Ep.4 Interview with Dr Alan Taylor: How to Raise Capital and the Mission to Improve Cancer Treatment

Our host, Richard Sokolov, Executive Director and co-founder of IDE Group, speaks with Dr Alan Taylor, Executive Chairman of Clarity Pharmaceuticals.

About the Episode

Richard and Alan discuss advice on capital raising, the importance of having skin in the game, why intellectual property is so important in life sciences, how Clarity went from two provisional patents to biggest IPO on the ASX, and many more topics.

About Dr Alan Taylor and Clarity Pharmaceuticals

Alan is an expert on capital raising with 15 years of investment banking experience. Before joining Clarity, he was an Executive Director and shareholder of Inteq Limited, a boutique Australian investment bank. Alan has significant experience in capital raisings and mergers&acquisitions and has been involved in approximately $2 billion worth of transactions.

He joined Clarity when there was only a single founder and two provisional patents in 2013 and has recently led the Company through the largest ever biotechnology IPO on the Australian Securities Exchange, raising $92 million at a capitalisation of $358 million. Since joining Clarity, Alan has led over $140 million of capital raisings for the company.

Clarity is focused on theranostics, a field that combines therapy and diagnostics. It is developing Targeted Copper Theranostic (TCT) products, which allow copper isotopes to be used in the diagnosis and treatment of a range of cancers, including prostate and breast cancers, as well as rare and orphan cancer indications such as neuroblastoma - a childhood cancer that begins most often in the nerve cells outside of brain of infants and children younger than 5 years old.

About the BBFH Series

The BBFH series is a series of interviews with Founders, Professors, Executives, and other leaders of the Australian startup community. Together with our guests, we explore and analyse the drivers and challenges of the healthcare startup community here in Australia and discuss their unique journeys and stories.

Chapters/Timestamps

0:00 Introduction

0:58 Clarity Pharmaceuticals’ story

3:06 Alan’s story at Clarity

5:38 Skin in the game as a leader

7:33 Why purpose is important

10:30 Alan’s story and why losing is important

20:25 Why Intellectual Property in Medtech/LifeSciences is important

24:45 Patent/IP lifespan and strategy

28:05 Enthusiasm and challenging each other

30:10 Advice on Capital Raising

34:00 Bringing your shareholders along