Category Archives: Leadership

By Ivana Magovčević-Liebisch, CEO of Vigil Neuroscience, as part of the From The Trenches feature of LifeSciVC In an industry where boom and bust cycles occur regularly and 90 percent of drug candidates fail to reach the market, an outstanding

Having just turned 50, I’ve been reflecting on my first half-century of late… many fun and impactful moments, a few regrets, and a life I’ve tried to live to the fullest. One thread that has run throughout it has been

By Ankit Mahadevia, former CEO of Spero Therapeutics, as part of the From The Trenches feature of LifeSciVC Drug development is complex. So is running a business. Sometimes, the work of doing both can make your head spin. In my

Novartis recently announced the acquisition of Mariana Oncology, an emerging biotech focused on advancing a radioligand therapeutics platform, for up to $1.75 billion in upfronts and future milestones. The capstone of its three short years of operations, this acquisition represents

By Arthur O. Tzianabos, PhD, CEO of Lifordi Immunotherapeutics, as part of the From the Trenches feature of LifeSciVC As the biotech industry continues to pick up steam, I have been getting a number of phone calls from folks in

By Ankit Mahadevia, former CEO of Spero Therapeutics, as part of the From The Trenches feature of LifeSciVC The right leaders in the right structure can power companies to great things. The general consensus is that all companies need a

By Jeb Keiper, CEO of Nimbus Therapeutics, as part of the From The Trenches feature of LifeSciVC. @JebKeiper Earlier this year, Nimbus closed the sale of our allosteric TYK2 program, which was acquired by Takeda for $4 billion upfront. To

By Aoife Brennan, CEO of Synlogic, as part of the From The Trenches feature of LifeSciVC I remember vividly my first vacation with the man who would be my husband.  In the days before Airbnb and on-line travel websites, he

By Ankit Mahadevia, Chairman of Spero Therapeutics, as part of the From The Trenches feature of LifeSciVC Nobody stays in a particular role forever. While change at the senior level can be disruptive, it doesn’t have to be. Teams and

More Musings from an Old CEO By Natalie Holles, CEO of Third Harmonic Bio, as part of the From The Trenches feature of LifeSciVC The only way we grow as leaders is by stretching the limits of who we are

By Jeb Keiper, CEO of Nimbus Therapeutics, as part of the From The Trenches feature of LifeSciVC Forward Nimbus Therapeutics began 14 years ago.  The premise at the time was that putting computational chemistry in the primary position for new

By Mike Cloonan, CEO of Sionna Therapeutics, as part of the From The Trenches feature of LifeSciVC There are a lot of reasons to be excited about leading an early-stage biotech company. It’s a chance to be at the forefront

By Rene Russo, CEO of Xilio Therapeutics, as part of the From The Trenches features of LifeSciVC When your team’s priority is to execute a well-formed plan, then a “heads down” focus is critical. We all recognize this situation, using

By Ankit Mahadevia, CEO and founder of Spero Therapeutics, as part of the From The Trenches feature of LifeSciVC Recently, Spero announced the filing of its first ever New Drug Application, for our medicine tebipenem Hbr.  Interestingly, as we approached

By Ankit Mahadevia, CEO and Founder of Spero Therapeutics, as part of the From The Trenches feature of LifeSciVC. The opportunity for each member of a NewCo to take on multiple responsibilities selects early for people ready to help a

By Joshua Brumm, CEO of Dyne Therapeutics, as part of the From The Trenches feature of LifeSciVC When I play board games, I play to win. That requires thinking several moves ahead. In the game Risk, for instance, it’s not

Co-authored by Jodie Morrison and René Russo, former CEO of Cadent Therapeutics and CEO of Xilio Therapeutics, respectively.   Over the last 5 years, biotech executives have been increasingly focused on the importance of greater diversity in our companies. As two

The role of the core in making an organization great and how we do right by them By Ankit Mahadevia, CEO of Spero Therapeutics, as part of the From The Trenches feature of LifeSciVC Small organizations are amazing for the

By Jonathan Montagu, CEO of HotSpot Therapeutics, as part of the From The Trenches feature of LifeSciVC Returning to work following the pandemic presents an opportunity to think creatively about how to re-configure the workplace.  CEO’s that I have spoken

By Joshua Brumm, CEO of Dyne Therapeutics, as part of the From The Trenches feature of LifeSciVC I’ve been thinking a lot about growth, and for good reason: Dyne is in the midst of a significant scale-up. We expanded our

By Philip Astley-Sparke, CEO of Replimune, as part of the From The Trenches feature of LifeSciVC. One of the biggest elephants in the room regarding starting and scaling young companies is the tension, often healthy but sometimes detrimental, that exist

By Rene Russo, CEO of Xilio Therapeutics, as part of the From The Trenches feature of LifeSciVC Prioritization is a concept that we have become intimately aware of, given the continually blurred lines of personal and professional obligations in a

By Ankit Mahadevia, CEO of Spero Therapeutics, as part of the From The Trenches feature of LifeSciVC Earlier this fall, we prepared to report Phase III data for tebipenem HBr, our oral medication that, if approved, could help 2.7M patients

This blog was written by Rene Russo, CEO of Xilio Therapeutics, as part of the From The Trenches feature of LifeSciVC. A lifetime ago, in May 2020, I had the honor of writing my first “From the Trenches” blog. I

By Samantha Truex, CEO of QuenchBio, as part of the From The Trenches feature of LifeSciVC I have been privileged to read and write for this LifeSciVC blog for a handful of years now.  One of my favorite editions is

By Ankit Mahadevia, CEO of Spero Therapeutics, as part of the From The Trenches feature of LifeSciVC. “Hey, you know, breakdowns come. And breakdowns go. So what are you going to do about it? That’s what I’d like to know – Gumboots In an

By Jodie Morrison, CEO of Cadent Therapeutics, as part of the From The Trenches feature of LifeSciVC It’s been over three months since stay at home advisories and social distancing protocols abruptly arrived in Massachusetts. Calls for a return to

This blog was written by Rene Russo, CEO of Xilio Therapeutics, as part of the From The Trenches feature of LifeSciVC. In an environment where senior leaders are tasked with defining agile strategies in uncertain times, there are many perspectives

This blog was written by Josh Brumm, CEO of Dyne Therapeutics, as part of the From The Trenches feature of LifeSciVC. I stood in front of 15 skeptical parents and prepared to sell them on an improbable mission. They had

This blog was written by Ankit Mahadevia, CEO of Spero Therapeutics, as part of the From The Trenches feature of LifeSciVC.  If CEOs have empowered their teams effectively, they have three roles during times of rapid change: Motivator in chief

This blog was written by Aoife Brennan, CEO of Synlogic, as part of the From The Trenches feature of LifeSciVC. I have never participated in trench warfare and I am sure it was pretty grim for those who lived and

This blog was written by Jeb Keiper, CEO of Nimbus Therapeutics LLC, as part of the From The Trenches feature of LifeSciVC. Like many middle-aged weekend warriors, I’ve been recently sidelined by injury simply through doing what I’ve regularly done:

Gary Pisano’s recent Harvard Business Review piece, The Hard Truth About Innovative Cultures, beautifully frames up how innovative corporate environments are frequently misunderstood. Innovative startups aren’t just about being cool and nimble, having beer taps in the kitchen, or an

This blog was written by Deanna Petersen, CBO of AVROBIO, as part of the From The Trenches feature of LifeSciVC Biotech is an industry that calls for leaders. It requires people who are willing to take risks, conquer new science,