Slice of Life Sciences Real Estate

Joining Slice of Life Sciences Real Estate today is Roger Frechette who is a life sciences consultant/advisor, helping early-stage life science companies to succeed and to grow. His work with clients leverages an extensive global network and multi-disciplinary insights derived from over 20 years of experience in the business of life sciences, calibrated with an extensive science background.

In this episode you'll learn about: 

• Frechette’s background
• His experience with co-founding a company, and the company’s story
• The services New England PharmAssociates specializes in
• His role as Vice Chair of Life Sciences for the Boston Entrepreneurs’ Network and the events they put on 
• Common themes he’s observed over the years from the innovators and companies he has worked with
• The primary piece of advice he would give to someone about to start a company in the biotech industry

For more information on New England PharmAssociates please follow this link:
- LinkedIn

This podcast is produced by Slice of Media, INC.

Hi everyone and welcome to episode #12 of Slice of Life Sciences. 

We have a great conversation lined up today as we are joined by Chris Bahl, Chief Scientific Officer and Co-Founder of AI Proteins. I have gotten to know Chris this past year, which makes me especially excited to hear about his journey and how it led to this newly founded biotech company focused on the design and engineering of synthetic miniprotein therapeutics.

In this episode you'll learn about: 

• Bahl's background & what made him want to study protein
• How AI Proteins came about
• The challenges AI Proteins is solving 
• The culture of AI Proteins
• Milestones they are looking to hit
• What Bahl is most excited about for the future of AI Proteins
• Advice he would give to aspiring entrepreneurs

For more information on AI Proteins please follow these links:
- Website - LinkedIn

This podcast is produced by Slice of Media, INC.

Thanks everybody for joining us on episode #11 of Slice of Life Sciences.

I’m very much looking forward to today’s episode as I am joined by Jake Lombardo, Co-Founder and CEO at Anodyne Nanotech, which is a venture-backed, preclinical-stage biotech company developing differentiated, transdermal forms of high-value drugs.

In this episode you'll learn about: 

• Lombardo's background
  • Where he grew up, and how he gained interest in biotech
  • His mentors that inspired him early on  
  • His time at Union College, and his research projects there
  • His time at Tufts University’s Gordon Institute to receive a Master of Science in Innovation and Management
• The founding of Anodyne Nanotech
  • the genesis of the company
  • The problem the Anodyne team is solving and what applications on the world their science/technology can have
• The Hero Patch 
  • Pharmaceutical partners that Anodyne is working with
• The seed round received last April
  • What this means for the growth of Anodyne, and what the investment been put towards 
• The challenges Lombardo has faced with Anodyne Nanotech, and what continues to excite him 
• How he's juggled hiring, fundraising, and managing a team?
• and about being an entrepreneur: 
  • Was there a specific moment Lombardo knew he wanted to be an entrepreneur, or did it happen organically? And 
  • any advice he’d give to another ‘Jake Lombardo’ getting his master’s about to start a company? 

Jake, thanks so much for taking the time to chat with us...can’t wait to continue hearing about your 

teams’ successes and growth!

This podcast is produced by Slice of Media, INC.

Good afternoon everyone and welcome back to Slice Of Life Sciences.

I’ve been super eager to get to today’s session given our guest and what his company has done and is  continuing to do as they are pioneering Tissue Therapeutics. I typically like you give an overview of the person and company, but today I am going to keep it short and sweet so we can dive right in. We have Arnav Chhabra, Co-Founder of Satellite Bio with us today, who is working on the next frontier of regenerative medicine which has enormous potential to solve some of the most elusive diseases in the world.

Arnav, thanks very, very much for being with us today and allowing the Slice Of listeners to hear about you, your background, and all things Satellite Bio.

What you'll learn about Chhabra: 

• Chhabra's background
• How Chhabra became interested in biotech and who inspired him
• Chhabra's experience at UT and what his focus of study was
• How Chhabra's projects were able to become funded by the National Science Foundation and how he also became a member of the Forbes 30 under 30 list.
• Mentors at the university that helped Chhabra discover what he wanted to do after he graduated
• How Chhabra found himself at MIT and Harvard Medical School pursuing his Postdoc?

