You r B i ote c h S t a r t u p H ow to C h oos e t h e R ...
EXPERTADVICE
HowtoChoosetheRightHeadquartersfor YourBiotechS tartup
BYM ARKZIPKIN 05/10/2021-6MINUTES
Choosingwheretoplantyourbiotechcompany'sr ootsisa fundamentalquestiondrivenb yaccesstocapital,talent,and infrastructure.Butthepandemicisacceleratingadecentralization movement,changingthewaycompaniesthinkaboutheadquarters.
RegionsliketheBayAreaandBostonintheUS,ortheUK'sg olden triangleremainhugedrawsforbiotechcompaniesbecausetheyhave self-containedecosystemswithalltheingredientsthatf oundersneedfor success.Hubslikethesehavealreadybuiltcriticalmass,spawninga virtuouscycle:thesemagnetcitiesdrawacademicfounderswithan entrepreneurialspirittolaunchtheircareersbecausetheyarep lacesthat drawotherentrepreneurialacademics.
"Peoplecometotheareabeforetheyhaveajob,"AdamSciambisaysof theBayArea.Sciambiisaco-founderofSouthSanFrancisco-based MissionBio,whichmarketssingle-cellanalysistechnology.
Oncethey'rein,it'shardtoconsiderleavingtheareains earchofabetter placetolaunchacompany.SciambicametotheBayA reaforhisPhD workatStanfordUniversity,thendidhispostdocinthelabofA damAbate atUniversityofC aliforniaSanFrancisco,whereMissionBiowasborn.
"Wewereworkingoffo flabmoneywitharesearchgrant,thenspunout intoanincubatorinSanFrancisco," Sciambitoldme.Likemanybiotech hubs,SanFrancisco'sspinoutsceneisbuttressedbyincubatorslikeMBC BioLabs,whereMissionBiostarteduntilitoutgrewthespace.
Havingthelocalresourcesandguidancetodevelopthecompanystepwise wasimpactful,butthereareothermeaningful--iflesstangible-- benefitsofb einginabiotechstartupecosystem." Grabbingcoffeewith someoneelsestartingacompanyisalsoveryvaluable."
Andalthoughthecompanyeventuallydrewonabroaderpoolofinvestors, Sciambisaystheinitiala ccesstoBayAreaVCswasimportantinMission Bio'searlydays.
Accesstoprivatecapitalalsopushedcancerimmunotherapycompany ImmuteptomovetoSydneyfromMelbourne,whereitsmanagement lived,saysCEOMarcVoigt."Wefeltitwouldsuitthecompanybetter, fromaninvestorpointofview.Sydneywastheplacetobeatthetime."
In2014,theAustralianparentcompanyacquiredtheoriginalImmutep, foundedbyFrenchacademicFr?d?ricTriebelandheadquarteredoutside Paris.Voigts aysthata sthecompanygrew,itwaseagertobeaglobal playerandwantedtoestablishEuropeanheadquarters.ButAustraliaoffers a43.5%refundableR&Dtaxincentive,andisaneasyc ountrytolaunch clinicaltrials.Ultimately,thecompanykeptitsheadquartersinAustralia, butitslargestofficeisnowinBerlin,whichofferslogisticaladvantagesin termsofaccesstomanufacturing,partnerships,publicfunding,andtalent.
Thequestionofwheretolaunchabiotechcompanymaystillloomlarge forfounders,buttheconceptischanging." Whatdoes`headquarters' mean?"a skedVoigt."IsitwheretheCEOsits,wherethecompanyis registered?Attheendoftheday,it'sjustanadministrativeact."
DespitetheimportanceoftheUSmarketandthedrawofhubslikeBoston andSanFrancisco,VoigttoldmeImmutephasnotconsideredrelocating there." SomeofthecostsinthemajorUShubsareprettyprohibitiveto findandrenttherightspace."Voigtdidn'truleoutbuildingaUSpresence inthefuture,butforthetimebeinghesaysthecompanyhashadno troublehiringqualifiedstaff--evenUScitizens--oraddressingtheUS market.
ForM issionBio,it'sclearthecostsarejustified,Sciambisays."It'sthe priceyoupaytobeinanareawherepeoplearedrawn.AndIwonderif thetalentwouldbeasgoodelsewhere."
