Sept. 14, 2009
Every drug approval has a back story.
For Theravance Inc.’s telavancin, approved Friday by the FDA as an antibiotic to combat complicated skin infections caused by the MRSA superbug, a critical part of its story came when the company discovered early on that the drug didn’t distribute in the body like it thought it would.
Luckily for the company, recalls former telavancin project leader and now Achaogen Inc. CEO Kevin Judice, one of its researchers had worked on a class of molecules that had run into a similar problem and were modified to distribute better. Those molecules and antibiotics were unrelated, Judice says, but what was the harm in trying.
Showing posts with label Life sciences. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Life sciences. Show all posts
Tuesday, December 08, 2009
Friday, November 06, 2009
Money in biotech, but no jobs
July 30, 2009
Newly cash-flush biotech companies are sending a quick message to the market: Job seekers need not apply.
With venture capitalists and Wall Street wary of biotechs with unfocused cash burn rates, even the handful of companies that have captured cash in recent venture financings or licensing deals are only selectively adding new employees.
That represents a shift from the “what-me-worry” attitude many biotech leaders spouted when capital was readily available to finance the advancement of their drugs through clinical trials little more than two years ago.
Then the bottom fell out of the capital markets, and an estimated four in 10 biotech companies today have barely enough cash to survive into 2010.
Newly cash-flush biotech companies are sending a quick message to the market: Job seekers need not apply.
With venture capitalists and Wall Street wary of biotechs with unfocused cash burn rates, even the handful of companies that have captured cash in recent venture financings or licensing deals are only selectively adding new employees.
That represents a shift from the “what-me-worry” attitude many biotech leaders spouted when capital was readily available to finance the advancement of their drugs through clinical trials little more than two years ago.
Then the bottom fell out of the capital markets, and an estimated four in 10 biotech companies today have barely enough cash to survive into 2010.
Athletes decoded
Nov. 6, 2009
Jim Kovach has spent years seeking the secrets of aging as president of Marin County’s Buck Institute for Age Research.
Now he’s helped start a new Oakland, California, company with a different quest: Finding the sports gene.
Kovach, a pro linebacker before he was a scientist, has teamed up with a leading Duke University genetic researcher and two other NFL veterans, including venture capitalist Alex Bernstein, to found Athleticode. The Oakland startup’s aim: Study athletes’ DNA so players can improve performance and avoid injury.
Jim Kovach has spent years seeking the secrets of aging as president of Marin County’s Buck Institute for Age Research.
Now he’s helped start a new Oakland, California, company with a different quest: Finding the sports gene.
Kovach, a pro linebacker before he was a scientist, has teamed up with a leading Duke University genetic researcher and two other NFL veterans, including venture capitalist Alex Bernstein, to found Athleticode. The Oakland startup’s aim: Study athletes’ DNA so players can improve performance and avoid injury.
Friday, October 30, 2009
Nektar to move HQ to Mission Bay
Oct. 2, 2009
Nektar Therapeutics Inc. will shift its headquarters and 150 employees to San Francisco after taking 102,283 square feet of office space in Mission Bay originally intended for Pfizer Inc.
The move from San Carlos is laced with a heavy dose of irony: Two years ago, Pfizer pulled the plug on a drug collaboration with Nektar, and nearly killed the company in the process.
It’s also laden with sizeable savings. Nektar will pay no rent in the first four years of the 10-year sublease deal and will snag a $15 million tenant improvement allowance granted to Pfizer by landlord Alexandria Real Estate Equities Inc.
Nektar Therapeutics Inc. will shift its headquarters and 150 employees to San Francisco after taking 102,283 square feet of office space in Mission Bay originally intended for Pfizer Inc.
The move from San Carlos is laced with a heavy dose of irony: Two years ago, Pfizer pulled the plug on a drug collaboration with Nektar, and nearly killed the company in the process.
It’s also laden with sizeable savings. Nektar will pay no rent in the first four years of the 10-year sublease deal and will snag a $15 million tenant improvement allowance granted to Pfizer by landlord Alexandria Real Estate Equities Inc.
