Biotech

The biotechnology industry applies science based on living organisms and biological systems primarily to introduce new therapeutic approaches to medical markets. Work in biotech that seeks to offer novel treatments involves drug discovery pipelines; gene or protein targets are found and then drugs are screened based on their ability to affect the targets. The achievement of genetic engineering milestones decades previous opened up therapeutic approaches to complement traditional pharmaceutical drug development, laying the groundwork for the worldwide growth of the biotech industry.

In recent years, venture capital funding for biotech companies has reached unprecedented levels as market conditions have tended to favor a profusion of smaller start-ups. This is commensurate with and enabled by a rapidly accelerating pace of innovation apparent in CRISPR/Cas9-based therapies and directed evolution platforms deriving from recent Nobel Prize-winning research. More niches have become addressable, and innovation has translated into real-world improvements. For instance, immunotherapies for cancer patients have made landmark progress, and during the COVID-19 pandemic, novel vaccines were developed and supplied in short order.

With the scientific and strategic complexity of the industry now continually increasing, identifying and onboarding high-caliber talent is paramount. We support companies across biotech hubs in Boston, Silicon Valley, San Diego, and Research Triangle Park, locales in which the biotech sector is currently further concentrating. We pair companies (large and small, early-stage and long-established) with industry leaders and proven experts, focusing on placements at board, c-suite, and director levels.

Our partners include Beam Therapeutics, which was co-founded by CRISPR gene editing pioneers Feng Zhang and David Liu and is renowned for its collaborative culture and for taking on high-impact, challenging projects. We have worked closely with the University of Pennsylvania Gene Therapy Program and have initiated partnerships with other cutting-edge organizations at the vanguard of gene-based therapeutics: Harvard Innovation Labs’ facilitated start-ups, like STRM.BIO, Capsida Biotherapeutics, spun out of a leading Caltech lab, and RNAimmune, a group at the forefront of cancer vaccine development.