Alice Lin Pomponio

𝟮𝟯𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗺𝗲 𝗴𝗲𝘁𝘀 𝘀𝗼𝗹𝗱: 𝗘𝗻𝗱 𝗼𝗳 𝗮𝗻 𝗘𝗿𝗮, 𝗕𝗲𝗴𝗶𝗻𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗼𝗳 𝗮 𝗡𝗲𝘄 𝗢𝗻𝗲 𝗶𝗻 𝗚𝗲𝗻𝗼𝗺𝗶𝗰𝘀 The sale of 23andMe’s assets to Regeneron for $256 million marks the closing of a defining chapter in consumer genomics and the start of a new era centered on integrated, multimodal healthcare data. 23andMe was once the face of accessible genetics. With over 15 million customers, it transformed DNA testing from a clinical procedure into a conversation starter at dinner parties. That kind of reach felt revolutionary at the time. And yet, in 2025, that immense dataset sold for just ~$17 per record. To put that in perspective, consider Tempus AI. Tempus is currently generating around $1,000 per patient per year in revenue from its data business alone. The key difference is multi-modal data: genomic, clinical, imaging, pathology, and beyond. This enormous disparity in per-record value ($17 𝘷𝘴. $1,000) reflects more than just different business models. It’s a sign of a fundamental shift in the biotech ecosystem: value now lies in data that’s both deep and connected, not just broad and isolated. We’ve seen this pattern before. Back in 2012, Amgen acquired deCODE Genetics for $415 million. Like 23andMe, deCODE was a trailblazer, using large-scale genotyping of Iceland’s population to draw genotype-phenotype correlations. That acquisition, over a decade ago, valued deCODE’s data at a significantly higher per-record level than what 23andMe fetched in 2025—despite 23andMe having nearly 20 times the customer base. Why? In 2012, deCODE and 23andMe were at the frontier of human genetics. Genotyping was the dominant tool for discovery, and large sample sizes meant power and potential. But by 2024, genotyping alone had become table stakes. The field has moved on (whole exome and whole genome sequencing, e.g. GeneDx) toward contextualized data: electronic health records, pathology slides, radiology images, social determinants, and treatment outcomes. In short: the era of single-modality discovery is over. Interestingly, there were signs of real competition in the bidding process. 23andMe's co-founder and longtime CEO made a last-ditch bid for $74.7 million. Regeneron’s $256 million winning bid suggests there were other bidders at the table. What were the motivations for their bids? Would’ve been great for the peanut gallery if the winning bid had come from Theranos 2.0, with Billy Evans and Elizabeth Holmes. Seems like we are closing the book on the age of consumer genotyping and entering a chapter defined by multi-modal, clinically-anchored, AI-ready data. The value will go to those who can unify messy, disparate data into something useful at the point of care or in drug development. It’s not the end of genomics. It’s just the end of 'omics based solely on nucleotide sequences. https://lnkd.in/gexqZPKV

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The clock is ticking on SBIR reauthorization. Unless Congress acts, the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program will expire on September 30th. For Massachusetts’s biotech startups and the entire U.S. life sciences ecosystem, SBIR isn’t just another program—it’s a lifeline for early-stage innovation that can lead to breakthrough therapies for patients Over the past year, MassBio has been laser-focused on advocating for SBIR’s renewal: 🔷 We convened members with Senate Small Business Committee Chair Sen. Joni Ernst and Ranking Member Sen. Ed Markey to share real-world impacts. 🔷 We surveyed our member companies and used their feedback to shape formal testimony on the program’s importance. 🔷 We worked with Biotechnology Innovation Organization's Council of State Bioscience Associations (CSBA) to circulate a joint sign-on letter urging swift reauthorization. 🔷 Just last week, we were back in conversation with Chair Ernst’s office about the latest redraft of the INNOVATE Act - which would expand Strategic Breakthrough Awards, empowering NIH and other agencies to make transformative investments in capital-intensive fields like biotech and medtech.  🔷 And we’ll be in D.C. in two weeks to continue our advocacy. The U.S. cannot afford to let SBIR lapse for even one day. MassBio calls on Congress to come together to prioritize American innovation by delivering on SBIR reauthorization before the September 30 deadline. As valued MassBio members, please don’t hesitate to reach out to our policy team with questions (policy [at] massbio.org). We’re actively following debate and competing proposals and will provide updates as needed in this final stretch. And don’t forget to share your stories about what SBIR has meant to you, to your company, and to the patients you’re in the lab fighting for. #SBIR #INNOVATEAct #Bioeconomy #MassBio #Startups #Biotech

