260: Why Strong Science Isn't Enough to Get Funded: What Investors Actually Look For with Michael Rome - Part 2

Smart Biotech Scientist | The CMC and Bioprocessing Podcast for Process Development and Manufacturing Leaders

Smart Biotech Scientist | The CMC and Bioprocessing Podcast for Process Development and Manufacturing Leaders
260: Why Strong Science Isn't Enough to Get Funded: What Investors Actually Look For with Michael Rome - Part 2
Jun 11, 2026 Episode 260
David Brühlmann - CMC Development Leader, Bioprocess Expert, Business Strategist

Funding novel therapeutics isn’t just “harder than ever”—the rules have changed entirely. The wild rush of capital into early-stage biotech during 2020–2021 gave way to a drought, making investor priorities sharper and startup hurdles higher than most founders realize.

Michael Rome, Managing Director at Foresite Capital, joined the Smart Biotech Scientist Podcast to dissect what’s really driving funding decisions today, and what early-stage founders must do to stand out.

Key topics discussed:

  • The financial cycle of biotech investment before, during, and after the COVID-19 boom (02:47)
  • Why investors are now focused on clear pathways to approved drugs and how founders should frame their proposals (06:10)
  • The evolving importance of CMC expertise and manufacturing readiness for startups at different stages (07:44)
  • Leadership traits and execution qualities investors appreciate in biotech founders and teams (09:18)
  • Promising scientific and market areas including small molecule oncology, degraders, and heterobifunctional molecules (11:24)
  • Practical advice for founders preparing for fundraising: focusing on unmet medical needs and market analysis (14:55)
  • The impact of recent M&A activity and regulatory challenges at the FDA on the future of biotech investment (16:27)
  • The importance of open communication and collaboration between scientists and investors (18:47)

Smart insight: For those preparing their next fundraising push, Michael advised:

  • Start with the end in mind: Outline the unmet need, the clinical and market pathway, and the product vision first
  • Reverse engineer your innovation: Work backwards from market and regulatory needs to inform your technical approach, not the other way around.
  • Frame your business case: Make it obvious to investors how your solution advances value in the ecosystem

If you want to go deeper into the themes from this conversation with Michael Rome—how investors evaluate biotech companies, why CMC and execution matter, and how founders can better frame their science for funding—these episodes are a strong next listen:

  • Episodes 189 - 190: Why Smart Biotech Founders Plan CMC First (While Competitors Burn Cash Later)
  • Episodes 165 - 166: Why Your Funding Pitches Fail Despite Brilliant Science (And How to Fix It)
  • Episodes 183 - 184: From Lab to Market: Secrets to Commercializing Cutting-Edge Biotech Innovations with Chervee Ho
  • Episodes 231 - 232: From IND to BLA: The Biologics CMC Decisions That Determine Regulatory Success with Henri Kornmann

Connect with Michael Rome: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/michael-rome-5067616b/ Foresite Capital website: www.foresitecapital.com

Next: If you enjoyed this episode, please leave a review on Apple Podcasts or your favorite podcast platform. By doing so, we can empower more scientists like you. Stay tuned for more inspiring biotech insights in our next episode.

Support the show
Episode Artwork 260: Why Strong Science Isn't Enough to Get Funded: What Investors Actually Look For with Michael Rome - Part 2 21:40 Episode Artwork 259: Why Strong Science Isn't Enough to Get Funded: What Investors Actually Look For with Michael Rome - Part 1 25:12 Episode Artwork 258: Why Regulatory Affairs Belongs in Drug Design: 30 Years of CMC Lessons from Discovery to GMP Manufacturing with Milan Tomic - Part 2 24:37 Episode Artwork 257: Why Regulatory Affairs Belongs in Drug Design: 30 Years of CMC Lessons from Discovery to GMP Manufacturing with Milan Tomic - Part 1 23:34 Episode Artwork 256: Is Bioprocess Education Keeping Up With New Tech? The Training Gap Industry Cannot Afford to Ignore with Steffen Kreye - Part 2 18:29 Episode Artwork 255: Is Bioprocess Education Keeping Up With New Tech? The Training Gap Industry Cannot Afford to Ignore with Steffen Kreye - Part 1 25:42 Episode Artwork 254: How to Source, Manufacture, and Scale the Earliest Stem Cells for Allogeneic Cell Therapy Without Ethical Barriers with Yuta Lee - Part 2 22:27 Episode Artwork 253: How to Source, Manufacture, and Scale the Earliest Stem Cells for Allogeneic Cell Therapy Without Ethical Barriers with Yuta Lee - Part 1 23:50 Episode Artwork 252: How to Use Media Supplements to Tailor Biosimilar Glycan Quality to Your Reference Product in Two Rounds 18:18 Episode Artwork 251: Why a Single Large DoE Fails Biosimilar Glycan Optimization — And the Parallel Screening Method That Actually Works 18:11 Episode Artwork 250: How T Cell Activation Redefines TIL and CAR-T Manufacturing (Boosting Success Rates to 95%) with Chantale Bernatchez - Part 2 20:49 Episode Artwork 249: How T Cell Activation Redefines TIL and CAR-T Manufacturing (Boosting Success Rates to 95%) with Chantale Bernatchez - Part 1 29:11 Episode Artwork 248: Nitrosamine Risk Assessment and CRO Selection: The $6 Million Mistake CMC Teams Must Avoid with Ron Najafi - Part 2 19:08 Episode Artwork 247: Nitrosamine Risk Assessment and CRO Selection: The $6 Million Mistake CMC Teams Must Avoid with Ron Najafi - Part 1 32:07 Episode Artwork 246: Why Your Shake Flask Culture Doesn't Scale: OTR, Shaking Diameter, and How to Fix It with Tibor Anderlei - Part 2 22:31 Episode Artwork 245: Why Your Shake Flask Culture Doesn't Scale: OTR, Shaking Diameter, and How to Fix It with Tibor Anderlei - Part 1 25:41 Episode Artwork 244: Prevent the Delays That Derail Biologics Tech Transfer: 12-Week Protocol for CMC 17:45 Episode Artwork 243: Turn Tech Transfer from a Gamble into a Managed Process: The 6-Pillar Biologics Scale-Up Framework 14:47 Episode Artwork 242: DMSO in Cell Therapy: Why Viability Scores Hide the Real Toxicity with Steve Oh - Part 2 17:46 Episode Artwork 241: DMSO in Cell Therapy: Why Viability Scores Hide the Real Toxicity with Steve Oh - Part 1 20:26 Episode Artwork 240: Continuous Microbial Manufacturing: From Genetic Instability to 40-Day E. coli Processes with Juergen Mairhofer - Part 2 18:47 Episode Artwork 239: Continuous Microbial Manufacturing: From Genetic Instability to 40-Day E. coli Processes with Juergen Mairhofer - Part 1 27:21 Episode Artwork 238: High-Throughput Microbial Screening: Avoiding Early Mistakes That Derail Scale-Up with Sebastian Blum - Part 2 13:59 Episode Artwork 237: High-Throughput Microbial Screening: Avoiding Early Mistakes That Derail Scale-Up with Sebastian Blum - Part 1 19:42 Episode Artwork 236: Plant-Based Biomanufacturing: How Molecular Farming Produces Biopharmaceuticals in Weeks, Not Months with Waranyoo Phoolcharoen - Part 2 18:50