Cancer test OK likely Vermillion’s savior
Sept. 18, 2009
Under the shell of bankruptcy protection, Vermillion Inc. won FDA clearance for an ovarian cancer test that could save time, money, lives and maybe the company itself.
The test, called OVA1, allows doctors to triage women with a pelvic mass by using a blood test to check the levels of five proteins that change when ovarian cancer is present. That could prevent many women from undergoing exploratory surgery to determine if a mass is cancerous.
Vermillion in March filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection under the weight of more than $32 million in debt and only $7 million in assets. Now it must help partner and investor Quest Diagnostics Inc. bring OVA1 to market by the end of the year, file a reorganization plan, study other potential partnerships and maybe even be acquired.
“The beauty of this is, the company will be poised to look at all its strategic options,” said Gail Page, Vermillion’s executive chairman. “There are a lot of things that are happening concurrently.”
Under the shell of bankruptcy protection, Vermillion Inc. won FDA clearance for an ovarian cancer test that could save time, money, lives and maybe the company itself.
The test, called OVA1, allows doctors to triage women with a pelvic mass by using a blood test to check the levels of five proteins that change when ovarian cancer is present. That could prevent many women from undergoing exploratory surgery to determine if a mass is cancerous.
Vermillion in March filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection under the weight of more than $32 million in debt and only $7 million in assets. Now it must help partner and investor Quest Diagnostics Inc. bring OVA1 to market by the end of the year, file a reorganization plan, study other potential partnerships and maybe even be acquired.
“The beauty of this is, the company will be poised to look at all its strategic options,” said Gail Page, Vermillion’s executive chairman. “There are a lot of things that are happening concurrently.”
UCSF boss takes office with a bang
Aug. 7, 2009
The Susan Desmond-Hellmann era has begun.
Within hours of the former Genentech Inc. executive formally taking over as the ninth chancellor of the University of California, San Francisco, Carol Moss was named vice chancellor for university development and alumni relations.
The appointment is important because it shows that Desmond-Hellmann is quickly changing the rules — and job descriptions — as she reshapes the retirement-depleted executive ranks of UCSF.
The Susan Desmond-Hellmann era has begun.
Within hours of the former Genentech Inc. executive formally taking over as the ninth chancellor of the University of California, San Francisco, Carol Moss was named vice chancellor for university development and alumni relations.
The appointment is important because it shows that Desmond-Hellmann is quickly changing the rules — and job descriptions — as she reshapes the retirement-depleted executive ranks of UCSF.
UCSF’s Desmond-Hellmann: Not ‘the biotech chancellor’
May 8, 2009
The Susan Desmond-Hellmann era at UCSF begins Aug. 3.
Dr. Desmond-Hellmann, the former president of product development at biotech powerhouse Genentech Inc., was formally approved Thursday by the University of California Board of Regents as the next chancellor of UC, San Francisco. Pledging not to be known as “the biotech chancellor” but a champion for all segments of the school, Desmond-Hellmann, 51, will be the first woman UCSF chancellor and the first with a for-profit background.
She replaces Dr. J. Michael Bishop, a Nobel laureate who is stepping down June 30 after more than 11 years in UCSF’s top post. Bishop will remain a member of the UCSF faculty and will maintain a lab there.
Desmond-Hellmann’s base salary will be $450,000, approved by the regents on the same day they voted to raise student fees by 9.3 percent, or $750 for in-state graduate academic students.
Desmond-Hellmann faces a handful of challenges, not the least of which are replacing much of UCSF’s retiring executive team, hiring a medical school dean and increasing private philanthropy during an economic downturn.
“I expect to be out there,” she said. “People will know what the university needs and what it means and how they can contribute. … I think you’ll see more of me.”
The Susan Desmond-Hellmann era at UCSF begins Aug. 3.
Dr. Desmond-Hellmann, the former president of product development at biotech powerhouse Genentech Inc., was formally approved Thursday by the University of California Board of Regents as the next chancellor of UC, San Francisco. Pledging not to be known as “the biotech chancellor” but a champion for all segments of the school, Desmond-Hellmann, 51, will be the first woman UCSF chancellor and the first with a for-profit background.
