đŚ 𧏠Claremontâs Biotechnology Explosion
A brief history of biotechnology, why its important, and Claremontâs omnipresence
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For the past decade, biotech innovation has continued to attract more and more attention and capital. Given the pandemic, 2020 was unsurprisingly a record year for biotech and pharma companies, with global venture capital deal activity reaching $36bn â almost double the amount of activity from 2019š. Furthermore, 2020 saw a triple-digit growth of 186% in biotech IPO activity, and these public biotech companies raised over $34bn. Biotech startups have slowly started receiving as many venture dollars as almost any other industry sector â and 2021 has been no different. In January 2021 alone, VC dollars deployed in biotech increased 60%, average deal size increased 66%, and 19 more biotech IPOs closed as compared to January 2020š. It seems weâre on pace for yet another record year. In the process, biology has also become one of the most prevalent undergraduate majors in the U.S. both in popularity² and in potential earningsÂł. To say biotech is a hot industry, would be a drastic understatement (almost as drastic of an understatement as saying that 2018 was just a âgood yearâ for Claremont founders).
But, what is biotechnology exactly? Is it just DNA stuff?
Biotechnology has been used by humans since quite literally the dawn of civilization. From the original domestication of crops and animals, mankind has used biotechnology to its advantage for thousands of years. The Egyptians used yeast to bake unleavened bread, the Assyrians used fermentation to make wine (thank you!), the Chinese were the first known civilization to create cheese and curds, and the Aztecs used Spirulina algae to make cakes long before it was a hipster-vegan must-have superfoodâ´. Although your pantry may not be the first thing you think of when you hear âbiotech,â bread, cheese, wine, and cakes are all products of biotechnology. The English language wasnât quite so fast to the draw, however, and it wasnât until the 1900s when we had the first known use of the word âbiotechnologyâ by Karl Erkey, a Hungarian Engineerâľ.
Now, although much of todayâs cutting-edge biotechnology innovation deals with DNA and DNA manipulation, by definition, biotech is just technology based on biological processes and harnessing cellular and biomolecular processes to develop technologies and products that help improve our society. Many brilliant minds think that biology is the foundational and largely uncharted frontier that will unlock much of the next centuryâs economic development as the age of the software plateaus and goes the way of the combustion engine â omnipresent and consequential to societies, but not where the bulk of technological innovation is happening anymore. We recently talked with biotech and synthetic bio specialist, Shahram Seyedin-Noor, and he shared that
Next-generation DNA sequencing and synthetic biology are experiencing accelerated advancements that are going to change humanity. We are in the middle of this fundamental shift that will be at least as important as what happened with software and the internet and mobile â but itâs happening in biology, healthcare, agriculture, etc.
AnywayâŚgiven that context, it shouldnât be surprising why biotechnology is so consequential in todayâs world and the ongoing public health crisis.
Equally unsurprising, is that if there is something important happening in the world, Claremont graduates are undoubtedly helping lead the charge. What types of contributions have Claremont alumni been making in biotech? Iâm so glad you askedâŚ..
Since the late 1990s, Claremont alumni have consistently founded high-impact, high-performing, and successful businesses in healthcare and biotechnology that have made massive impacts on human lives and our planetâs life. So far, Claremont alumni have founded over 70 different biotech companies, and thatâs only the beginning. Letâs take a look at the stat sheet shall we:
- Historically, Claremont founders have started 70+ biotech companies. 62 of these have been founded within the last decade
- Of all the historically founded biotech companies, seven of them have gone on to IPO. You read that correctly, about 10% of all Claremont-Founded biotech companies have gone public, and these seven different public companies currently have a combined market cap of $20.7+bn.
- 50+ other Claremont-Founded biotech companies remain private, three of which have attained Unicorn Status in the past couple of years. The total publicly available private company valuations total over $14.6B for these companies (though this is a gross underestimate â this data is just a bit tricky to come by)
- These companies have raised in total over $4.8bn in venture capital funding and currently employ 3K+ workers (at least 60+ of them are fellow Claremont alumni)
- Collectively, these companies and their technologies are helping to solve environmental issues, cancer, complex diseases, Covid-19, and myriads of other important problems. They are working on gene-editing treatments, needle-free vaccines, limiting our carbon footprint, cell therapies, and so much more. Because of these Claremont founders, we will be healthier, our planet will be more sustainable, and the world will be a better place (though this space is not without its challenges, as the burgeoning field of bioethics can attest!).
