Venture Capital Perspectives: Early Stage Biotech Investing with Doug Cole, Flagship Ventures

Presenting a panel discussion with Marian Nakada (Johnson & Johnson Innovation - JJDC), Bob Silverman (Roche) and Steven Weinstein (Novartis Ventures), moderated by CTV’s executive director Orin Herskowitz. The conversation touches on the various ways Big Pharma & Biotech are using venture capital investing, regional innovation centers, joint ventures, university research sponsorship, and IP licensing to source their next blockbuster products (as well as generate equity returns). The panelists share their perspectives on venture capital investing strategies in biopharma, how to pitch strategic investors, the surge in biotech IPOs, hot research areas within biopharma, and best practices for establishing R&D partnerships between industry and academia.
Doug Cole, MD is a managing partner at Flagship Ventures. He has previously served as Program Executive at Vertex Pharmaceuticals, Inc., in Cambridge, MA and as Medical Director at Cytotherapeutics, in Providence, RI. Prior to his work at Cytotherapeutics, Doug served as Instructor in Neurology at Harvard Medical School and an Assistant in Neurology at the Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, MA.
At Flagship, Doug has led investments in Agios Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: AGIO), Alvine Pharmaceuticals, Avedro, CombinatoRx, Concert Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: CNCE), Denali Therapeutics, Editas, Quanterix Corporation, Receptos (NASDAQ: RCPT; acquired by Celgene, Inc.), Seventh Sense Biosystems, Tetraphase Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: TTPH), and Torque Therapeutics. He is a co-founder of Flagship portfolio companies Ensemble Therapeutics, Permeon Biologics, Moderna Therapeutics, and Syros Pharmaceuticals.
Orin Herskowitz, VP of Intellectual Property and Tech Transfer for Columbia University and Executive Director of Columbia Technology Ventures (CTV), is also an Adjunct Professor at Columbia’s Business and Engineering Schools. He has been a Board Member or Advisor to a number of innovation and entrepreneurship-focused initiatives in NYC, including the NYC Media Lab, the Coulter Translational Partnership, and PowerBridgeNY.