She replaces Dr. J. Michael Bishop, a Nobel laureate who is stepping down June 30 after more than 11 years in UCSF’s top post. Bishop will remain a member of the UCSF faculty and will maintain a lab there.
Desmond-Hellmann’s base salary will be $450,000, approved by the regents on the same day they voted to raise student fees by 9.3 percent, or $750 for in-state graduate academic students.
Desmond-Hellmann faces a handful of challenges, not the least of which are replacing much of UCSF’s retiring executive team, hiring a medical school dean and increasing private philanthropy during an economic downturn.
“I expect to be out there,” she said. “People will know what the university needs and what it means and how they can contribute. … I think you’ll see more of me.”
New crusade for women’s health
July 10, 2009
Victoria Hale is out to change the world. Again.
The woman who introduced the concept of nonprofit drug development is launching a new venture — called Medicines360 — focused on women’s and children’s health.
“It’s what I do: I’m a serial social entrepreneur,” Hale said. “I want to be saving lives or changing the world.”
But while Hale’s first startup, the Institute for OneWorld Health, survives on a mix of ongoing philanthropy and Big Pharma deals to develop low-cost medicines for so-called neglected diseases of the Third World, Medicines360 is taking a different tack. Financed initially by a four-year philanthropic grant, it will in effect subsidize its treatments for women and children worldwide with sales in the Western world.
“It’s a real business,” Hale said. “We want to find a partner that is aggressive about marketing in the West.”
Victoria Hale is out to change the world. Again.
The woman who introduced the concept of nonprofit drug development is launching a new venture — called Medicines360 — focused on women’s and children’s health.
“It’s what I do: I’m a serial social entrepreneur,” Hale said. “I want to be saving lives or changing the world.”
But while Hale’s first startup, the Institute for OneWorld Health, survives on a mix of ongoing philanthropy and Big Pharma deals to develop low-cost medicines for so-called neglected diseases of the Third World, Medicines360 is taking a different tack. Financed initially by a four-year philanthropic grant, it will in effect subsidize its treatments for women and children worldwide with sales in the Western world.
“It’s a real business,” Hale said. “We want to find a partner that is aggressive about marketing in the West.”
Biotech startups feast at ancestors’ expense
June 5, 2009
One biotech’s garbage is another biotech’s treasure.
As life sciences companies close or pare operations, startups are finding high-priced equipment — in like-new condition — for pennies on the dollar.
For $30,000 — and, sometimes, the promise to scrub the floor behind them — Omniox Inc. has picked up $1.5 million worth of equipment from dead or dying biotechs that simply wanted to quickly off-load everything from a little-used centrifuge to protein purifiers.
The savings are significant for a five-month-old company funded by friends, family and a federal grant of $250,000.
“It’s the miracle of the downturn,” said Omniox founder Stephen Cary .
One biotech’s garbage is another biotech’s treasure.
As life sciences companies close or pare operations, startups are finding high-priced equipment — in like-new condition — for pennies on the dollar.
For $30,000 — and, sometimes, the promise to scrub the floor behind them — Omniox Inc. has picked up $1.5 million worth of equipment from dead or dying biotechs that simply wanted to quickly off-load everything from a little-used centrifuge to protein purifiers.
The savings are significant for a five-month-old company funded by friends, family and a federal grant of $250,000.
“It’s the miracle of the downturn,” said Omniox founder Stephen Cary .
CHORI scientists isolate stem cells in placenta
June 5, 2009
Scientists at Children’s Hospital Oakland Research Institute have found a way to isolate stem cells in the placenta, potentially helping to treat and cure more people with leukemia or sickle cell anemia.
Now CHORI must discover a way — finding a partner or, possibly, creating a spinoff company — to deliver the technology through trials to patients.
Scientists at Children’s Hospital Oakland Research Institute have found a way to isolate stem cells in the placenta, potentially helping to treat and cure more people with leukemia or sickle cell anemia.