Not too bad for a bunch of liberal arts schools who arenât necessarily known for their science programs, huh?! Also, if you remember from a few weeks back, Claremont founders in biotech have found a particularly productive small pond network out East in Boston as well. Despite Massachusettsâ impressive biotech success, however, California still holds the throne and many of the biotech companies founded by Claremont alumni find themselves rooted in the Golden State. A couple of noteworthy exceptions, though, of companies making big moves outside of Massachusetts and California are PharmaJet and 54gene.
PharmaJet is a Colorado-based biotech company founded by Heather Callender-Potters (CMC). Currently, they are THE company for needleless injections and recently were selected to deliver the Scancell Covid-19 DNA vaccine. Their mission is worldwide acceptance of PharmaJet Needle-Free devices as a standard of care in the vaccine delivery market. Talk about product-market fit, amirite?
Also making recent headlines is 54gene and its founder Abasi Ene-Obong (KGI). They are equalizing precision medicine and ââbuilding diverse datasets to unlock scientific discoveries as well as improve diagnostic and treatment outcomes within Africa and the global community. Claremont investor Maya Horgan at Ingressive Capital is an investor and they recently announced an exciting Series B round!
Regardless of location, however, Claremont boasts some uniquely impressive numbers when it comes to biotechnology and is home to some of the most prolific founders in the industry. A few of the many we want to shoutout:
- Jennifer Doudna (PO): A pioneer in CRISPR gene editing and responsible for founding five different companies (2 private and 3 public) which have raised over $650M in venture capital. Currently, her three public companies have a total combined market cap of $15bn+, and her recent privately owned company, Mammoth Biosciences, just reached unicorn status. It isnât an overstatement to say that Jennifer is one of the most important people in biotechnology, ever. Her companies are making mammoth impacts on human health through her scientific innovations.
- Shahram Seyedin-Noor (PO): A serial founder and the founder of Rgenix, a biotech company pioneering the future of cancer therapy. Shahramâs start-ups have raised over $100M in venture capital, and he now runs Civilization Ventures, an exciting venture firm that invests in visionary founders in digital health/AI, synthetic biology, and diagnostics who are making an impact in the world. Check out his interview with BTL to find out more!
- David Campbell (HMC): A founder of four different biotech companies that have raised over $220M in venture capital. Davidâs company, Janux Therapeutics, just recently went public with a current market cap of $1B+ and is helping to cure cancer with innovative tumor treatments.
- David Winternheimer (KGI): A recent founder of three privately-owned biotech companies. His recently founded company, Sanguine Biosciences, is a pioneer of in-home specimen collection and a leader in direct-to-patient recruitment and digital health innovation.
- Lloyd Kunimoto (HMC): Another three-time founder who has a new privately-owned company called Amfora that is working to sustainably feed billions by enhancing the protein and nutritional density of our food.
The stat sheet shows how successful these founders have been in the past, but the future only continues to be brighter. Many more Claremont-Founded biotech companies are certainly on the path to joining the other seven on Wall Street. So many of these currently private companies are working on breakthrough business models and R&D. A few more companies we cannot help but mention:
- Resilience â A company that is changing the way medicine is made. Resilience was founded by Drew Oetting (CMC), and is part of 8VCâs innovative Build program, one of the most successful venture studio models, and has raised $800M in venture capital.
- Biosplice â A company restoring health by delivering first-in-class therapy leveraging alternative splicing. Biosplice (originally Samumed) was founded by Osman Kibar (PO) and has $778M in raised capital and a $12B private valuation.
- Helix â A leading population genomics company working at the intersection of clinical care, research, and genomics. Helix was founded by Scott Burke (CMC) and has raised $403M in capital and recently announced their $50M Series C financing.
- Living Carbon â A public benefit company with a mission to fight climate change by enhancing CO2 capture and storage in trees. Living Carbon was founded by Maddie Hall (CMC) who recently was awarded the Forbes 30 under 30 Science Award.
Regardless of how you want to break it down, by founders, companies, or states, Claremontâs DNA is clearly imprinted across all of the biotechnology sectors. We donât see that changing anytime soon, particularly as initiatives across the colleges double down on biological innovation like CMCâs new Department of Integrated Sciences. The recent pandemic has certainly brought biological science to all of our attention in drastic ways, and Claremonsters are taking advantage and helping to build a new future in biotechnology. So, if youâre thinking about whatâs next and want to surf a huge wave thatâs going to continue to swell in the coming decades, grab some bread, wine, and cheese and read more about some of these incredible Claremont-founded companies. đˇđ
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[2] https://www.princetonreview.com/college-advice/top-ten-college-majors
[3] https://inside.collegefactual.com/stories/top-10-most-popular-majors