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I’m beyond excited to announce our $14 million Series A with participation from Founders Fund, Seven Seven Six 7️⃣7️⃣6️⃣, Neo, and more. Here’s an email I shared with investors last night: —  Nucleus Investors + Friends, Five years ago, I dropped out to start Nucleus in my bedroom. Today, I’m thrilled to share that we've raised a $14 million Series A, bringing our total backing to $32 million. We are grateful to continue to partner with Seven Seven Six and Founders Fund in this round of financing, as well as are excited to welcome new investors including Neo, One Eight Capital, Giant Step Capital, Common Metal, Asylum Ventures, Rose Street Capital, Balaji Srinivasan, Amanda Bradford and many others to our cap table. Thanks to our customers and your support, we’ve seen tremendous growth since we launched less than a year ago: > In the last three months, we’ve averaged 68% month-over-month revenue growth.   > Since November, our monthly users have tripled. Almost every single Nucleus customer discovers a previously invisible genetic risk.  > Less than a year after going live, we’ve scaled up from 10 genetic analyses to over 800.   These wins will only accelerate — especially as the cost of whole-genome sequencing continues to drop. The steep decline, combined with AI, will dramatically deepen our analysis and recommendations — and therefore the value we provide customers and shareholders alike. Along with our financing, I’d like to share two key updates: Nucleus has acquired Cambrean, an AI-based health platform pioneering algorithms to transform data from wearables like Oura rings and Apple Watches into actionable recommendations. We’re excited to welcome the founder and CEO, David S., to our product team, where he’ll spearhead wider data integrations with DNA at the foundation. Genetics for us is like books for Amazon. Just the beginning. I’m thrilled to announce that Matt Lanter, former co-founder of OpenStore, chief of staff to Keith Rabois at Founders Fund, and longtime Nucleus investor, will join as President. His decades of experience helping scale billion-dollar companies will be a tremendous addition to an already deeply talented team. Strong momentum has attracted a world-class team. A world-class team means an ambitious roadmap. In the next six months, we will completely rewrite human procreation as we know it. More on that soon. Lips sealed for now. Just the beginning, Kian — So excited for what’s next. You can read our complete announcement here: https://lnkd.in/e5pYj7WE

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What an eventful 24 hours for ATAI Life Sciences AG! The FDA has granted Breakthrough Therapy Designation (BTD) to atai’s lead compound BPL-003 (5-MeO-DMT) - recognizing its strong potential to transform treatment for Treatment-Resistant Depression (TRD). On the back of this milestone, atai successfully raised $130 million (plus greenshoe) overnight. More here: https://lnkd.in/ewXcc2An The future is truly psychedelic!

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Opus Genetics is at the forefront of developing gene therapies for pediatric blindness, as our recent data published in Molecular Therapy highlights. Yesterday, in a podcast featuring Marty Makary M.D., M.P.H. at the FDA, the focus on therapies for treating pediatric blindness was specifically emphasized. The increasing attention given to these challenging diseases is truly appreciated, underscoring the potential of gene therapies to enhance these kids' lives. https://lnkd.in/excz_iiG

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Why Frazier Life Sciences' New $1.3B Fund Matters for Cell & Gene Therapy Frazier Life Sciences just closed their largest fund yet at $1.3 billion - particularly exciting news for the CGT space. Here's why: 1. Company Creation + Strategic Spinouts With 40-50% dedicated to starting new companies, plus their focus on pipeline spinouts, Frazier is perfectly positioned for CGT assets that need dedicated attention and substantial early funding to reach clinical proof-of-concept. 2. Funding Through Clinical Data Their strategy of "funding to get clinical data" is crucial for CGT, where clinical efficacy is often the key inflection point for partnerships or M&A. This patient capital approach prevents promising programs from stalling due to funding gaps. 3. Market Confidence Despite the biotech downturn, 90% institutional investor participation signals continued confidence in breakthrough therapies. Quality capital remains available for transformative CGT innovations. The CGT field needs investors who understand unique capital requirements and longer timelines. Frazier's expanded fund positions them to back the next generation of cell and gene therapies. Thoughts on how larger VC funds will impact CGT development success rates? #CellAndGeneTherapy #VentureCapital #Biotech #FrazierLifeSciences #lifesciences https://lnkd.in/eBPWhzTE

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On behalf on my partners Richard Snyder, Mark Bamforth, we're thrilled to announce that Kineticos AMR Accelerator Fund has invested in Clarametyx Biosciences, a clinical-stage company developing targeted, immune-enabling biologic therapies to combat persistent infections associated with biofilms. Douglas Thomson, Venture Partner at Kineticos, will join the board at Clarametyx. This partnership will accelerate Clarametyx's innovative pipeline, including their ongoing CMTX-101 trial for cystic fibrosis-related infections and the development of the CMTX-301 vaccine against recurrent bacterial infections. We are confident that this collaboration will drive significant advancements in addressing critical unmet needs in chronic respiratory diseases. https://lnkd.in/e8GfFjZz

