June 10th (Mon) Seminar: Founding and building successful biotechnology companies-A personal history

16:00–17:00, Monday, June 10, 2024

Taniguchi Memorial Hall, 1st Floor, Integrated Life Science Bldg.
and online. 

※No registration is required for on-site participation; please register below for Zoom participation only.

Zoom meeting registration, due date June 9th (Sun)
Application Form: https://forms.office.com/r/FEhcBu0Bnz

I will begin with a brief history of biotechnology, stressing the importance of faculty members becoming entrepreneurs. At MIT, faculty members are given up to one day per week “Outside Professional Activity.”  We can work with and consult for companies; we can own stock in for - profit companies but cannot be an operating officer. Many companies license research in the faculty member’s lab, and many of us serve on their advisory boards and boards of directors, with oversight of the research and development projects.

I will discuss the basics of starting and growing a biotech company, focusing on the importance of proprietary and protected intellectual property, a solid business plan; a top Scientific Advisory Board and an experienced Board of Directors. It is important to have access to experienced biopharmaceutical leaders and workers, including experts in research and development, medicine, drug manufacturing, business, finance, law, government regulations. One also needs solid financial backing, usually by venture capital, as well as supportive infrastructure including a helpful government and regulatory environment.

MIT,  the Whitehead Institute, and the Broad Institute are at the epicenter of Kendall Square and its several hundred biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies. The greater Boston Cambridge area hosts the largest group of biotechnology and biopharmaceutical companies in the world, and I will detail the importance of geographic proximity to major universities such as MIT in facilitating  the growth of the Boston biotech ecosystem.

 I will discuss several of my own personal experiences in starting and growing successful biotechnology companies, including Genzyme in the 1980’s and several current ventures. Finally. I will stress the importance of courses at MIT that teach biotechnology and entrepreneurship, including an undergraduate and a graduate – level course that I teach.