Michael Salako on the 2023 drug discovery landscape
Salako, Start Codon Investment Director, talks with Drug Discovery world about the 2023 landscape.
In the article, Salako talks about how startups are becoming increasingly important across drug discovery and development. He highlights a common challenge for early-stage companies as limited access to capital and the current inflationary pressures.
He talks about the impact of increasing costs on companies, the fall in new investments and the need for start-ups need to focus on building strong, experienced teams and generate quality, commercially relevant science in order to be viewed as being more likely to survive an economic downturn and emerge successful. He says: “With the cost-of-living crisis, employees are being forced to rethink their roles and explore other career opportunities. Seeking more freedom, flexibility and financial opportunities, entrepreneurship is becoming an area more people are starting to turn to. There is currently a lot of support and upskilling opportunities for aspiring entrepreneurs and start-ups. At Start Codon, we are receiving an increasing amount of interest from entrepreneurs and some exciting early-stage companies.”
Salako says he expects to see some high-value, differentiated companies emerging, comprised of strong, multidisciplinary, diverse teams. He concludes: “There is a bright future ahead for companies that can weather the current storm.”