Now CHORI must discover a way — finding a partner or, possibly, creating a spinoff company — to deliver the technology through trials to patients.
FDA approval gives strength to battered Titan
May 29, 2009
Titan Pharmaceuticals Inc. — delisted, diminished and down to three employees after the rejection of two drugs last year — has rehired its senior executives after the FDA approved a partner’s potential billion-dollar schizophrenia drug.
Marc Rubin, Sunil Bhonsle and Katherine Beebe reupped with Titan after iloperidone — a drug licensed by the South San Francisco company 12 years ago and sublicensed twice since then — won Food and Drug Administration approval May 6. The approval gives Titan more time to find a partner for its only remaining program, a late-stage treatment for opioid addiction.
“There are many possible directions,” said Bhonsle, now Titan’s president. “Last year, the only direction was to conserve capital, sell assets and things like that.”
Titan Pharmaceuticals Inc. — delisted, diminished and down to three employees after the rejection of two drugs last year — has rehired its senior executives after the FDA approved a partner’s potential billion-dollar schizophrenia drug.
Marc Rubin, Sunil Bhonsle and Katherine Beebe reupped with Titan after iloperidone — a drug licensed by the South San Francisco company 12 years ago and sublicensed twice since then — won Food and Drug Administration approval May 6. The approval gives Titan more time to find a partner for its only remaining program, a late-stage treatment for opioid addiction.
“There are many possible directions,” said Bhonsle, now Titan’s president. “Last year, the only direction was to conserve capital, sell assets and things like that.”
California considers stem cell curriculum
March 27, 2009
The next chapter of California’s stem cell battle will be its textbooks.
Backed by the state Board of Education — as well as powerful lawmakers — the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine is ready to reshape the state’s science curriculum and direct a rewrite of textbooks to include sections on stem cells.
CIRM and lawmakers say it is an effort to link education with the jobs of tomorrow and keep California at the forefront of research that ultimately could deliver cures, treatments or tests for diseases ranging from diabetes to Alzheimer’s.
Opponents, however, worry the emphasis would be on morally controversial human embryonic stem cells at the expense of technologies like up-and-coming induced pluripotent stem cells.
The next chapter of California’s stem cell battle will be its textbooks.
Backed by the state Board of Education — as well as powerful lawmakers — the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine is ready to reshape the state’s science curriculum and direct a rewrite of textbooks to include sections on stem cells.
CIRM and lawmakers say it is an effort to link education with the jobs of tomorrow and keep California at the forefront of research that ultimately could deliver cures, treatments or tests for diseases ranging from diabetes to Alzheimer’s.
Opponents, however, worry the emphasis would be on morally controversial human embryonic stem cells at the expense of technologies like up-and-coming induced pluripotent stem cells.
Tough love: CEO rebuilds Nektar Therapeutics
Dec. 12, 2008
Biotech has a new model: Nektar Therapeutics Inc.
A one-trick pony considered on the brink of disaster 14 months ago, Nektar now has a deep pipeline of early- and mid-stage drugs, less debt, more cash and a slimmed-down workforce.
That puts the San Carlos company in a good position to weather the credit and investment storm drenching other biotech companies today.
Biotech has a new model: Nektar Therapeutics Inc.
A one-trick pony considered on the brink of disaster 14 months ago, Nektar now has a deep pipeline of early- and mid-stage drugs, less debt, more cash and a slimmed-down workforce.
That puts the San Carlos company in a good position to weather the credit and investment storm drenching other biotech companies today.
Looming debt conversions put small biotechs in a pickle
Nov. 14, 2008
Biotechs bet big on debt. They lost.
Now, with stock prices in the pennies and low levels of cash, many biotech companies are staring at looming maturity dates on convertible debt notes. That debt is dogging their efforts to raise cash and, at worst, may force some into bankruptcy.
“What they’re trying to figure out is what they’re going to do about it,” said Steve Engle, CEO of Berkeley drug developer Xoma Ltd., which paid off its convertible debt investors last year.
