I asked AI the oth\u00ader day how many biotechs have been co-found\u00aded by Har\u00advard\u2019s George Church. About 50 was the re\u00adsponse, which feels about right. And it made me won\u00adder how many more are op\u00ader\u00adat\u00ading in stealth mode to\u00adday, out of AI\u2019s sight, as the promi\u00adnent ge\u00adneti\u00adcist\u2019s lab con\u00adtin\u00adues to test the bleed\u00ading edge of cell and gene ther\u00ada\u00adpy sci\u00adence.<\/p>\n
Longevi\u00adty. Re\u00adviv\u00ading ex\u00adtinct species. Church has al\u00adways steered to\u00adward biotech\u2019s more ex\u00adot\u00adic goals, which of\u00adten re\u00adquires more ad\u00adven\u00adtur\u00adous in\u00advestors \u2014 nev\u00ader a large group. Biotech is risky enough when it keeps to the safer har\u00adbors of me-bet\u00adter ther\u00ada\u00adpies. But Church is a rare vi\u00adsion\u00adary who al\u00adways thinks about a rev\u00ado\u00adlu\u00adtion\u00adary \u2014 and some\u00adtimes con\u00adtro\u00adver\u00adsial \u2014 fu\u00adture. And that has clear\u00adly won the hearts and minds of a large group of sci\u00aden\u00adtists who have come out of his lab with big plans of their own.<\/p>\n
I\u2019ve cov\u00adered some of this work first\u00adhand. So you can imag\u00adine how pumped I was when Church agreed to join me in a fire\u00adside chat at our up\u00adcom\u00ading End\u00adpoints 11 awards din\u00adner on Sept. 18 in The State Room in Boston.<\/p>\n
Over the last few years, we\u2019ve had the plea\u00adsure of talk\u00ading about drug R&D and biotech launch\u00ades with sev\u00ader\u00adal of the most pro\u00adlif\u00adic sci\u00aden\u00adtists in the start\u00adup world. The list in\u00adcludes Phil Sharp, Tim Springer and Bob Langer.<\/p>\n
Church fits right in\u00adto that ground\u00adbreak\u00ading group.<\/p>\n
The End\u00adpoints 11 project \u2014 our roundup of the most ex\u00adcit\u00ading pri\u00advate biotechs in the drug de\u00advel\u00adop\u00adment world \u2014 has be\u00adcome quite the group en\u00addeav\u00ador these days, with a team of writ\u00aders and ed\u00adi\u00adtors led by ex\u00adec\u00adu\u00adtive ed\u00adi\u00adtor Drew Arm\u00adstrong de\u00adbat\u00ading can\u00addi\u00addates and fi\u00adnal\u00adiz\u00ading each year\u2019s list. As of now, we\u2019re push\u00ading to\u00adward a late Au\u00adgust dead\u00adline for pro\u00adfiles and prep\u00adping the fi\u00adnal list to share that night at our gala in Boston.\n<\/p>\n