The VIC Fellows Program provides an opportunity for individuals with relevant expertise and interest to learn how to identify and evaluate promising innovations from global sources. We are pleased to highlight the members of the 2023-2024 class of Fellows in our ongoing series of interviews, such as this recent discussion with Andrés Lorente, PhD.
Please tell us a little bit about your background.
I was born and raised in Bogotá, Colombia, where I obtained my B.S. in Microbiology from the Universidad de Los Andes. After graduating, I joined Corporación CorpoGen, a private, non-profit research center in Colombia. There, I worked on testing and developing a diagnostic tool to detect bovine tuberculosis and prevent the spread of the disease through consuming contaminated dairy and meat. I was also part of the Executive Committee, where I was privy to high-level discussions, including contributing to growth and commercial strategies and resource allocation during cash flow challenges.
Following my mentors’ example and encouragement, I left CorpoGen to pursue graduate training at the Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth.
What led you to pursue a PhD in Biochemistry and postdoctoral work in physiology and cancer biology, and how did your training shape your career?
During my undergraduate training, I became captivated by the molecular mechanisms intracellular pathogens use to hijack host cell machinery. So, I studied endoplasmic reticulum-to-Golgi transport in yeast. Discussions with my mentor, fellow graduate students, postdoctoral fellows, and faculty helped me hone my scientific and critical thinking skills and become more detail-oriented.
More importantly, meeting my wife at Dartmouth's Thursday Night Salsa Club was the highlight of my graduate career.
My last graduate project introduced me to signal transduction and its role in disease. So, for my postdoctoral training at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center (UTSW), I studied the role of lipid and osmotic-stress kinases in regulating the actin cytoskeleton and autophagy in lung cancer and insulin-secreting cells.
I learned about discovery screening platforms and the arduous process of identifying and characterizing a lead molecule. Simultaneously, through my cancer training grant, I was exposed to clinical cancer research, which highlighted the wide gap between discovery research and improving healthcare outcomes. I realized I wanted to help bridge this gap.
Why did you leave bench research, what did you do, and how did it influence your career?
During my last year as a postdoctoral fellow, I co-founded and led the Mitogen Consulting Group. Our goal was to provide pro bono consulting services to local startups and technology transfer offices while offering business training opportunities to graduate and postgraduate trainees. Validating the need for this service, networking to obtain support, creating and leading the group, and managing personalities and conflicts were very educational and influenced my career. However, eight months after launching Mitogen, my cancer training grant expired. At this point, I was sure I wanted to leave the bench. Because of UTSW policies, I left Mitogen’s leadership but remained an advisor.
One of my Mitogen contacts suggested that I join SyntaxisBio, a UT Dallas startup, as an Entrepreneur Lead in a regional NSF I-Corps program to perform customer segment identification and product/market fit. This experience was transformational. I learned that not all scientific innovations are commercially attractive, that commercially viable ventures have multiple customer archetypes, and that gaining customer feedback is critical to determine viability. We learned that the technology needed further refining.
Next, through my Mitogen network, I created two consulting positions. First, I consulted for Bios Research (financial advising) and Bios Partners (venture capital), and a few months later, I also consulted for the UTSW Office for Technology Development (OTD).
My tenure with the Bios teams was extraordinary and significantly influenced my career. I learned to understand the investment thesis mindset, perform due diligence assessments on publicly traded and private biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies using public resources, and to make informed investment decisions based on these analyses. At the OTD, I drafted marketing summaries, identified opportunities to license University technologies, supported licensing associates with market research and technology valuations, and did investor outreach to promote licensing opportunities. One such interaction included the technology that would become the basis for Solenic Medical, Inc. Also at the OTD, using my connection to Mitogen, I built and co-directed the Internship in Biomedical Technology Development and Commercialization, where I trained and managed 44 interns (Mitogen consultants) to provide market research reports praised by inventors, licensing associates, and the VP for Technology Development.