What you'll learn about Satellite Bio: 

• How co-founding Satellite Bio came about, and who was the team that Chhabra had with him
• Satellite’s mission
• What impacts can Satellite Bio have on people all over the world and, more specifically, describe to us what the impact is that Tissue Therapeutics can have
• Their recent funding - and what this money will be used toward
• Their focus right now, and the reach this regenerative medicine can have
• Chhabra's primary role in the company & it's growth
• How the marketplace for Satellite Bio's therapies changed since it started
• What excited them the most about the potential of regenerative medicine and what can come from this
• The biggest challenges for Satellite Bio, and how important good hiring has been
• Company values that are key components of who Satellite Bio’s team is, & what they're most looking forward to in these next few years

This podcast is produced by Slice of Media, INC.

In this episode, Mimi Yen, CEO & Co-Founder at PhagePro joins host David Thomann for episode #9 of Slice of Life Sciences Real Estate podcast.

Today makes for another great discussion as we have Mimi Yen, CEO and Co-Founder of PhagePro, which she co-founded in 2016 and is an early-stage biotechnology therapeutics company that develops bacteriophage-based products to help the world’s most vulnerable communities. Mimi has had an impressive journey to where she is and what she is doing today, so I’m excited to dive into together. 

What you'll learn about Yen in this episode:

• Yen's background and her interests/inspirations growing up
• Did you have particular people in your life that got you thinking about what your educational interests were and how you could practice these interests in the real world?
• Yen's undergrad experience, and her research studies
• Any mentors Yen had that helped her find her path
• Her experience at Tufts as a Doctorial Candidate and later a Postdoctoral Research Scholar
• At what point did Yen decide that she wanted to build something rather than start off at a larger company?

What you'll learn about the founding of PhagePro: 

• What was the genesis and how this came about/where Yen met her co-founder
• What does PhagePro aim to do and how will the world benefit from the companies’ mission and solutions
• Where PhagePro is currently focusing its efforts 
• What the day to day responsibilities consist of
• A few notable successes Yen has had with PhagePro, and what the biggest challengers for the CEO of an early stage company are
• What Yen is most looking forward to as she continues building and striving for her goals
• What advice would you give someone in your shoes at Tufts who has found their passion and is about to start a company?

This podcast is produced by Slice of Media, INC.

In this episode, Bernardo Cervantes, Co-founder at Concerto Biosciences joins host David Thomann for episode #8 of the Slice of Life Sciences Real Estate podcast.

Bernardo has a Ph.D. from MIT in Microbiology, Microbiome, and Synthetic Biology and then, I believe, jumped immediately into becoming a Co-Founder, unlike some of the other founders we have had on the show. Concerto Biosciences is less than two years old and is unlocking the potential for microbial consortia…we’ll dive into much more about Concerto along with the responsibilities Bernardo has for this fast-paced early-stage company. 

What you’ll learn in this episode: 

• Cervantes’s story/background
• Career shaping experiences

Questions we cover about Cervantes: 

• Where did you grow up, and did you have people or events in your life that inspired the interests you pursued later on in life?
• Did you know what you wanted to study when you got to college and at what point did you start knowing what you wanted to do after undergrad? 
• Did you go straight to MIT after you graduated Cal Berkeley? 
• Tell us a little bit about some of the publications you had during your time at MIT and any particularly important projects you worked on 
• Whether at Berkeley or MIT, did you have any mentors that got you thinking about entrepreneurship or how does a young man like you decide to start something rather than, I don’t know, go to a large pharmaceutical company for x amount of years before taking a leap of faith? 

What You’ll learn about Concerto Biosciences: 

• How did Concerto Bio come about, what was the motivation, and who are your co-founders/did you meet at MIT? 
• For the non-PhDs, what does Concerto do in the simplest of answers? 
• What is the problem your team is solving and are you the first company to pinpoint microbial ensembles? 
• What impact will this have on the world or differently put, what are the therapeutic combinations your team is discovering that are benefitting people and what other applications is the future goal? 
• We know you are a Co-Founder, but working at an early stage and growing startup must mean you wear a lot of hats and have many responsibilities…can you share what a day in the life of Bernardo is like? 
• I know Concerto has only been around since 2020, but what notable successes has your team had? You have been in the news lately, which is exciting. 
• As you look back on the past ~ 2 years, how has it been being a co-founder right after receiving your Ph.D. and what do you believe are the key tools that make your team and your culture as exciting now as day 1?
• What are the biggest challenges a growing and early team like yours faces… Is it as you would have expected? 
• There are a lot of entrepreneurs who listen to this podcast so I always like to ask two questions, 1) was there a specific moment you knew you wanted to be an entrepreneur? And 2) any advice you’d give to another Ph.D. about starting a company? 

