Why did you decide to become an entrepreneur?
I was not interested in academia nor big Pharma. I was really lucky because my Professor at Oxford, as I was finishing my PhD, was starting a spin-out company from the lab. I didn’t know that was even an option at the time. Whilst in the lab, I saw lawyers, investors and entrepreneurs around us. I liked what I saw from my bench as a PhD student.
So back in 2007, I came back to Barcelona and joined my first company, Endor Nanotechnologies to develop nanoparticles to cure cancer. Since then I found the motivation to start deep science/tech companies from the very beginning, to translate science into a venture and I would usually stay there for the initial years. Since my first biotech a long time ago, I have been creating and collaborating with many others.
What is your motivation behind creating these companies?
I am extremely motivated about two things:
1- Supporting the technology transfer process
2- Building biotech companies
I have created a number of ventures associated with the goal to improve the tech transfer process such as TBI (Tech & Business Innovation) and Chasing Science.
But what I like more is creating biotech therapeutic companies, bringing drug candidates from the academic labs to a first in-human trial. My focus is at the very beginning, when there is really promising data from an academic group.
I love helping great scientists who may not have the motivation to build a private venture to answer questions such as how to deal with the tech transfer process between the University or the Hospital and the company, how to get the first investors, seed rounds, series A, etc. That’s where I feel really happy, when I can get an academic excited about creating a company and together, we build a business plan, go to investors and explain to them our idea which leads to the build of a new company.
Can you share more about your work in tech transfer?
As a tech transfer consultant, I work for many Universities including Oxford and many academic institutions in Europe and Latin America which helps me scout for the best projects. For example, I was working for a University in Valencia when they told me about a patent from Prof. Manuel Serrano in the field of cellular senescence. I knew Manuel Serrano of course as he is a brilliant scientist, but I didn’t know that he had this patent.
Together with Manuel Serrano and other academics, Senolytic Therapeutics was first created in Barcelona. But as it is a cool topic in ageing senescence, a group from Boston called Life Biosciences came to us and we flipped the company to the US. So now, Senolytic Therapeutics is an extremely interesting virtual biotech as the investor, operations, legal, etc. is in Boston but the science and discovery is in Barcelona.
And thanks to that, and an undiluted grant that we got from the European Union and the Spanish government, we started a project in immune-oncology and senescence which led to really promising data and that has led to the creation of another company called Rejuversen.
So you have two companies in the area of longevity. What are your other areas of interest Marc?
Another particular interest of mine is therapeutics for paediatrics, and one of the companies I am most proud of is called Cebiotex which is a paediatric oncology company. We are developing a drug to target paediatric sarcomas, a really nasty tumour for children. We started in 2014 and two months ago, we recruited our first patient.
It’s amazing to see the progress from an idea to a first patient. From identifying the cells, to the first animal, other animals, till they finally give you the approval to test that in humans. That process may not seem difficult, but when you think that it all started with just an idea from the founder, Joan Bertran, it really is amazing.
At Ninevah, we are trying to develop a gene for rare diseases that in some cases affects only 17 children in the world.
That’s six years of R&D! Any more that you can share Marc?
Another company I like a lot is Gate2Brain which I co-founded this year, and again it is in paediatric oncology for Diffuse Intrinsic Pontine Glioma (DIPG), another type of tumour. It is the same concept, to translate an idea from a research group in Barcelona to a first patient. There are others like Retinset, also on clinical trials this year.
One company I would really like to highlight is called Ninevah Therapeutics where we are building a gene therapy platform for kidney rare genetic diseases. Nephrotic syndrome is a disease where kidneys filter protein causing the kidney to work a lot, 24/7. This disease has a cure when it’s not genetic. But when it is a genetic disorder, there is no cure. About 60% of kids that are diagnosed with that, will go to kidney transplant after 4 years. Kidney transplant is considered a solution but it is not a cure.
Can you share some of the challenges you have faced so far and how you have overcome them?
The most challenging for me is dealing with people with different motivations. Trying to create united and focused teams. It is also difficult to match an academic with the investor. Managing talent has been the most difficult thing for me.
Another thing is pitching to investors when you work in paediatrics. Longevity sells itself. But convincing investors or Pharma companies to develop things for ultra rare disease or for diseases where there is no clear business behind, is extremely difficult. For example at Ninevah, we are trying to develop a gene for rare diseases that in some cases affects only 17 children in the world.
What is worse? Failure? Or not trying? If you start thinking in that mindset, you don’t care about failure. Because you care about not trying.
What is your view on failure?
Having failures is really important if you can transform that into lessons that you can learn from and try not to do them again. If you don’t take decisions, it won’t lead to failures.
As an entrepreneur, especially at an early stage, failure is standard. But you don’t have to call them failures, you just consider them as lessons you learn from.
Let’s talk about Gate2Brain. It can fail. But what is worse? Failure? Or not trying? The project is there. The idea is there. Money, if you put in the effort, is there. What is worse? Failure? Or not trying?
If you start thinking in that mindset, you don’t care about failure. Because you care about not trying.
Best and worst parts of being a CEO?
The worst is saying No to people. I hate saying No. I couldn’t be an investor because they are used to saying no. Saying no to people, projects, experiments, because there is no budget, I hate that.
I also hate reading legal documents. Luckily one of my best abilities is identifying good people in doing what they do. So I have a good lawyer to do that for me.
The best part of being a CEO is having the responsibility and the freedom to make some decisions. When I start losing that freedom, I lose interest in that project.
What do you think the future will look like?
I think people will finally realise that things can be more virtual. But some things cannot be virtual. So it will be a mixture of a more global talent. Before Covid, it was almost impossible for someone to be a CEO of a company in Basel but based in the Pyrenees. Now they realise it is possible. Companies that don’t allow this will not get the best talent.
People also realise the importance of investing in healthcare. So this is good for our industry.
Any advice for academics with a great idea looking to start their own biotech?
Hire a good lawyer. *laughs* No.
Two things, I highly encourage them to do it. Don’t care about what others say, it is not about failure. If they think they have an idea that can reach patients, they must try. They have the obligation to do it.
Another is they need to realise that although they are really smart, they are not smart in everything. They need to find a good person who matches well with them, who they can partner with, to create the company.