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The large, unfathomable risks most biotech startups face make investors'
due-diligence process seem like shining a penlight into Carlsbad Caverns. Thus, venture capitalists often look to the stature and track record of the people involved as the best indicator of potential. Says Sirtris board member and co-founder Richard pops, CEO of Alkermes, a biotech concern in Cambridge: "pedigree is everything" in early-stage biotech.
Westphal couldn't agree more. An avid reader of the scientific literature, he had become intrigued by research on sirtuins during his days as a venture capitalist. After Sinclair's high-profile discovery in 2003 that resveratrol extended the life span of yeast, Westphal phoned the Harvard scientist to talk about his findings' commercial potential. The research was highly intriguing, Westphal says, but Sinclair the man was equally important to him. One Sinclair forte instantly stood out: The scientist, a native of Australia with a natural flair for public speaking, has a rare knack for conveying the excitement of the grand quest to nonscientists. "Sirtris has been successful largely because we were able to raise a lot of money and get momentum early on," he says. "That's partly because David [Sinclair] is fantastic at selling the story."
The two didn't hit it off at first. Westphal, then working at Polaris Venture partners in Waltham, Mass., "came to my office in a somewhat arrogant manner," recalls Sinclair. "He said, 'Tell me more about these molecules you've found.' I told him that first he had to sign a nondisclosure agreement" to keep nonpublic details about Sinclair's work under wraps. "He said, 'I never sign those.' so I told him maybe I can't talk anymore about this. And he said, 'David, if I walk out of this office, I'm not coming back. So I suggest you tell me as much as you can.' "
After that tense beginning, says Sinclair, the conversation turned out to be "like a wonderful game of chess. I wound up telling him more than I normally would have. It soon became apparent that he's one of the smartest people I ever met. But it took me months to realize that he's also a nice guy." Asked about the episode, Westphal says, "as a venture capitalist, you're in a world where everything is about money. That can really corrupt interactions with people."
Since combining forces with Sinclair, Westphal has organized what is arguably the most pedigree-rich scientific advisory board in biotech, including MIT's Sharp; Robert Langer, one of medicine's most prolific inventors, also of MIT; Harvard gene-cloning pioneer Thomas Maniatis; and Thomas Salzmann, formerly executive vice president of Merck's (Charts) research arm. The group now numbers 27, among them many of the world's leading experts on sirtuins.
Article Produced By
David Stipp, Fortune
https://money.cnn.com/2007/01/18/magazines/fortune/Live_forever.fortune/index2.htm
Post by
Chuck Reynolds