This podcast is produced by Slice of Media, INC.

Introduction:

Here we are today on episode #7 of Slice of Life Sciences. I am excited to have Kori Rahaim joining me today. Kori is the VP, Head of People at 5AM Ventures and 4:59 NewCo, a 5AM Venture Company.

Outline:

Have you always worked in biotech or what led you to get an opportunity in the field?

At Novartis, you oversaw theHR function for two innovative research organizations, served on two leadership teams, providing coaching to executive leaders. What were some of the program initiatives you put in place to build leadership skills across these organizations?

So, after Novartis you became an early employee at a rapidly growing startup, Relay Therapeutics...This must have been very different in a lot of ways than your previous years in large pharma...what motivated this transition and what are some of the things you learned being the Head of Talent Acquisition as it pertained to recruiting top scientific researchers and G&A talent in a highly competitive biotechnology space?

Are traditional processes something you challenge in relation to what employees think of as a typical HR leader?

What were the most exciting and hardest aspects of growing an early-stage company? 

How did you get connected to 5AM Ventures and was having the ability to lead company culture and talent acquisition for multiple companies at once make for a dream opportunity?

Can you talk about 5AM’s strategy when it comes to finding and shaping these new companies?

The earlier stages in a startup’s life are foundational when building a team, you and your team must think deeply about how all the pieces fit together, especially in the early days.Does this put an even larger emphasis on the importance of building out a team than previous roles in 

your career?

How do you build a transformative culture when the teams are so early, or in a virtual/hybrid world?

The 4:59 Initiative is super interesting. Can you share what exactly this is and is it specific to certain portfolio companies or is every company part of this?

How long into a company’s life cycle do you assume an operating role and what are the benefits 

you’ve seen from this?

How many companies are you typically working on at any given time and what responsibilities does your role cover? Do you have to have an ability to flex across different roles and responsibilities on a regular basis?

Essentially becoming an extension of your portfolio companies’ team make for a lot going on at once, whether, helping set company strategy, management recruiting, business development and fundraising...with that, I imagine each day brings new challenges?

Structurally, what does your department team typically look like?

Did Covid affect the operational process for a life science company with in-house lab? Do you think anything changed for the long-term and not only the short-term?

What excites you most about the journey ahead for you and your team?

Produced by Slice of Media, Inc.

Introduction:

Stephanie Sousa, Senior Vice President of Operations at a Stealth Company, who recently joined Transcend Therapeutics as Senior Vice President of Operations. Stephanie has worked in life sciences her whole career for various well known firms in Greater Boston like Novartis, Agios Pharmaceuticals, Odyssey Therapeutics, and now Transcend.

Outline:

How and what made you get into the life science industry?

Did you know ‘Operations’ was what you wanted to do?

You spent over 15 years at Novartis as Director of Operations, Global Discovery Chemistry, Director of Scientific Operations, then Global Head of Scientific Operations...tell us about how your roles and responsibilities evolved and what the experience meant for you working for one of the largest pharmaceutical companies in the world.

What motivated your move over to Agios? How large was the firm at the time you joined then 

by the time you left?

As the VP of Facilities Operations, how was it managing a 200k sf footprint across multiple building at University Park?

Agios is not a small company, but what was different in your day to day going from large pharma to a company under 1k employees?

Taking us to the present, did the relationships you made earlier in your career present the opportunity to join Odyssey and Transcend?

What is keeping you busy today and how exciting is it helping a company grow during its earlier stages?

In your experience, what are the most important aspects for an earlier-mid stage company to successfully grow and attract the right talent?

How much of the science do you have to understand when building out a lab facility? Is it important having flexible infrastructure to accommodate the potential future therapeutic areas your firm may get into? There must be many, many considerations that go into the strategy of what you need to ensure the team can build their science?

Structurally, what does your department team typically look like?

Did Covid affect the operational process for a life science company with in-house lab? Do you think anything changed for the long-term and not only the short-term?

What excites you most about the journey ahead for you and your team?

Produced by Slice of Media, Inc.

Introduction:

Winston Yan, Co-Founder of Arbor Biotechnologies who took an idea and expanded it from him and his 

cofounder to about 80 over the past 5 years alone and is currently finishing up his last year of 

MD training at Harvard Medical School, which he had originally put on pause to found Arbor.

Outline:

How’d you find yourself in this role / sector? Has your background always been in operations?