Convertible debt generally gives the holder the option to get repaid in cash, or to convert the debt to stock equity at a specified time. Earlier in the decade, it was among the most popular fundraising mechanisms for biotechs, based on the long-term bet that the companies would use the money to develop blockbuster drugs, and see their stock prices soar as a result. But with those notes coming due, many biotechs don’t have the hoped-for drugs, repayment money or stock at a price that is tempting for investors.
Meanwhile, some of those investors face their own cash shortages. As a result, some are willing to negotiate repayment of far less than they are owed.
Biotechs bet big on debt. They lost.
Now, with stock prices in the pennies and low levels of cash, many biotech companies are staring at looming maturity dates on convertible debt notes. That debt is dogging their efforts to raise cash and, at worst, may force some into bankruptcy.
“What they’re trying to figure out is what they’re going to do about it,” said Steve Engle, CEO of Berkeley drug developer Xoma Ltd., which paid off its convertible debt investors last year.
Convertible debt generally gives the holder the option to get repaid in cash, or to convert the debt to stock equity at a specified time. Earlier in the decade, it was among the most popular fundraising mechanisms for biotechs, based on the long-term bet that the companies would use the money to develop blockbuster drugs, and see their stock prices soar as a result. But with those notes coming due, many biotechs don’t have the hoped-for drugs, repayment money or stock at a price that is tempting for investors.
Meanwhile, some of those investors face their own cash shortages. As a result, some are willing to negotiate repayment of far less than they are owed.
Fat City: Are lipids ‘liquid gold’?
Sept. 26, 2008
Big Macs, Twinkies and Ho-Hos may be your salvation.
Scientists are studying fat from liposuction procedures — “liquid gold,” as one Stanford University researcher calls it — to rebuild cartilage, muscle and bone, and as potential therapies for heart attack patients or to unlock age secrets.
It’s all early-stage work. Studies have been carried out only in animals, and researchers aren’t sure if high concentrations of stem cells lumped in your love handles are the key. But the potential has created a cottage industry offering to bank fat to literally roll out again when — and if — treatments emerge.
Eventually, said Dr. Michael Longaker, director of children’s surgical research at the Stanford University School of Medicine, the research could lead to bedside tissue engineering. That could involve harvesting belly fat through liposuction, inducing stem cells to create bone, for example, and returning it to a scaffold in the knee that could form new cartilage over a year or two.
It’s the ultimate reduce, reuse, recycle.
Big Macs, Twinkies and Ho-Hos may be your salvation.
Scientists are studying fat from liposuction procedures — “liquid gold,” as one Stanford University researcher calls it — to rebuild cartilage, muscle and bone, and as potential therapies for heart attack patients or to unlock age secrets.
It’s all early-stage work. Studies have been carried out only in animals, and researchers aren’t sure if high concentrations of stem cells lumped in your love handles are the key. But the potential has created a cottage industry offering to bank fat to literally roll out again when — and if — treatments emerge.
Eventually, said Dr. Michael Longaker, director of children’s surgical research at the Stanford University School of Medicine, the research could lead to bedside tissue engineering. That could involve harvesting belly fat through liposuction, inducing stem cells to create bone, for example, and returning it to a scaffold in the knee that could form new cartilage over a year or two.
It’s the ultimate reduce, reuse, recycle.
Roche to ship jobs out of Palo Alto
Aug. 29, 2008
As it looks toward a marriage with Genentech Inc. and South San Francisco, Swiss drug maker Roche is filing for divorce from Palo Alto.
Roche plans to move its inflammation business from Palo Alto to Nutley, N.J. — no matter the fate of its plan to buy the rest of Genentech — and could shift its virology business from Palo Alto to South San Francisco. Meanwhile, Roche said it will move its U.S. pharmaceutical commercial operations from Nutley to South San Francisco.
Roche is not disclosing the exact number of jobs that would shift between Palo Alto, South San Francisco and New Jersey. This much, however, is sure: South San Francisco will gain hundreds of jobs, New Jersey will lose hundreds and the Palo Alto operations that employed 3,000 people before Roche took control likely will be shuttered.
