Off Balance #43

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👋🏾 Hi friends!

European summer is on, and, whilst the trope goes that everyone is off for the next couple of months, that certainly hasn’t been my experience over the last few years!

I’ve had more meetings packed into the diary over the next few weeks than I have in a while, and despite the fact that the last year or so seems to have been a slow grind, something feels like it has been unlocked over the last few weeks. Maybe as the election drew to a close, confidence was picking up, or maybe it’s just that all the dry powder out there is flowing a bit more freely.

Whatever it is, the UK feels like it’s back in business! So to celebrate, today’s post is a bit of a dig into what are the trends in the UK ecosystem in 2024 🚀

I’m well underway writing about all the things I’ve learned from the last couple of decades as founder, CFO and CEO, so sign up for early access to Off Balance - The Book and feel free to share with anyone else you think might enjoy it 😄.

Now let’s get down to business…

In this weeks Off Balance:

🎙️ Edward Kliphuis, Partner at Sofinnova Partners on Nothing Ventured
🇬🇧 UK Venture in 2024

𝗪𝗵𝘆 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘃𝗲𝗿𝗴𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗽𝘂𝘁𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗵𝗲𝗮𝗹𝘁𝗵𝗰𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝘄𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝗯𝗲 𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗻𝘀𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗺𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹

In this week's epsiode of Nothing Ventured, Aarish sat down with Edward Kliphuis, Partner at Sofinnova Partners, a leading European venture capital firm in life sciences, specializing in healthcare and sustainability.

Based in Paris, London and Milan, the firm brings together a team of professionals from all over the world with strong scientific, medical and business expertise.

Prior to joining Sofinnova Partners, Edward spent close to a decade in venture with Amadeus Capital Partners and M Ventures.

My top takes:

1️⃣ 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝘃𝗲𝗿𝗴𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝗗𝗮𝘁𝗮 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗖𝗼𝗺𝗽𝘂𝘁𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻: Edward highlighted the significance of the convergence of data and computation in healthcare. Large biology models, akin to large language models, are revolutionising our understanding of biology. By capturing individual variability and isolating cause and effect, we are moving towards personalized and tailored medicine.

2️⃣ 𝗖𝗵𝗮𝗹𝗹𝗲𝗻𝗴𝗲𝘀 𝗶𝗻 𝗛𝗲𝗮𝗹𝘁𝗵𝗰𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗦𝘆𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗺𝘀: We discussed the challenges faced by healthcare systems globally, including rising costs, demographic changes, and a shortage of practitioners. Edward highlighted the need for innovation to address these systemic issues and ensure accessible and affordable healthcare for all.

3️⃣ 𝗧𝗿𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗜𝗻𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗺𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗶𝗻 𝗛𝗲𝗮𝗹𝘁𝗵𝗰𝗮𝗿𝗲: The conversation also touched upon the importance of trust and information in healthcare. With the proliferation of information and misinformation, coupled with the rapid pace of innovation, maintaining trust and delivering accurate information to patients is crucial for the future of healthcare.

We also talked about:

🔎 Life sciences through the lens of three strategies - existing tech through new channels, new tech through existing channels and new tech through a new channel.
🔬 Taking healthcare to the individual level.
🦠 Large biology models as a parallel to large language models.

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Now let’s get into it.