founders in biotech

Marco De Vivo on Neuroscience Drug Discovery

Marco De Vivo, is the head of the Molecular Modeling and Drug Discovery lab at the Italian Institute of Technology. He is also the Associate Director of the IIT, responsible for Computational Sciences. His research is focused on development of  computational methods to achieve an atomic-level comprehension of chemical systems. In 2021, he co-founded IAMA Therapeutics. IAMA Therapeutics is developing small molecules for CNS disorders by selectively inhibiting cation-chloride cotransporters to address atypical brain activity in neurological conditions.

Maria Soloveychik on synthetic biology for discovery of protein interaction modulators

Maria Soloveychik is the co-founder and CEO of SyntheX, a therapeutics company accelerating drug discovery through synthetic biology. SyntheX, founded in 2016 and headquartered in San Francisco, advances its own oncology pipeline and partners in external discovery collaborations. Maria holds a PhD in Molecular Genetics from the University of Toronto, where her research uncovered novel pathways linking metabolism and epigenetic signaling. As a former research scientist at the Structural Genomics Consortium, her work contributed to determining numerous protein structures and identifying several promising drug candidates.

Christoph Lengauer on building visionary biotech companies

Christoph Lengauer has contributed to the development of 10 FDA-approved cancer medicines. Christoph is Chief Scientific Officer and a co-founder of Curie.Bio, where he and his team co-pilot seed-stage companies to help founders to achieve series A. Prior to Curie, Christoph ideated, founded, and built several life science companies as Partner at Third Rock Ventures, including Blueprint Medicines, Relay Therapeutics, Thrive, Celsius Therapeutics, and MOMA Therapeutics. Prior to joining biotech, Christoph was global head of oncology drug discovery at Sanofi and senior unit head of oncology discovery at Novartis. He has been an Associate Professor at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, where he was involved in the identification of several cancer driver genes including PIK3CA and BRAF. As part of his research in Dr. Bert Vogelstein’s lab, Christoph discovered that all cancers are genetically unstable, which explains the molecular heterogeneity of cancer and why cancers develop resistance to drugs. He has authored more than 100 scientific articles published in top-tier scientific journals, including Cell, Nature, and Science. Christoph studied human genetics in Salzburg, Austria and obtained a Ph.D. in biology from the University of Heidelberg, Germany.

Deep dive into business development in biotech with James Lee

Business development is an essential process for biotech companies to build relationships with partners and create value from the deal structures that are based on science. We are taking a deep dive with James Lee into the mechanics and the framework that James uses for business development.  James founded Bridge Biotherapeutics Inc. in 2015 and he currently serves as the CEO. Bridge has been recognized with the continuous advancement of clinical-stage programs focused on pulmonary fibrosis, lung cancer, and immunology. In 2019, James successfully orchestrated the licensing-out deal with Boehringer Ingelheim, which marked as one of the largest global deals on a single compound in Korea.

James Lee on the vital role of business development for biotech companies

James Lee received his B.S and M.S. in Structural Biology from Seoul National University, he held various roles in research, research planning, and business development at LG Chem. In year 2000, James co-founded Crystal Genomics where he led fundraising and business development activities. In 2008, he founded Rexbio, an early-stage biotech startup specialized in discovering and developing therapeutics and diagnostics for the treatment of pancreatic cancer.   James founded Bridge Biotherapeutics Inc. in 2015 and he currently serves as the CEO. Bridge has been recognized with the continuous advancement of clinical-stage programs focused on pulmonary fibrosis, lung cancer, and immunology. In 2019, James successfully orchestrated the licensing-out deal with Boehringer Ingelheim, which marked as one of the largest global deals on a single compound in Korea.