Investors
The promise of early-stage technology investments is accompanied by an equally high risk profile. For investors looking to mitigate technical risks, financial risks, liability risks, regulatory challenges, intellectual property risks, and commercial risks, IMPACT Technology Development offers a unique option.
IMPACT is a team of serial entrepreneurs who have collectively developed and helped launched over 150 first-of-a- kind technologies in the chemical, pharmaceutical, metallurgical, energy, and medical device industries. We understand what it takes to develop a new process or product technology and how to avoid pitfalls that often plague new high-risk companies. And we are also investors ourselves so we understand what is needed to make smart investment decisions to maximize the chance of success and return on investment.
IMPACT understands that return on investment (ROI) is central to any investor’s evaluation of a new technology play. We offer a unique suite of services that can both reduce the amount of investment required to effectively develop and commercialize a technology while also reducing the risks associated with the program.
IMPACT can help make better investment decisions
IMPACT can help you make good decisions upfront before any money is committed through accurate and detailed third party due diligence services which can assess a technology’s potential. Is the technology viable? Can it be scaled up and commercialized? Is the current development approach viable and achievable within an anticipated budget/timeline? Will the technology be commercially successful if launched? Providing clear answers to these questions helps make better, informed decisions and minimizes the number of failed investments.
IMPACT can maximize the chance of the technology being successful
IMPACT’s “plug and play” infrastructure and resources allow for immediate progress toward development goals, minimizing time to market. Often times, this is critical factor in achieving commercial success. Faster is almost always better!
Also, technology development can be a risky task with unforeseen technical difficulties or problems, unrealistic schedules and budgets, poor management/execution, or an undisciplined approach.. IMPACT’s proven work processes, experienced team, structured approach, and insight into realistic planning and avoiding pitfalls maximizes the probability of a successful outcome…on time and on budget. After all, we are entrepreneurs too and have collectively launched over 150 new technologies so we can help your investment navigate through this risky period in a technology’s life.
“IMPACT provided us with rapid, flexible, and cost effective access to a hands-on team of seasoned process/product development engineers with deep and broad skills that complement and augment our internal capabilities.”
– D. Davidson Easson, VP Manufacturing & Development, Epic Therapeutics
IMPACT can reduce the overall technical development costs
“Money invested…is applied to testing scientific hypotheses, not to corporate infrastructure.”
– Bernstein Report 9/14/2009
With IMPACT’s help, your investment can take advantage of shared and already existing infrastructure and resources to accomplish development goals. There is no need to find, lease and build-out a new facility, equip and permit laboratories, recruit and train staffing – all of which lead to unnecessarily high, fixed burn rates for pre-commercial development. At IMPACT, clients have access to shared, amortized equipment/tools/licenses when needed. Technical resources can be provided in fractional FTE’s, sometimes deploying 6 or more technical specialties within a single FTE budget. These resources can also be effectively turned “on” or “off” when needed without a loss in knowledge base, allowing tight, efficient, milestone-based cost controls.
“PSA partnered with IMPACT for consulting and design services for a new machine. The team at IMPACT was thorough, professional and efficient. Our development time frame and cost was dramatically reduced as a result of partnering with IMPACT. The project has been very successful to date and I expect it to continue.”
– Paul Kearney, Vice President Sales, PneumaticScaleAngelus
IMPACT’s unbiased view can help recognize failures early
“Killer experiments will be performed sooner, and the failures will be terminated without remorse.”
– Bernstein Report 9/14/2009
In order to be successful, entrepreneurs and startup companies need to be totally dedicated and enthusiastically tackling numerous challenges as they push towards commercial launch and profitability. However, often times this prevents them from being able to take a high level, unbiased look at what might clearly be a failing idea. This can lead to a self preservation instinct, or the inability to accept that a technology is just not working as hoped and can lead to seeking “good money after bad”.
IMPACT promotes a project-based approach to technology development where clearly marked milestones are established and the overall viability of the technology launch can be assessed in an unbiased way. The most high risk areas are tackled first so that a doomed technology can be identified early on and terminated after the least amount of investment. We have learned these lessons the hard way in the past and we want to make sure that you can benefit from our experience.
Unfortunately, many new technology companies fail to meet their development or commercial goals on the first attempt. Often this is not due to a fundamental lack of viability or applicability of the technology. IMPACT’s experienced team and structured approach can be deployed to effectively get a program onto a milestone-driven, decision-based development track. And for technologies where it’s too late to continue the original failed approach, IMPACT’s team and resources offer an effective way to restart upon re-capitalization.
“We brought in IMPACT to help us develop a new injectable sustained release technology for human growth hormone. Meeting critical product technology milestones had eluded the company for over three years and over $30 million of investment. IMPACT utilized its depth, experience, and structured approach to not only reformulate our entire research strategy but also implement the strategy and accomplish all of our technical goals in less than 8 months and less than $300k.”
– Chuck Abdalian, CEO of Pelias Technology (formerly known as Infimed Therapeutics)