Why Commercial Orientation Should Be a Founder’s First Investment
How Early Commercial Orientation De-Risks Life Sciences Startups
Leslie Trujillo and Paul Riley
Early-stage life science companies rarely fail because of weak science. More often, they lose time, money, and credibility by committing to IP, regulatory, and development decisions before establishing clear commercial orientation — a grounded view of which value proposition is most likely to lead to product-market fit, for whom, and under what conditions.
This article challenges the sequence most founders are taught to follow. Drawing on Nexcea's work with early-stage companies and contributions from investors, a patent attorney, and a regulatory specialist, it makes the case that structured commercial orientation should come before IP strategy, regulatory planning, and major development spend — and shows what that looks like in practice.
The article covers:
What investors actually look for at the early stage — and why a strong IP position and regulatory pathway are not, on their own, evidence of a de-risked business
Why early patents built around untested ideas can trip companies up later, and how commercial goals shape protection that is genuinely useful
A worked example: how a structured commercial orientation process took a University of Manchester team from technical promise to a commercialisation strategy it can defend to investors, partners, and funders
How commercial orientation informs IP strategy, regulatory strategy, development priorities, and the capabilities a company must build to deliver
With contributions from:
David Levine (GC Angels) · Alistair Williamson (Managing Director, Lucid Group) · Dr Frances Salisbury (Partner and Patent Attorney, Mewburn Ellis LLP) · Sim Singh-Landa (Investment Director, PXN Ventures) · Richard Hall (Director, QMS Consultancy) · Dr Andrew Round (Investment Director, Life Sciences, Deepbridge Capital) · Professor Sarah Cartmell, Dr Jose Aguilar-Cosme, and Dr Emily Powell (Department of Materials, University of Manchester)
"Nexcea's structured approach gave us something we couldn't have built internally: an honest, evidence-based view of where the real commercial opportunities and risks lie. The process tested our assumptions rigorously and gave us a commercialisation strategy we can defend with confidence to investors, partners, and funders."
Professor Sarah Cartmell, Department of Materials, University of Manchester
Making high-stakes decisions with limited market evidence?
Commercial orientation is the work Nexcea does for early-stage life science companies: defining the critical unknowns, engaging the stakeholders who will determine success, and translating what they say into strategy that carries weight with investors, partners, and funders.
Related case studies: Clinical Insights to Support an Investment Round · Defining Value Proposition and Route to Market · Helping to Ensure Product-Market Fit
Talk to us: hello@nexcea.com