As it looks toward a marriage with Genentech Inc. and South San Francisco, Swiss drug maker Roche is filing for divorce from Palo Alto.
Roche plans to move its inflammation business from Palo Alto to Nutley, N.J. — no matter the fate of its plan to buy the rest of Genentech — and could shift its virology business from Palo Alto to South San Francisco. Meanwhile, Roche said it will move its U.S. pharmaceutical commercial operations from Nutley to South San Francisco.
Roche is not disclosing the exact number of jobs that would shift between Palo Alto, South San Francisco and New Jersey. This much, however, is sure: South San Francisco will gain hundreds of jobs, New Jersey will lose hundreds and the Palo Alto operations that employed 3,000 people before Roche took control likely will be shuttered.
Inside the Roche-Genentech takeover
April 10, 2009
From the moment Roche Chairman Franz Humer called Genentech CEO Art Levinson and a small group of board members the evening of last July 20, it was apparent that the South San Francisco-based biotech’s days as an independent company were numbered.
Over the course of the companies’ 18-year relationship, Genentech had blossomed into the world’s biggest biotech, but Roche had never seemed to make up its mind what it wanted from the company. At times it had bulked up its shareholding, and at other times decreased it, usually making a lot of money in the process.
Now, the Swiss drugmaker and majority shareholder’s chairman had no such indecision: He wanted the rest of Genentech. Humer wasn’t interested in talking about anything other than a 100 percent Roche takeover, and he wasn’t taking no for an answer.
“Franz was quite clear from day one,” said Dr. Charles Sanders, the retired Glaxo Inc. chairman and CEO, who was among the four Humer called and would become the front man for Genentech’s negotiations with Roche.
It took eight months for Roche to finally break down Genentech’s defenses and complete the acquisition March 26. It will take many more months to know the deal’s impact on Genentech — its leaders, over 11,000 employees, research operations and much-ballyhooed culture.
What is clear from a review of Securities and Exchange Commision documents and conversations with those involved is that the outcome was largely predetermined from the start. Roche’s majority stake, its persistence in pursuit of the company and turbulence in the world economy all strengthened its position — and weakened Genentech’s. Roche ended up with Genentech for a smaller price than many had predicted.
“I think these two companies could have coexisted into the future without taking this step,” Sanders said, “but that was not my decision.”
From the moment Roche Chairman Franz Humer called Genentech CEO Art Levinson and a small group of board members the evening of last July 20, it was apparent that the South San Francisco-based biotech’s days as an independent company were numbered.
Over the course of the companies’ 18-year relationship, Genentech had blossomed into the world’s biggest biotech, but Roche had never seemed to make up its mind what it wanted from the company. At times it had bulked up its shareholding, and at other times decreased it, usually making a lot of money in the process.
Now, the Swiss drugmaker and majority shareholder’s chairman had no such indecision: He wanted the rest of Genentech. Humer wasn’t interested in talking about anything other than a 100 percent Roche takeover, and he wasn’t taking no for an answer.
“Franz was quite clear from day one,” said Dr. Charles Sanders, the retired Glaxo Inc. chairman and CEO, who was among the four Humer called and would become the front man for Genentech’s negotiations with Roche.
It took eight months for Roche to finally break down Genentech’s defenses and complete the acquisition March 26. It will take many more months to know the deal’s impact on Genentech — its leaders, over 11,000 employees, research operations and much-ballyhooed culture.
What is clear from a review of Securities and Exchange Commision documents and conversations with those involved is that the outcome was largely predetermined from the start. Roche’s majority stake, its persistence in pursuit of the company and turbulence in the world economy all strengthened its position — and weakened Genentech’s. Roche ended up with Genentech for a smaller price than many had predicted.
“I think these two companies could have coexisted into the future without taking this step,” Sanders said, “but that was not my decision.”
Life after Genentech: Kirk Raab re-engineers career as biotech mentor
July 11, 2008
The rehabilitation of Kirk Raab is complete.
