit and, by chance, the head of SBIR/STTR at the National Cancer Institute (NCI) was in the audience. He approached me afterwards and encouraged us to apply. 10 months later we were awarded a $300K NCI phase I STTR grant. Even betterâtwo months before thatâwe were awarded a $700K phase I STTR grant from the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS)!
Thatâs amazing, but the best thing about a phase I grant is you have a high likelihood of winning a subsequent SEVEN-FIGURE phase II grant!
BRAZEN BREAKDOWN
This was an âovernight successâ eight years in the making. Iâve discussed the things I felt were most useful for winning these STTRs in a recent LinkedIn post, but the moral of the story is that despite the frustrations of the process (which may or may not be largely the product of the size of the chip on your shoulder), I DO feel applying for SBIR/STTR grants is a vital path for funding the next generation of scientist-CEOs.
In fact, I believe the NIH should 10x their SBIR/STTR budget from 2% to 20%, but thatâs another story. For now, please check out the blurb below to RSVP for a free SBIR/STTR informational webinar happening on Weds, March 29, 2023 (tomorrow)!
WIN FREE MONEY FROM UNCLE SAM: Non-Dilutive Funding Webinar Tomorrow!
Do you like free money? Then you should definitely register for tomorrowâs webinar on âFederal Non-Dilutive Funding for Start-Upsâ.
Learn about aspects of commercialization and key dates and the review and application process for SBIR and STTR grants. This FREE panel is brought to you by our good friends at BCLA (Biotech Connection - Los Angeles) and moderated by our brazen homie, Jim Cooper of Braid Theory in LA!
BRAZEN BREAKDOWN
Stop everything, go to Eventbrite, and REGISTER NOW! All are welcome. Weâll see you there. đ„
VC CORNER: Joe âBiotechâ Biden
Contributed by Scott Alpizar, PhD â I donât think the audience of this newsletter really needs to be primed on the benefits of biotechâweâve already seen it change everything from how we manage difficult to treat diseases to how our food is produced. In recent years biotech has become somewhat of a creative space as well, pushing past the limits of what we thought was previously possible.
Biotech was also a huge part of the COVID-19 response by developing vaccines and therapies at âwarp speedâ. Itâll be a large part of responding to the next pandemic too (hopefully not in my lifetimeâŠ). This is why it was exciting to see the President sign an Executive Order last September to advance biotech and keep the US globally competitive in innovation, less reliant on foreign materials and bioproduction, and more aware of our âbioeconomyâ.
BRAZEN BREAKDOWN
Here are some highlights:
Increase US Biomanufacturing Capability. There is a lack of infrastructure in the US to support biomanufacturing, so it typically needs to be outsourced overseas. Strengthening the US supply chain is one of the steps outlined towards making this a reality.
More R&D Support. The government already has programs and resources to support research, but needs more. Federal agencies have been tasked with understanding how to translate biotech most effectively into medical breakthroughs, climate change solutions, and food/agricultural innovation.
Educate and Train a Diverse Workforce. There will be more training and education opportunities specifically in biotech and biomanufacturing. There is also a focus on doing this through a lens of racial and gender equity, allowing underserved populations to become part of the future.
Streamline Regulations. This is much needed. Everything obviously needs to be done correctly and safely, but the pace of innovation is currently outpacing regulationsâsee IVDs as an example. Founders will be glad to have more clarity and efficiency in the regulatory processâI know I will.
There are also multiple other things I canât cover in a short newsletterâmore access to quality data, increased safety and biosecurity, and continuing to work with partners and allies internationally. This is a âwhole-of-government approach to advance biotechnologyâ by âreducing the obstacles for commercialization so that innovative technologies and products can reach markets fasterâ.
It's too early to tell if any of this will make a real difference, though it is a step in the right direction. Just last week, it was announced that some of the deliverables are already here. I havenât had a chance to pore through them, but I do think it will be interesting to see some of the reports. Thatâs for a future edition thoughâŠ
đ BRAZEN SNAX
đ United Stateâs STEM industry is a complete sausage fest
𧥠Enter the Y Combinator Summer 2023 batch: applications are still open!
đł Context matters: mutation causes night blindness AND deep sea vision?
đ§ Nominations now open for Nemko Prize in Neuroscience (SfN)!
đ± Chia Turing: the ultimate Chia Pet
𧏠Beethoven on Blast: scientists sequence his DNA and dish the dirt
đ» RIP Gordon Moore (of Mooreâs Law)
đ Golden Ticket to one year of lab space at MBC BioLabs in the Bay!
đ Ways to tap corporate creativity (besides GPT-4)
â° TikTokCrak: This is what congress is afraid of
đȘ CARVEOUT
Next week is Y Combinator W23 Demo Day!!! Most of you unfortunately wonât have access, but weâll be watching intently for the next potential Brazen Capital portfolio companies. As you know, our first two investments came out of the last batch S22 (Guardian Bio and Malama Health). Stay tuned for the inevitable news coverage of the hottest new YC startups to come out of stealth!
đđœ A DOSE OF GRATITUDE
Grateful for our O.G. cofounderâBrent Witgen, PhDâwithout whom Brazen Bio would not have launched in 2021. It was his birthday last week! HBD Brent!! đ
đ BRAZEN MEME
âïž FEEDBACK
Feel free to tweet all thoughts, questions, and insults to us. Bring it. No, really. COMEđđœATđđœUSđđœBROđđœ
And letâs continue the conversation on LinkedIn: @brazencapital and @brazenbio.