Founder Spotlight #5: Jack O’Meara @ Ochre Bio
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Alix Ventures: Supporting Early Stage Life Science Startups Engineering Biology to Drive Radical Advances in Human Health
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Jack O’Meara is Co-Founder & CEO @ Ochre Bio, a genomics-based drug discovery company developing siRNA therapies to rejuvenate transplanted livers. Jack is a biomedical engineer by training, with a background in bringing new healthcare and life sciences products to market. He helped to get one of the first blockbuster gene therapies (AveXis’ Zolgensma) through FDA & EMA approval.
Ochre Bio develops genomic medicines that rejuvenate transplanted livers, ultimately with the goal of applying these therapies to treat fatty liver disease (NASH/NAFL) and other metabolic diseases. Ochre employs spatial sequencing, advanced genomics, and high-throughput screening to identify disease-causing genes, and develops combination therapies which are tested in donor livers kept alive outside of the body. Situated within the heart of Oxford’s biotech innovation hub, the company’s scientific roots can be traced back over 15 years leading liver genomics research, and experience in bringing advanced therapies to market.
Personal Spark
What prompted you to pursue a career in Life Sciences? Was there a specific moment in time or influence you can remember? What drives you to work in this space?
I’ve always been fascinated by how things worked. I distinctly remember my parent’s dismay at finding the speakers of their car deconstructed in an attempt to determine the source of the ruckus during journeys to the supermarket 😊 but nothing ever fascinated me more than the human body — the magnificent machine. That curiosity led me to a biomedical engineering degree, and my sights were then set on a career in HC/LS. Not only is the work in this field incredibly interesting, but there’s a very tangible end goal of benefiting patients which is hugely motivating.
How did you get your training if any to be able to build your company? Life Sciences increasingly has interdisciplinary academic backgrounds, while other founders take the plunge and jump straight off the deep end. Which one are you & why?
I jumped straight into starting my first business right out of school, but at the time it felt like I was spinning my wheels a lot, so thereafter I joined an early-stage consulting firm. Although the endless powerpoint decks were a bit painful(!), working close to seasoned executives who’ve done it before provided an accelerated learning curve — particularly in mapping out and presenting value creation plans (a key skill for early stage HC/LS founders). Additionally, growing up in rural Ireland taught me a lot about storytelling. I know ‘storytelling’ is very vogue right now, but I don’t believe there’s any better training ground than a dark-wooded pub in the Irish (pre-high speed internet) countryside.
Can you tell us a little bit about your background & career thus far? What were you doing before you started running a high potential venture backed startup?
Before Ochre, I worked across a wide variety of Life Science sectors, including a digital health JV for Comcast & Independence Blue Cross, medtech R&D, health insurance technology, and more recently, getting one of the first gene therapies to market (AveXis’ Zolgensma). I have never felt more inspired by a mission: to bring a curative medicine to terminally ill children. The collective energy, speed, and focus of the team felt like a force of nature. My role involved preparing the organization for regulatory inspections, so I spent a lot of time on the manufacturing floor and absolutely loved that everyday the team would high-five and say ‘saved another baby today’. That energy reinforced for me why I want to work in Life Sciences.
Company Overview
What problem is your company solving?
Many donor livers are too unhealthy or damaged to be transplanted and go to waste, even though one in six patients die waiting for a new liver. The main reason for discarding a donor liver is that it contains too much fat (a little like its owner). We rejuvenate these fatty donor livers by directly targeting over-active genes, making these livers transplantable.
How did you become motivated to tackle this particular problem?
I take on projects with the potential for the greatest impact. As soon as I heard about my co-founder Quin Wills’ research, I knew there was nothing else I should be working on. The technology has significant potential to better patients’ lives and the company was early enough that I could really help accelerate its development. I’ve seen firsthand how heartbreaking the transplant waiting list is and it’s a problem I wanted to help solve. Furthermore, the outcome of finding ways to improve liver metabolism are significant. Cardiometabolic disease kills most of us, and liver metabolism remains the most successful way to modify risk factors.