Costsaren'ttheonlyintimidatingelementaboutheadquarteringinbig hubs:thesuccessofthebiotechindustryintheseregionsisacatch-22, saysHarpreetSingh,CEOofGermancelltherapycompanyImmatics. "BostonandtheBayAreaaregreatbiotechclustersbutextremely competitive.Accesstotalenthasbecomeincreasinglydifficult.F orcertain areaslikec ellularmanufacturing,thetalentpoolhasbeendiminishingon theWestandEastcoasts."
ImmaticsspunoutofUniversityofT?bingen,anditsh eadquartersand largestsiteremainnearby.Butthecompanyincorporatedinthe NetherlandsbeforelistingontheNasdaqin2020.Thecompanyhasa substantialpresenceinHoustonandMunich,withseniorandmid-level leadershipspreadoutatthesesitesaswellasinNewY ork.
Houstonisn'tthelargestbiotechecosystemintheUS,butSinghsaidit hadseveralsellingpoints,includingaccesstoGMPmanufacturing
facilitiesandexpertisefordevelopingthecompany'scelltherapies.Italso housesstrongacademicpartnersinMDAndersonCancerCenterand UniversityofTexasHealth.Additionally,thecompanyreceivedagrant fromthestateofTexas.
Evenbeforethepandemic,manybiotechcompaniesrecognizedthat top-downmodelsnolongerm adesense,whichhasgiventhemgreater latitudeindecisionsaroundlocatingheadquarters." Theactualmeaningo f `headquarters'intheoldsensenolongerappliesinamodernworld. Decision-makingisdoneatthesemanagementlevelsacrossallsites," says Singh.
Voigtagrees." Therelativeimportanceofcentralizedheadquarters,based onourexperience,hasb eengoingdown,relativetothetechnical capabilitiesandinfrastructure."
Post-pandemic,theoverallcalculusmaychangeevenmoreforsome companies,relegatingthenotionofheadquarterstomoreofapaperwork technicality.Whilebenchscientistsstillneedtospendtimeatthebench, that'snolongertrueforeverypositionatacompany.Sciambi,whois SeniorDirectorofTechnology&SystemsatMissionBio,saysh eworks fromhomethreedaysaweek,butstillseesvalueintheimpromptu conversationsandbrainstormingthatcomeseasierinthephysicaloffice.
Companiesfoundedduringthepandemicofferhintsofwhatthebiotech headquarterslandscapemaylooklikeevenonceit'ssafeforfull-time returnstooffices.Ane xampleisFlareTherapeutics,astartupbasedin Cambridge,US,thatw asfoundedin2020totargethard-to-hit transcriptionfactors.Theheadquartersdecisionwasdrivenlargelyby proximitytoBoston-basedThirdRockVentures,whichwasamajor investor,saysFlare'sChiefScientificOfficer,RobertSims.
Butthatwasn'ttheonlyfactor." There'salottolike,obviously.It'sthe world'sepicenterasitrelatestotalent,"Simstoldme.Theacademic ecosystem,ledbytop-flightinstitutionsliketheMassachusettsInstituteof Technology,theBroadInstitute,andHarvardUniversity,meansalevelof connectivitywithtopemergings cienceaswell,hesays.
Still,thepandemicchangedthelandscape,Simssays.Small,y oung companiesmaybeespeciallysuitedtoleverageexternalresourcesand accesstalentanywhere." Wehavefolksthatarevirtual,anddon'tlivein Massachusetts--someoneisinCanada.Youcantapintoworld-class expertisewithouthavingtobuildinternally."
................
................
In order to avoid copyright disputes, this page is only a partial summary.
To fulfill the demand for quickly locating and searching documents.
It is intelligent file search solution for home and business.
Related download
- sitting pretty and relaxing at work 2004 12 27 houston
- you r b i ote c h s t a r t u p h ow to c h oos e t h e r
- innovation it hiring trends report
- states with the most fortune 500
- texas private security statutes rules
- companies that hire felons list help for felons
- 2019 top 200 employers for opt and stem opt
- exclusive ampersand raises pre seed round to grow
- houston 2020 employment forecast
- chapter six how do companies decide what products and