Category Archives: Talent

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 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 Ankit Mahadevia, CEO of Spero Therapeutics, as part of the From The Trenches feature of LifeSciVC Biotwitter is great for healthy debates.  The most recent has been on the merits of the hybrid vs.an in-person model.  John Maraganore’s excellent

By Ankit Mahadevia, CEO of Spero Therapeutics, as part of the From The Trenches feature of LifeSciVC Biotechnology, especially of late, requires us to prevail over adversity to deliver for patients.  Spero, dedicated to new solutions for patients with infections,

By Rene Russo, CEO of Xilio Therapeutics, as part of the From The Trenches feature of LifeSciVC As one thinks about the iconic break-up lines, it doesn’t take long to come up with: It’s not you; it’s me… I am

By Ivana Magovcevic-Liebisch, CEO of Vigil Neuroscience, as part of the From The Trenches feature of LifeSciVC From academic research, patent law, business development, to being a CEO, all my experiences have taught me two things. First, one cannot do

By Ankit Mahadevia, CEO of Spero Therapeutics, as part of the From The Trenches feature of LifeSciVC 2022 has brought unique challenges for growing companies.  Capital markets, shifting regulatory winds and other emergent forces are driving tough decisions on programs,

By Andrea DiMella, VP and Head of Talent at Atlas Venture, as part of the From The Trenches feature of LifeSciVC Like many of you, I’m a consumer of biotech industry news. Multiple times of day I scour BioCentury, STAT,

Another day, another “restructuring” – there’s been a flurry of press releases recently using phrases like “exploring strategic alternatives”, “extending the cash runway”, and “de-prioritizing” certain R&D programs. These announcements are obviously responses to the tough market environment. In every

While the pace of startup formation in biotech has been accelerating over the past decade, early signs suggest the malaise in the markets is finding its way back into the venture creation ecosystem. Startups get formed, often in stealth, and

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 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

By Andrea DiMella, VP and Head of Talent at Atlas Venture, as part of the From The Trenches feature of LifeSciVC Spring in New England is in full bloom. All around birds are chirping, flowers are blooming, and there is

The biotech job market is a bit like the suburban housing market—red hot. It’s a buyer’s market, don’t waive your inspection rights! By Pamela L. Esposito, CBO of Replimune as part of the From The Trenches feature of LifeSciVC. It

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 Aoife Brennan, CEO of Synlogic Therapeutics, as part of the From The Trenches feature of LifeSciVC I have many fond memories of St Patrick’s Day—most of them involve marching in the parade with a plastic bag and a few

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

This blog was written by Jonathan Montagu, CEO and co-founder of HotSpot Therapeutics, as part of the From The Trenches feature of LifeSciVC. Today marks an important milestone for HotSpot Therapeutics as we announce our Series B financing, but it

This blog was written by Andrea DiMella, VP and Head of Talent at Atlas Venture, as part of the From The Trenches feature of LifeSciVC. What a difference a little time makes. When Bruce originally encouraged me to be a

This blog post was written by Gerhard Koenig, CEO of Arkuda Therapeutics, as part of the From The Trenches feature of LifeSciVC. When I discussed the topic of writing about my experience as an immigrant biotech CEO with Bruce Booth,

This blog was written by Mark Manfredi, CEO of Kyn Therapeutics, as part of the From The Trenches feature of LifeSciVC. “Time flies when you’re having fun.” That’s how I feel as I reflect on the first three years of

This blog was written by Ankit Mahadevia, CEO of Spero Therapeutics, as part of the From The Trenches feature of LifeSciVC.  One of the joys of building a company is that meeting one’s milestones routinely places us in positions that

The startup paradigm for the creation and funding of new biotech companies has evolved enormously over the past two decades. Recently there’s been a pair of articles from Tech VCs about applying alternative models of company creation (here, here) to

This post was written by Ros Deegan, President and CBO of Bicycle Therapeutics, as part of the From The Trenches feature of LifeSciVC.   In May 2007, I trekked to Everest Base Camp in Nepal. Situated at an altitude of over

This blog is written by Samantha Truex, Atlas EIR and CEO of a stealth-stage biotech, as part of the From The Trenches feature of LifeSciVC. In a 2014 analysis  of biotech boards and a reprise analysis in 2016, Bruce Booth

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,

This blog was written by Tariq Kassum, COO of Obsidian Therapeutics, as part of the From The Trenches feature of LifeSciVC. The evening of April 26, 2009, I walked from my hotel room to the nearest bar. The bar was

This blog was written by Aoife Brennan, CEO of Synlogic, as part of the From The Trenches features of LifeSciVC. A lot has been written about the biotech talent war in the Boston area including the availability of talent as

The private biotech sector is awash in capital today: funding over the last few quarters has been record-breaking, up over 250% since 2013, as biotech CEOs have worked hard to strengthen their companies’ balance sheets.  But in the process of

Recently there’s been talk of a caravan of immigrants marching towards the United States, principally focused on Mexico and Central America.  But there’s also another caravan, this one at work in the biopharma business: the long term migration of science

This blog was written by Ankit Mahadevia, CEO of Spero Therapeutics and Atlas Advisor, as part of the From The Trenches feature of LifeSciVC.   The biotech twittersphere recently engaged in very thoughtful debate (resulting in a great piece by

Biotech venture investors often prefer to back executives and entrepreneurs with a bit of grey hair. Seasoned industry veterans that possess leadership charisma along with years of experience, and the oft-accompanying learned judgement, are highly sought-after in biopharma’s seemingly endless

This blog was written by Ankit Mahadevia, CEO of Spero Therapeutics, as part of the From The Trenches feature of LifeSciVC. Much has been said about who and when to hire in this blog (here and here for example), but

We’re excited to announce Kevin Bitterman has joined Atlas Venture as a partner! Kevin is well known in the Boston biotech ecosystem, having spent the last dozen-plus years on the life science team at Polaris Partners. He brings a great

Two key geographic clusters dominate the biotech landscape today. These two areas, Boston and San Francisco, combine a unique blend of biomedical science, venture capital, entrepreneurial talent, risk-taking culture, and geographic density. Other regions have some or all of these

This blog was written by Jeb Keiper, CBO of Nimbus Therapeutics LLC, as part of the From The Trenches feature of LifeSciVC. Walking the streets of Union Square in mid-January torrential rain, we had the good fortune of sharing the

A biotech’s Board often plays important roles in shaping the company’s success or failure: contributing strategic guidance, providing proper governance, stewarding fiduciary responsibilities, raising a startups’ profile, aiding business development, to name a few. Over the life of a biotech,

This blog was written by Ron Renaud, CEO of RaNA Therapeutics, as part of the From The Trenches feature of LifeSciVC. About three weeks ago, I attended a dinner organized by a good friend and former sell-side competitor, Dr. Yaron

This blog was written by Ankit Mahadevia, CEO of Spero Therapeutics, as part of the From The Trenches feature of LifeSciVC Startup life can be grueling.  It’s an especially gratifying feeling when your data and your investors signal that it’s