8 JANUARYIN MY OPINIONIN MY OPINIONBy James Wang, General Partner, Creative Ventures Global pandemic aside, an aging population and chronic diseases are placing an unprecedented strain on our (rather ill-equipped) healthcare system. In 2013, 16% of total GDP in the US was spent on direct healthcare costs; in 2020, that number was nearly 20%. And though the US leads in healthcare spending, this trend can be seen across most of the world. After all, aging and chronic diseases know no nationality. Still, indirect costs can be far larger. This is especially true for neurological diseases whose debilitating effects create massive financial, time, and emotional strain on families afflicted.NEUROTECH PRESENTS AN ENORMOUS OPPORTUNITYA comprehensive study in 2017 found that the most common neurological diseases cost the US nearly a trillion dollars when one includes indirect costs like foregone wages, informal home care, etc. With venture capitalists constantly asking companies about market size, tens to hundreds of billions of dollars in direct costs and nearly a trillion in indirect should create a gold rush, right? In a word, yes. Companies in the diagnostics, treatment and care of neurological diseases could be unbelievably valuable if successful. CLINICAL ROADBLOCKS FROM A VC PERSPECTIVE Simply stated, a lack of treatment affects everything upstream. In a real-world application, if nothing can be done about neurodegenerative diseases, diagnosis and disease tracking will not alter a clinician's course of care. This makes payers reasonably skeptical about most diagnostic technologies in the space. Even if you could perfectly track disease progression, so what? Investing in Neurotechnology for Today, Not One DayTHE RIGHT TIME FOR FINANCIAL INVESTORS TO STEP IN IS WHEN A SPECIFIC CONCEPT IS MEANT TO BE COMMERCIALIZED--ACTUALLY BROUGHT TO MARKET AND THEN SCALEDJames Wang
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