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Repeat biotech founder Todd Zion on SmartCells (acquired by Merck for $500MM) and his current venture Akston Bio which is doing cool things with proteins. Todd has valuable insights on VC funding, angel investing and founding teams. This interview’s a peach!
- Intro of Todd Zion, PhD Co-Founder of SmartCells (Merck) and Akston Bio
- Todd Zion Was Fascinated by the Potential of Polymers to Do Powerful Things
- Smart Drug Delivery – Making Insulin Adapt to Blood Glucose Levels
- “…then got bitten by the bug, like I said, of the entrepreneurial spirit that runs quite strong through MIT.”
- “…with SmartCells, we made a conscious effort to build a company that could be capital efficient and achieve what angels want out of an investment…”
- Jeff Behrens’ Experience at Siamab Is Discussed
- Todd Zion Is Leery of Raising Big Money Because It Raises Costs
- “…you should always be betting on the jockey and not necessarily the horse.”
- “Sometimes you may throw out really good ideas, due to a lack of resources.”
- “…anyone with ten million spends the last million better than the first nine.”
- “...in a venture-funded world, there's a huge amount of price inflation.”
- “…if anyone wants a job at Akston, you can get a covered garage parking in the winter.”
- Akston’s Basic Technology: Coupling a Protein to an Antibody to Enhance the Function of the Protein
- Reversing the Body’s Autoimmune Response to Insulin Which Causes Type 1 Diabetes.
- The Importance of a GMP (good manufacturing practices) Facility of Your Own
- Creating an Ultra Long-Acting Insulin for Dogs & Cats
- Akston Pivoted to Making a Protein-Based COVID Vaccine
- From the Design of the Molecule to Human Trials Took Only 11 Months
- Advantages of Protein-Based Vaccines: Easy to Make, Easy to Store and Contain No Genetic Components
- Akston’s Protein-Based Vaccine Is Expected to Be as Effective as J&J’s
- Parting Thoughts from Todd Zion
- If It’s Easy and Obvious You’re Probably Doing It Wrong
- Advice Applies to Angel Investors as Well
- Making Money Is Important But, You Need Deeper Motivation or You’ll Quit
- Repeat Founding Teams Can Be Really Powerful – The Blues Brothers
Topics: biotech, partnerships with strategics, venture capital, co-founders, angel investing strategies