The biotech and diagnostics industry has evolved significantly in the past 3 months with the impact of COVID. To get a better perspective of the state of this sector, I spoke with our biotech experts Caroline Popper, M.D. in the US and Bob Atwill in Australia. You can read the full transcript or watch the video below.

Caroline, how are you seeing the diagnostics industry being impacted by COVID-19 at the moment?

COVID-19 has been a boon to the diagnostic industry. I can’t remember a time when there was so much interest in diagnostics. Diagnostics of all types from molecular, to lateral flow assays, to specimen collection, etc.

I think this renewed interest has been fantastic for innovators in the space as well as for the large companies that acquire those innovators. I think for us there’s a whole lot of activity in new technology, in new reagents, in the diagnostic information that they generate and also in non-test diagnostics, like digital tools.

So, I think there’s a real interest in information that makes healthcare more efficient, that’s diagnostics and I think that represents a lot of opportunities for a lot of innovators.

Bob, what changes are you seeing in the biotech sector at this time?

It’s undoubted that COVID-19 is a major effect in pharma, biotech, cellular medicines and devices. I have been in all of them for 30 years and there’s been a lot of changes that have been going on.

I suppose there are two areas. The first one is companies that are positively affected by COVID-19. There’s a lot going on in antivirals and also in AI looking at repurposing of compounds into antivirals. And there are also those that had a very negative effect with COVID-19. In such areas, as trials being on hold, in distribution issues and reduced revenues and access to capital being very scarce.

But a lot of those will come back in time and so it’s about helping those that are affected by COVID but also capitalizing on the opportunities that some companies undoubtedly have in this environment with the pandemic and what goes on after the pandemic.

Caroline, the diagnostics industry is also being impacted by broader technology and societal changes, how are you seeing these trends affecting the sector?

I think there are big changes on both ends of the spectrum. At one end of the spectrum there are changes in central labs where there’s increasingly sophisticated instrumentation that generates more and more information like spatial profiling in tissue.

And then on the other end of the spectrum where diagnostics are becoming easier and easier to use in order to support the trend towards home health, home diagnostics, the increased interest of consumers in generating information and performing their own diagnostics.

I think we’re seeing a lot of companies grow up at both ends of that spectrum because there’s a general recognition that information is what’s really important to making healthcare delivery more efficient. I also think we’re seeing something that some refer to as diagnostic literacy – the increased knowledge that patients have or consumers have about their own health care and their interest in controlling that information more.

To some extent, the US may be ahead of where other parts of the world where consumers are more interested in having that information and in fact demanding it in some circumstances.

If you are interested to talk to our Biotech team, you may book a call here.

This is an important step for Eaton Square as it continues to grow in the United States, linking US and Asia Pacific healthcare innovators with capital and investors.

Popper and Company, founded in 2003 by Caroline Popper, MD and Ken Walz, helps clients in clinical diagnostics, medical devices, life science tools, and digital health, providing guidance on a variety of commercialization challenges.

The biotechnology and life sciences sector is key to Eaton Square’s continued growth as a cross-border M&A and capital services firm. Given the current global environment, biotechnology is predicted to continue to be extremely active in M&A activity driven by initiatives from large global and regional pharmaceutical companies.

“Eaton Square is focused on assisting clients to grow across the US and internationally. We believe the combination of Popper and Company with our existing Life Sciences and Healthcare capabilities significantly enhances our ability to assist clients in the US and Asia Pacific to undertake transactions and attract capital globally.” Nick Weston, Managing Principal, Eaton Square.

 

“We are looking forward to initiating global and regional cross-border solutions for pharma, biotech and med-tech sectors. These now include M&A, debt and equity solutions, strategy and advisory. This will give Eaton Square a strong biotech, healthcare, device and A.I. presence in the US and Asia Pacific,” Bob Atwill, Eaton Square Principal.

“At Popper and Company, we are excited to be bringing our deep industry expertise to Eaton Square and we look forward to helping grow the firm’s presence in life sciences and med-tech in the U.S. and globally,” Ken Walz, Eaton Square Principal.

“I am excited to welcome the Popper and Company team to enable us to service more clients looking to grow in the healthcare space. Their presence in the Baltimore/DC area will also strengthen our presence in the East Coast of the United States,” Reece Adnams, Eaton Square CEO.

 

Joining the Eaton Square Biotech team are:

Ken Walz
Principal

Ken Walz has worked for more than 25 years in the biotech, diagnostics, and medical device industries in business development and finance roles and is particularly interested in the application of disruptive technologies to address inefficiencies in the healthcare system. He brings broad experience in commercial operations and strategy development and has extensive experience leading transaction processes. At Popper and Company, he assists clients in all aspects of strategy and corporate development including strategic partnership development, transaction process management, and health economic modeling.

Prior to Popper and Company, Ken held senior positions at MDS Proteomics and Becton Dickinson. Ken holds a BA in Economics from the University of Maryland Baltimore County and an MS in Finance from Loyola College of Maryland.

Caroline Popper, MD
Principal

Caroline is a physician with more than 25 years of hands-on operating experience within health care companies. She has managed a wide spectrum of diagnostics, device and drug discovery businesses in both Fortune 500 and start-up settings, at amongst others, Becton Dickinson, bioMerieux, and MDS. She co-founded Popper and Company with Ken Walz specifically to bring integrated strategic and operational expertise to healthcare clients. She earned her medical degree at the University of the Witwatersrand, South Africa and completed post-graduate training in internal medicine and pathologist at Johns Hopkins in Baltimore. She also trained in Health Policy and Health Economics at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.

Eaton Square, a cross-border M&A and capital services firm, now has a total of 19 offices across the US, Canada, China & Hong Kong, Australia, New Zealand, UK, Switzerland, Singapore and Israel.

If you would like to arrange a time to speak with our Life Sciences and Healthcare team, please contact them at:

• Ken Walz – ken.walz@eatonsq.com
• Caroline Popper – caroline.popper@eatonsq.com
• Bob Atwill – bob.atwill@eatonsq.com
• Nick Weston – nicholas.weston@eatonsq.com
• Reece Adnams – reece.adnams@eatonsq.com