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Everyone in pharma is racing to launch generative AI tools, even the FDA. However, some things in life take time to flourish… 📈⚕️ As journalist Natalia Mesa outlines in her recent take for BioSpace the FDA’s recent rollout of Elsa, a large language model designed to help with clinical protocol reviews and scientific evaluations, raised some red flags ⚠️. According to Mesa’s reporting, FDA insiders described the implementation as rushed, lacking proper oversight, and prone to incorrect or partially accurate outputs. Some said Elsa wasn’t ready. Others questioned how decisions made with its help could hold up under legal or scientific scrutiny. I don’t know for sure, won’t speculate on FDA’s moves. But I can say one thing clearly: it took a decade for Insilico Medicine, to get to the most advanced and well-validated AI platform in the industry, PharmaAI. Steadily building, testing, and validating…it takes time to grow organically 🌿. For those curious, here is a brief historic note: 🧬 2014 – Founded to bring AI into aging and medicine. 📄 2016–2019 – Published foundational work; GENTRL, their early generative model, created viable molecules in under a month. 🧪 2020–2021 – Launched PharmaAI, combining tools for target discovery (PandaOmics), molecule generation (Chemistry42), and trial prediction (InClinico). 💊 2022 – AI-designed anti-fibrotic drug ISM001-055 entered Phase I trials. 📈 2023–2025 – That same drug, now named Rentosertib, reached Phase II trials—with results published in Nature Medicine in June 2025 confirming safety and initial efficacy in patients. 🚀 Over just a span of several years, PharmaAI platform enabled discovery and design of more than 30 preclinical and clinical drug candidates, and multiple new targets (see image). The lesson here is this: Insilico didn’t skip steps. It published results and AI platform mechanics relentlessly, validated with its own pipeline and client’s projects, and iterated, it took time and patience. Their tools evolved from basic algorithms to a trusted enterprise platform used by major pharma players across the globe… I think Alex Zhavoronkov and Alex Aliper could one day write a book about this roller coaster ride! Meanwhile, I feel like the FDA’s experiment with Elsa shows what happens when there is a push for a quick win in a complex area like medical AI, something Mesa’s reporting hints to… I hope they figure things out fast, the FDA is one of the most important organizations in the world, IMO. We all need them to be doing great, because the health and lives of many-many people depend on that 🙏🩺 Image credit: Insilico Medicine

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I couldn’t afford a ticket to the Biotechnology Innovation Organization Convention in Boston in June—but I went to Boston anyway. I stayed miles from the venue, in a modest South Boston hotel near Andrew Square—far from glamorous, and a little gritty. I was there with purpose: to hustle for conversations, chase down connections, and advocate for our stealth women’s health startup that my co-founder and I have bootstrapped with our own savings. Every meeting mattered. Every introduction counted. It would have been great to stand on the startup stage at BIO and pitch our vision, or to join the partnering meetings where so many critical connections are made. As someone who has attended—and spoken at—many biotech and pharmaceutical industry conferences, I can’t help but reflect on a growing concern: the cost of entry is becoming a barrier to innovation. Conference registrations regularly exceed $2,000–$5,000 per person, and that's before travel, accommodations, food and sponsorships! 👀 For large, well-capitalized companies, it’s a line item. For startups and emerging biotechs, it's a serious budget decision—often out of reach, as BIO in June - and many other conferences prior to and after that - was for me. This pricing model excludes the very voices we need most: early-stage innovators, platform biotech pioneers, and first-time founders. These are the companies that represent the future of medicine bringing bold ideas, fresh science, and novel mechanisms to the forefront. Yet, their absence from the room means missed partnership opportunities, funding connections, and knowledge sharing. So, where’s the ROI? -- For many startups, attending a conference is not just a branding exercise, it’s a bet. We attend in hopes of meaningful connections, early investor interest, or strategic partnering conversations. When conference formats prioritize premium access or gated introductions, the return on investment becomes highly uncertain, especially for companies still in stealth or preclinical stages. But, what’s the alternative? -- If we truly believe in democratizing innovation and accelerating the path from bench to bedside, we must rethink how we curate access. Tiered pricing, virtual attendance options, or innovation scholarships could help bridge the gap, without diluting the value of these gatherings. The biotech ecosystem thrives on collaboration and connection—but only if everyone has a seat at the table. Let’s open the door wider. Let's make a change!! #biotech #startups #pharma #conferences #innovation #lifesciences #biotechfunding #earlystagebiotech #healthcare

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