Seeding and Supporting Early-Stage Biotech Companies with Xontogeny CEO Chris Garabedian

In this episode, Mark talks with Chris Garabedian, Chairman and CEO of Xontogeny, which he founded in 2016 to support multiple promising technologies from early development through clinical proof of concept.

In 2017, Chris joined Perceptive Advisors to develop their Venture Fund strategy and launched the Perceptive Xontogeny Venture Fund in 2018 to support early stage companies seeded and incubated at Xontogeny and other ventures.

Chris has a broad base of experience and a track record of success over his decades long experience in the biopharma industry.  He served as the President and CEO of Sarepta Therapeutics from 2011 to 2015, overseeing the turnaround of a company that is now a commercial stage leader in the genetic technology space after leading the development of the company’s Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy program. Prior to Sarepta, Chris led Corporate Strategy for Celgene from 2007 to 2010. Prior to Celgene, Chris served in a number of global commercial and corporate development leadership roles at Gilead from 1997 to 2005.

Chris serves on a number of Boards of life sciences companies and speaks at industry conferences on a wide range of important issues.  Chris is also on the Board of Directors of MassBio and serves as a Senior Advisor for the Boston Consulting Group.

Chris earned his B.S. in Marketing from the University of Maryland.

Mark and Chris discussed a range of topics, including:

What led Chris to found Xontongeny – what was missing in the marketplace that Xontongeny delivers

What Chris finds effective founders have in common that increases the likelihood they’ll succeed? 

The kinds of red flags that stand out that may lead Chris and his team to decide to take a pass on investing in a startup

How Chris thinks the pandemic will shape program development moving forward

The skill sets or expertise founders should have beforethey walk in the door to speak to an accelerator or other potential funders 

Some of the key services Xontongeny offers its scientific founders that are particularly important to helping them move successfully through the program development lifecycle, hopefully to approval

For scientists and entrepreneurs interested in translating their science to a viable commercial product, how should they begin to prepare and what should their mindset be as they think about working with a company like Xontongeny