Are there any specific memories you have from conversations with your parents that started 

molding what you wanted to learn more about? To that end, was entrepreneurship in your mind 

as well?

You continued your studies after your Undergrad at Harvard by then receiving a PhD and MD at

Harvard...tell us a bit about the various studies and projects you focused on

At what point did you know you wanted to found a company and what was the inspiration behind

Arbor?

So, in 2016 you co-founded Arbor to scale up the discovery and development of new genome 

editing tools for genomic medicines, growing the company exponentially, while pushing forward 

the early science. What was the genesis of Arbor?

Data mining companies exist — how was yours different?

Has your role changed within the company?

How has your company culture evolved over the years? What are you most proud of from that 

standpoint?

Winston, hearing you just describe your journey, although very much short-from, was really 

special to hear, especially, your early life and some of the moments that lasted with you forever.

I guess to finish up, with all of the personal, academic, and professional experiences you’ve 

shared with us today, are there any other areas of biology that excite you and anything you’ve 

been working on in particular?

Produced by Slice of Media, Inc.

Introduction:

Emily Knight, VP of Operations, at The Engine. The Engine, built by MIT in 2017, is a venture firm that invests in early-stage companies solving the world’s biggest problems through the convergence of breakthrough science, engineering, and leadership. Their mission is to accelerate the path to market for Tough Tech companies by providing access to a unique combination of investment, infrastructure, and community.

Outline:

How’d you find yourself in this role / sector? Has your background always been in operations?

How is The Engine’s team structured? Investors, operations, partnerships?

I read The Engine’s defining principle: To support startups that seek to create material positive impact on society. By prioritizing breakthrough ideas over early profit, The Engine seeks to catalyze new fields and push the boundaries of innovation. Found this very interesting. Can you expand on who and what is ‘The Engine’? How, when, and why was it created?

The Engine has pioneered a new framework for investing in and supporting tough tech startups working on transformative technologies clearing a path to commercialization for companies by providing capital, infrastructure (labs, equipment, office space, and more), and a support network. Can you tell us what a ‘Tough Tech’ company is? What was going on in the market to motivate this being the sector focus and has the philosophy shifted at all since 2016?

What are some of the challenges these tough tech (Climate change, Human health, and Advanced systems and infrastructure) companies face between discovery and commercialization?

The Engine’s three pillars are unique and obviously add immense value to companies so how does it work when a company approaches you to when they are up and running in your facility?

• The Engine Fund: Investing long-term capital in startups that show great potential and impact. It provides founders with entrepreneurial knowledge, first-hand expertise, inspiration, and guidance to support their transition from technical pioneer to company leader. What milestones are you focused on? Defining product-market fit as well as when the startup begins to scale up to commercial production? What are some of the things you do to help the company navigate through the dynamic market times? I.e. entrepreneurial knowledge, events, work sessions, etc.
• The Engine Infrastructure: Early-stage Tough Tech startups require the use of specialized and expensive equipment to run an experiment or build their product. How does The Engine accommodate these needs and what sort of facility footprint do you have today and tomorrow? I imagine the infrastructure you build is flexible to mold to various portfolio companies and customer base?
• The Engine Network: facilitates the creation of long-term mutually beneficial relationships between founders, startups, strategic corporates, policy makers, and investors across the capital stack. How important has the ‘community’ aspect of The Engine been to portfolio companies?

In the world of real estate and operations, your team has experienced incredible demand and growth. How did the decision to expand The Engine’s presence to Somerville as well as in Cambridge come about?

750 Main Street must be keeping you very busy as it’s one of the most talked about projects in Cambridge…how has the renovation process gone and how close are you to delivery? How did you think about the fit-out for the new and amazing 750 Main Street project? How many companies will you be able to accommodate and are you looking for a certain ratio of industry verticals?

Tough Tech VC investing has boomed recently having increased almost 50% year-over-year with close to $100B last year. Given the breakthrough technical advances, growing adoption, expansion of business applications, and macroeconomic factors, such as government policies and shifting regulations, how exciting is this for The Engine as you look ahead? Is there anything you see that is holding it back / what are the biggest challenges you are experienced or think you will experience?

Do you view any other markets as having a positive outlook / potential for growth that you are considering expanding into or is the Greater Boston region the focus long-term?

What have you learned from your time at The Engine that you did not expect going in?

Lastly, what’s your favorite part about being part of The Engine?

Produced by Slice of Media, Inc.