LIFE SCI VC

As is well appreciated, the cost structure of most emerging pre-revenue biotech companies is directly a function of R&D spending: how many projects is a company working on and how many people are doing the work. This means the key restructuring elements are reductions in force (people) and de-prioritizing earlier stage pipelines (programs). Leases are also commonly part of the cost structure; fortunately, in most regions today subleasing space remains a strong secondary market and these costs can be recouped. But people and programs are the typical cost-cutting focus... Bruce Booth, partner at Atlas Venture, blogs on all facets of early stage biotech.