The most important lesson I learned between leaving the bench and working for Reata was that, through networking and grit, I could create job opportunities and build unique and fulfilling ventures.
Why did you join Reata Pharmaceuticals, and what are the key takeaways from your experience?
In mid-2018, Reata published positive data and raised funds to support growth. Reata had three ongoing pivotal programs, two with readouts in 2019, and various Phase 2 studies in clinical development. I learned through my network that Reata’s Strategy team was looking for a new member. This opportunity offered a relatively high probability of participating in an FDA approval and bringing life-changing therapies to patients in need. I connected with the VP of Strategy and was offered the opportunity to join his team soon after.
I worked seamlessly with cross-functional teams across clinical development, business development, commercial, financial, and legal functions to prioritize therapeutic programs, execute business initiatives, and influence corporate strategy. For example, I built the forecast models and participated in building the due diligence analyses to guide clinical development decisions for three clinical/preclinical assets. I created the initial discount-cash-flow (DCF) sum-of-the-parts valuation model that served as a basis for the final model used in Reata’s acquisition by Biogen for $7.3 billion. I built the Omaveloxolone models supporting commercial strategic decisions for Skyclarys® in Brazil, and the reacquisition of Bardoxolone and Omaveloxone's rights from AbbVie for $350 million. Also, I built analyses that were pivotal for making informed Skyclarys® drug pricing and territory launch sequence decisions.
More importantly, I learned a lot by being part of the teams that contributed to the Corporate Strategy in response to the FDA’s complete response letter for Bardoxolone methyl for treating patients with autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease (APDKD) caused by Alport syndrome and the FDA’s approval of Skyclarys® for treating patients with Friedreich’s ataxia.
The highly dynamic and fast-paced environment at Reata gave me the experience to effectively manage multiple projects, ensuring alignment with both short-term objectives and long-term strategic growth. Professionally, I am proud that in a short time, I became the go-to person for supporting strategic decisions by creating and synthesizing complex forecast models and due diligence analyses. Also, I learned to have a broader perspective and spend less time on unimportant details.
What motivated you to start BioScience Strategy IQ, and what value do you offer to biotech companies?
In September 2023, Biogen completed the acquisition of Reata. I was asked to remain until the end of the year to transfer the commercial Skyclarys® revenue forecast model to the appropriate Biogen teams. During this period, colleagues at startups and small-cap biotechnology companies asked if I could do consulting work for them.
Based on this, I founded BioScience Strategy IQ, LLC. I perform strategic consulting projects to influence corporate decisions through data-driven insights from competitive intelligence, market research, due diligence, and forecast modeling analyses. For example, I recently helped a local biotech startup CEO to objectively assess a preclinical asset and build the BD deck he used in partnering discussions with large pharmaceutical companies.
Why did you decide to become a VIC Fellow, what do you hope to contribute, and what new tools or skills are you currently excited to learn?
I joined the VIC Fellows program for four main reasons. First, I want to learn more about the investor/entrepreneur perspective of licensing technologies. In particular, I want to know how technologies are selected and evaluated and what the critical technology, competition, development, and business drivers are that will turn a prospect into a startup.
Second, I want to learn about the negotiation process. Although I have an academic understanding, I want to see it in action and learn how to negotiate favorable deals.
Third, while I understand therapeutic drug development well, my blind spots are diagnostics, devices, apps/AI, and instruments/tools. I joined the program to fill this gap.
Lastly, one of my goals has been to run my own company or be integral to launching a biotechnology or pharmaceutical company. So, I am paying close attention to the Fellow Seminars and Opportunity Assessment discussions to learn as much as possible about selecting winning technologies, negotiating deals, and making the right first moves toward a successful venture.
In return, I am happy to contribute my knowledge of therapeutic drug development, forecast modeling, and indication selection, as well as my scientific critical thinking skills to assist in identifying and selecting technologies that have the potential to improve human health and that are commercially viable ventures with potentially good returns on investment.