You’ve got a game-changing product. They want to back innovators like you. What’s the secret to a happy marriage? More importantly, how to you get a first date?

Recorded during OIS Retina@ASRS in San Antonio, Texas, five pharma and finance leaders discuss their current areas of interest, how to secure crucial series A funding, and what’s on the verge of disruption.

Tune in today to discover:

• What’s hot in retina: Dr. Guerard believes multiple compounds can co-exist in the market. A researcher with a great science-backed idea may only need five to ten percent of the market share to build a valuable company. Think niche markets like uveitis; a delivery model for anti-VEGF therapies that lowers patient burden, and gene therapies with clear targets and strong preclinical studies.
  
  
• Advice for early-stage companies: It takes more than great technology to secure funding. Entrepreneurs must have a well-planned roadmap and a solid team, Menzo says. What should that roadmap include? Tune in.
  
  
• Advice for later-stage companies: Dr. Guerard discusses the area where most startups fall short, while Dr. Rahhal advises on how to move to the next inflection point.

Other topics covered:

• How and when to go public? SPAC or reverse merger or IPO?
• Corporate partnerships: how do you use regional partnerships as funding vehicles and to successfully navigate complex regulatory and reimbursement environments?
• What’s the next disruptor in retina?

The podcast lineup includes:

• Emmett T. Cunningham Jr., MD, PhD, MPH, senior managing director at Blackstone Life Sciences (moderator)
• Fred Guerard, PharmD, CEO of Graybug Vision
• Tsuyoshi (Josh) Chiwata, director of venture management for Santen Ventures
• Andrew Liu, vice president of global corporate development for Chengdu Kanghong Pharmaceutical Group
• Jason Menzo chief operating officer for Foundation Fighting Blindness
• Firas M. Rahhal, MD, a partner at ExSight Ventures, senior partner at Retina-Vitreous Associates Medical Group in Los Angeles, and associate clinical professor of ophthalmology at UCLA Geffen School of Medicine

Hit “Play” to Listen.