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Posted On: October 10th 2026, 10:01 pm
Everyone wants to fund the next miracle drug. Jim West says that's the worse bet.
Biotech is one shot at the plate: a three-to-five percent chance of a return, a swing at 100X, and years of regulatory risk. Life-science tools trade that for a five-to-ten-times return, better odds, no regulatory cliff, and a five-year horizon. Less glamorous — far more reliable.
West has run both plays. He co-founded and sold Clara Biotech, and now leads BioTools Innovator, the nonprofit accelerator for life-science tools and diagnostics. In his words:
"If you want to do the therapeutic home run grand slam sort of investing … you get one shot at plate, stay in biotech. The life science tools is not your place."
If you allocate to medtech, diagnostics, or research tools — or you're building in the space — give this one 28 minutes.
Episode 128 of The Lattice Podcast, powered by 3DHEALS.
https://3dheals.com/episode-128-biotools-can-beat-moonshots-with-jim-west/
#MedTech #LifeScienceTools #VentureCapital
Biotech is one shot at the plate: a three-to-five percent chance of a return, a swing at 100X, and years of regulatory risk. Life-science tools trade that for a five-to-ten-times return, better odds, no regulatory cliff, and a five-year horizon. Less glamorous — far more reliable.
West has run both plays. He co-founded and sold Clara Biotech, and now leads BioTools Innovator, the nonprofit accelerator for life-science tools and diagnostics. In his words:
"If you want to do the therapeutic home run grand slam sort of investing … you get one shot at plate, stay in biotech. The life science tools is not your place."
If you allocate to medtech, diagnostics, or research tools — or you're building in the space — give this one 28 minutes.
Episode 128 of The Lattice Podcast, powered by 3DHEALS.
https://3dheals.com/episode-128-biotools-can-beat-moonshots-with-jim-west/
#MedTech #LifeScienceTools #VentureCapital
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