Quite simply, what does your company do?
We use recent breakthroughs in genomics to find and shut down overactive genes driving disease, and then go straight to testing our therapies in discarded donor livers that we keep alive on machines — bypassing animal testing. This approach makes us better, cheaper, and faster than traditional drug discovery.
Now in technical language, what are the specifics of what your company does?
We develop GalNac-siRNA therapies to rejuvenate transplanted livers, ultimately with the goal of applying these therapies to treat fatty liver disease (NASH/NAFL) and other metabolic diseases. To find over-active genes driving disease, we are building the largest genomic atlas of the liver by spatially sequencing 1,000 biopsies taken from transplanted livers. We then optimize siRNA therapies in our labs in Oxford, before going directly to testing them in discarded donor livers kept alive on machines.
Why does your solution matter for the world when you get it right?
One in five patients on the liver transplant waiting list pass away while waiting each year. Ensuring anyone who needs a new liver gets one is a meaningful goal in and of itself, however, our vision extends far beyond just transplants — one in four of us live with unhealthy levels of liver fat, which directly contributes to more deaths than all cancers combined.
Genesis
What is your company’s founding story? How did everything come together and how did you meet your co-founder?
Quin actually called me up while I was working for an NGO in Tanzania. At the time, he had just returned from building his dream treehouse in Costa Rica — naturally then, our introductory call was spent discussing wildlife rather than our shared interest in advanced therapeutics! Soon after, the two of us quickly decided to work together as it was obvious from that first call that we shared very similar ideas about living impactful lives.
Timing is everything — how did you know the timing was right?
Last year, a machine out of Oxford was clinically approved that keeps donor livers alive by pumping oxygenated blood through them. This machine, combined with breakthroughs in genomics and tissue engineering, allows us to study and treat these livers before they’re transplanted.
Pay it Forward
Throughout the journey, what have been some of your biggest takeaways thus far? What advice/words of wisdom would you share from your story for other founders?
I think some of wisdom that has stuck with me is ‘the fastest teams go the furthest’ (do it today, not tomorrow), ‘always be building an advisory board’ (you never know who will be a source of inspiration/open the next door), and my favorite, ‘the KISS principle’ (keep it simple, stupid!). Nothing too revolutionary there, but in business (as in life) simple truths are often the most useful.
What are some of the must-haves for an early stage Life Science startup in your eyes? (Key critical components like team, academic papers, industry know-how, etc.)
Like with any business, I think a solid team dynamic is fundamental. Trust, complementary skill sets, respect, and ‘craic’ (Gaelic for ‘fun’) are all crucial. In HC/LS, one of the things that I think differentiates it from tech is that experience is important. Diversity of age, as well as of course gender, orientation, race and ideas, can be quite powerful in founding teams.
What are some of the traits that make a great founder? What type of risk profile/archetype does someone need to have to be a founder in your opinion?
Building on the above, some of the best founding teams have a mix. A visionary founder can sometimes lack the eye for detail/process needed to bring something to life. Diametrically opposed personalities can bring the best of both worlds. That said, I think a shared appetite for speed and risk is a must have.
For folks coming out of academia, what advice would you share?
Build a personal advisory board early, with people who’ve walked your path before (there will be many). Hire folks who bring an industry lens. Get smart on university ownership/claims to make sure you have investable IP.
Can you demystify the process of what it was like to raise VC funding? What were the highlights & low lights? Any advice or words of wisdom for future founders?
You will be stressed, you will be weary, but damn it’ll feel good when it’s over! I think some of the best advice I was given during the process was ‘try not to stress if you feel like you’re spinning your wheels. Keep filling your days with meetings and incremental steps in the right direction. Stay busy — it’s less stressful that way!’
What advice for managing and building a great team can you share?
Find great people, empower them, and be a catalyst. There are a lot of elements to creating value in Life Sciences - e.g. smart regulatory strategy, navigating crowded IP landscapes, designing robust clinical plans, etc. and there are non-trivial learning curves for each. Find people who are world class at this stuff and let them guide the process, but champion the company vision throughout.
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