Deposed as CEO of biotech giant Genentech Inc. in a conflict-of-interest affair more than a dozen years ago, Raab now is active in a handful of young, private biotech companies. He is a consultant, a been-there, done-that chairman or fill-in CEO. But mostly he's a mentor for the next generation of biotech executives.
"I help CEOs have less scar tissue than I do," he said.
Along the way, Raab has helped shape biotech success stories like Connetics Corp., the Palo Alto dermatology company that sold for $930 million in 2006, and up-and-coming ventures like sleep drug developer Transcept Pharmaceuticals Inc. of Point Richmond and East Coast hair regrowth startup Follica Inc.
He's been involved with more than 14 small biotech companies in all -- often in unpaid capacities. That's a long way from Raab's Genentech days.
The bottom line of bringing Raab on board is clear for young companies looking to make good impressions on would-be investors: Kirk Raab's name packs a punch and his connections open doors.
"He adds weight and credibility," said Chris Ehrlich, a partner at InterWest Partners and an investor in Transcept and Follica. "And when you go into discussions with larger companies, it's good to have him on your side."
The rehabilitation of Kirk Raab is complete.
Deposed as CEO of biotech giant Genentech Inc. in a conflict-of-interest affair more than a dozen years ago, Raab now is active in a handful of young, private biotech companies. He is a consultant, a been-there, done-that chairman or fill-in CEO. But mostly he's a mentor for the next generation of biotech executives.
"I help CEOs have less scar tissue than I do," he said.
Along the way, Raab has helped shape biotech success stories like Connetics Corp., the Palo Alto dermatology company that sold for $930 million in 2006, and up-and-coming ventures like sleep drug developer Transcept Pharmaceuticals Inc. of Point Richmond and East Coast hair regrowth startup Follica Inc.
He's been involved with more than 14 small biotech companies in all -- often in unpaid capacities. That's a long way from Raab's Genentech days.
The bottom line of bringing Raab on board is clear for young companies looking to make good impressions on would-be investors: Kirk Raab's name packs a punch and his connections open doors.
"He adds weight and credibility," said Chris Ehrlich, a partner at InterWest Partners and an investor in Transcept and Follica. "And when you go into discussions with larger companies, it's good to have him on your side."
Friday, October 09, 2009
How San Francisco caught Pfizer
Aug. 8, 2008
Over a restaurant table at Farallon last fall, Corey Goodman gave his new boss, the CEO of the world's largest drugmaker, his vision of Big Pharma's future.
It was the start of a 10-month journey, one that would lead from the upscale San Francisco financial district restaurant through San Francisco City Hall, UCSF's latest campus and, ultimately, to a dusty patch in Mission Bay -- across from the University of California, San Francisco -- with pilings sticking out of the dirt.
Over a restaurant table at Farallon last fall, Corey Goodman gave his new boss, the CEO of the world's largest drugmaker, his vision of Big Pharma's future.
It was the start of a 10-month journey, one that would lead from the upscale San Francisco financial district restaurant through San Francisco City Hall, UCSF's latest campus and, ultimately, to a dusty patch in Mission Bay -- across from the University of California, San Francisco -- with pilings sticking out of the dirt.
Lines at the stem cell bank
June 15, 2007
Ana Krtolica is selling potential clients on being first in line for treatment if scientists in the next five to 50 years find stem cell-based cures for diseases such as diabetes, Alzheimer's or sickle cell anemia.
The key word is "if," say critics of StemLifeLine, Krtolica's San Carlos company that offers to bank personal stem cell lines derived from in vitro fertilized eggs. Krtolica, on the other hand, emphasizes "potential."
The price of that potential is as much as $17,000 over 20 years, including annual bank fees of about $400.
Ana Krtolica is selling potential clients on being first in line for treatment if scientists in the next five to 50 years find stem cell-based cures for diseases such as diabetes, Alzheimer's or sickle cell anemia.
The key word is "if," say critics of StemLifeLine, Krtolica's San Carlos company that offers to bank personal stem cell lines derived from in vitro fertilized eggs. Krtolica, on the other hand, emphasizes "potential."
The price of that potential is as much as $17,000 over 20 years, including annual bank fees of about $400.
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