Lab to Impact: The Hard Reality of Building a Biotech Startup – A CEO’s Perspective

What does it take to build a biotechnology company that advances early academic assets into a therapy used at the bedside, while overcoming the scientific, clinical, and financial hurdles along the way?

In this session, Laurence Blumberg, MD, MBA, a physician and serial biotech entrepreneur, shares a candid perspective drawn from decades of experience founding biotechnology companies and advancing scientific discoveries into clinical development. As founding CEO of Syntimmune, he guided the company through early clinical development before its acquisition by Alexion in 2018 for up to $1.2 billion. Earlier, he co-founded Syntonix Pharmaceuticals, where his early strategic vision helped shape a protein engineering platform later acquired by Biogen in 2007. That platform ultimately enabled the development of Eloctate and Alprolix, long-acting therapies for hemophilia A and B that have significantly improved care for patients with bleeding disorders.

This conversation examines the operational and strategic realities of building a therapeutics company. Topics will include:

• Understanding the structure of the biotechnology ecosystem
• Developing a rigorous Target Product Profile and market thesis
• Deciding when to build internal capabilities versus leveraging external partners such as CROs and CDMOs
• Securing the capital and strategic partnerships required to advance therapies through development

Researchers, physicians, and aspiring bioentrepreneurs are invited to join this candid conversation.

Hosted by Lynda Inseque, director of Technology & Venture Initiatives and Engagement at CTL.

Register here.