VC/researcher team create biotech start-ups

Tue, 15 Apr 2008 06:59:59 -0400

The nexus between academic researchers and investors is a prime breeding ground for biotech start-ups. The Wall Street Journal profiles one prime example: MIT scientist Robert Langer and Polaris Venture Partners' Terry McGuire, who have teamed up on 13 new companies in 15 years. Their longtime relationship underscores just how important it is in the complex realm of biotechnology to create a bond of trust between the money interests and the complex science being developed. It also helps underscore how academic research can propagate new companies.

Langer and McGuire got an early hit with Advanced Inhalation Research, which sold for $113 million just 18 months after it was formed in 1997. Other start-ups include Pulmatrix and Tempo Pharmaceuticals. The team attributes their success to Langer's keen understanding of what can make a viable biotech and McGuire's business savvy in launching a start-up company.

It doesn't hurt that there's little time wasted in getting started. Sometimes, "when we end up doing deals, it's a 20-second phone call," Dr. Langer tells The Wall Street Journal.

- read the article in the Wall Street Journal

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