15 Sept 2026 · 2 min read
Partnering with Pharma R&D: From Pilot to Adoption
Lessons from the DayOne 2026 cohort session in Basel on decision-making, evidence of value and the work needed to make pharma R&D partnerships succeed.
Insights / Function
Business Development
Field notes on Business Development in life sciences — the deal structures, partnerships, and licensing dynamics actually closing.
10 posts in Business Development
8 Sept 2026 · 2 min read
What Anthropic Could Buy in Life Sciences, and Why
Anthropic paid a reported $400m in stock for Coefficient Bio and is now hiring someone to do acquisitions, investments and partnerships in life sciences. I don't think that appetite for owning assets survives an IPO.
28 Jul 2026 · 1 min read
Eli Lilly just took an equity stake in Oura
Eli Lilly took an equity stake in Oura this month, following GLP-1 Insights in May and free sizing kits in June. I think this shows Lilly betting that adherence and retention around GLP-1 drugs matter as much as efficacy, even without access to Oura's user data.
18 Jul 2026 · 1 min read
$3.8bn valuation, well done, Chai Discovery
Chai Discovery raised $400 million at a $3.8 billion valuation, a day after Novartis expanded its partnership, with Lilly and Pfizer already customers. I think its refusal to build its own drug pipeline, unlike Anthropic's Claude Science, is exactly why pharma trusts it with their data.
5 May 2026 · 3 min read
Three things I watch when reading any pharma AI announcement in 2026
Capital depth, role mix, and integration target. Three signals that separate a real pharma AI capability build from a press-release pilot dressed up as a strategic partnership.
2 Apr 2026 · 3 min read
AI and CRO disruption: why IQVIA, Medpace, and Charles River may become more valuable
CRO stocks dropped sharply on AI fears: IQVIA, Medpace, Charles River. The market may be right that AI changes trial economics. It’s wrong about where the disruption lands. CROs are infrastructure companies, and AI should make them more valuable, not less — if they can break free from the cost-plus model.
31 Mar 2026 · 3 min read
Eli Lilly and Insilico Medicine: what three AI drug discovery deals signal
Eli Lilly’s third Insilico deal in three years: $115M upfront, up to $2.75B in milestones, plus royalties. The progression from software licensing in 2023 to a $2.75B commitment in 2026 tells the real story. The signal for the rest of the AI drug discovery space is harder to read — deals like this concentrate pharma attention on proven platforms.
29 Jan 2026 · 3 min read
$150M Series A. $850M pre-money. 100% return in 12 months.
Hologen, Eric Schmidt’s stealth biotech-AI venture, is raising $150M at an $850M pre-money on a promise of 100% returns in 12 months. The pitch is closer to financial underwriting than AI product development. Here’s what would convince me it’s more than narrative.
20 Nov 2025 · 1 min read
Jeff Bezos just bet $106M on AI that designs proteins that don't exist in nature
Jeff Bezos just bet $106M on Profluent, a company using frontier AI models to design proteins that don't exist in nature — and I break down exactly what makes these models 'frontier' and why it matters for programmable biology.
2 Aug 2024 · 1 min read
This is a fascinating development: Microsoft now formally lists OpenAI as a competitor, despite h...
Microsoft now formally lists OpenAI as a competitor, despite having invested $13 billion into the company — a move that may be tied to SearchGPT or antitrust optics. The strategic manoeuvres around these massive LLM-race investments are captivating.