Beyond The VC Round: Creative Financing Strategies For Biotech's Bear Market

If you assumed venture capital was the only path forward for early-stage biotech, Baruch Harris would like a word. As COO of Pretzel Therapeutics, he has guided the company from seed stage through a $72.5 million Series A and a subsequent Series B while advancing a first-in-class mitochondrial biology pipeline, including a lead program in rare mitochondrial depletion syndrome now wrapping up Phase 1.

In this PharmaSource podcast episode, Harris is candid about what the post-2021 bear market actually looks like from inside a company trying to survive it. The capital environment that felt almost frictionless three years ago has been replaced by something far more demanding. Investors want product stories, not platform narratives. They want disciplined portfolio management and a clear lead asset, not a sprawling pipeline with diffuse spend.

Harris walks through the specific structures Pretzel has used: spinout strategies, non-dilutive funding mechanisms, and the logic behind acquiring Rome Therapeutics. His framing is practical, not theoretical. These aren't abstract options, they're decisions with real trade-offs that he has made under real pressure.

If your financing strategy still looks like 2020, this conversation will recalibrate your thinking fast. Access the full episode to pressure-test your capital strategy against what's actually working right now.