Why did Elizabeth Iorns start Science Exchange?

Elizabeth Iorns, with a background in cancer biology, experienced firsthand the inefficiencies in collaborating with other labs for specialized experiments and technologies. This personal problem, coupled with observing inefficient pricing in the market, inspired her to create Science Exchange.

What are the challenges of building a marketplace company like Science Exchange?

Marketplace companies face the challenge of balancing both supply and demand sides. Science Exchange had to curate providers, build quality assurance, manage projects, and overcome the inertia of traditional, often inefficient, processes like using SharePoint for vendor management.

What is driving the recent boom in biotech startups?

The rise in biotech startups is driven by unprecedented access to capital, a convergence of novel therapeutic modalities (like gene and cell therapies), and an increasing number of experienced professionals from the pharmaceutical industry transitioning to found or join early-stage companies.

How is starting a biotech company different from a software startup?

Biotech, particularly in therapeutics, is fundamentally different because the outcome of the science is fixed; it either works or it doesn't. Unlike software where you can pivot and iterate with product-market fit, biotech relies on demonstrating key milestones and mitigating risks through expensive clinical development.

What common mistakes do biotech founders make?

A common mistake is avoiding the 'killer experiment' that could definitively answer a critical question, often due to the fear of failure. Founders also sometimes prioritize a business co-founder over someone they genuinely connect with and can collaborate effectively with.

Can non-scientists be successful founders in the biotech space?

Yes, non-scientists can be successful, though building a strong scientific team is crucial. They can succeed by demonstrating deep self-taught knowledge, strong motivation (e.g., personal connection to a disease), leveraging bioinformatics, and focusing on productized expertise like regulatory processes.

Key Moments

A Conversation with Elizabeth Iorns - Advice for Biotech Founders

Y Combinator

Science & Technology4 min read56 min video

Oct 3, 2018|11,245 views|148|14

YC Y Combinator Elizabeth Iorns Adora Cheung Startup School biotech

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Key Moments

TL;DR

Biotech founder Elizabeth Iorns discusses Science Exchange, the shift from academia to startups, and advice for new founders.

Key Insights

The biotech industry faces unique challenges due to long development cycles and regulatory hurdles, contrasting with software startups.

Science Exchange was founded to address the fragmentation and inefficiency in outsourcing scientific research, acting as a curated marketplace.

Transitioning from academia to entrepreneurship requires overcoming institutional IP policies and building a viable business case.

The reproducibility crisis in science highlights issues with assay validation and documentation, a problem Science Exchange's initiative aims to address.

Marketplace success hinges on building trust, ensuring quality control, and attracting both supply and demand sides, especially in the B2B sector.

Recent advancements in gene and cell therapies are creating unprecedented opportunities in biotech, attracting experienced industry professionals to found new startups.

THE JOURNEY FROM ACADEMIA TO STARTUP FOUNDER

Elizabeth Iorns, a cancer biologist by training, transitioned from academia to entrepreneurship by identifying a significant problem in scientific research: extreme inefficiency and fragmentation in outsourcing experiments. Her experience founding Science Exchange, initially called 'The Bench,' stemmed from her own struggles to find specialized services and collaborators. This shift was not straightforward, involving navigating university intellectual property policies and a lack of established role models for tech startups in Miami at the time. She learned about Y Combinator through Wired magazine, applying as an outsider which ultimately led to her launching Science Exchange.

SOLVING MARKET FRAGMENTATION WITH SCIENCE EXCHANGE

Science Exchange was created as an online marketplace to organize the fragmented research services market. Before its existence, scientists had to individually contract with labs, a process that was time-consuming, inefficient, and lacked transparency in pricing and quality. Iorns highlights that a single experiment could vary tenfold in cost due to this lack of information. Science Exchange addresses this by providing a curated platform where providers are qualified, and project management, confidentiality, and intellectual property are managed, simplifying the procurement of research services for its users.

NAVIGATING ACADEMIC IP AND THE RISE OF BIOTECH STARTUPS

A significant hurdle for academics moving into startups is navigating university policies regarding intellectual property. Iorns notes that universities often own the research output, making it challenging to spin out ideas. While some universities are becoming more startup-friendly, it remains an obstacle. She also observes a global trend of increased willingness for scientists to create companies. This trend is facilitated by broader entrepreneurship as a viable career path and the development of supportive infrastructure like incubators, shared lab spaces, and platforms that lower the barriers to entry for scientific ventures.

BUILDING A TWO-SIDED MARKETPLACE AND ACHIEVING PRODUCT-MARKET FIT

Launching a two-sided marketplace, like Science Exchange, presents unique challenges in attracting both supply (service providers) and demand (researchers). Iorns emphasizes the need for an MVP approach and the critical step of building a curated marketplace with quality assurance. For Science Exchange, attracting supply was easier as providers sought efficient ways to gain clients. Demand, particularly from larger pharmaceutical companies, took longer to secure. Product-market fit was confirmed when a major client, Amgen, adopted the platform for entire sectors of their discovery research, validating its ability to automate processes and provide business intelligence.

THE REPRODUCIBILITY INITIATIVE AND ITS IMPACT

Science Exchange's Reproducibility Initiative aims to improve the quality and efficiency of scientific research by validating published findings. This project, though controversial, tackles the issue of non-reproducible results, which Iorns attributes to factors like inadequate assay validation and a lack of rigorous documentation common in academia compared to industry standard operating procedures. The initiative, particularly its work replicating published studies for pharmaceutical companies and public foundations, has a high-profile impact, increasing visibility and opening doors for crucial partnerships and trust within the scientific community.

BIOTECH VS. SOFTWARE STARTUPS AND FOUNDER ADVICE

Biotech and software startups share similarities in people management and funding needs, but differ significantly in their go-to-market and product development. Biotech's outcome is determined by science, with key inflection points in clinical trials, whereas software allows for more iterative pivoting. An MVP in biotech is hard to define and often tied to demonstrating scientific validation. Iorns advises founders to avoid delaying critical experiments, seek co-founders who are collaborative problem-solvers rather than just business experts, and recognize their strengths. For non-scientists, gaining lab experience or focusing on areas like bioinformatics can be pathways into the biotech startup world.

THE EVOLUTION OF BIOTECH AND FUTURE OPPORTUNITIES

The biotech industry is experiencing a renaissance driven by unprecedented capital investment and scientific advancements in therapeutic modalities like gene and cell therapies. This convergence of capital and innovation is attracting individuals with strong industry experience to found new companies. Historically, biotech exits often involved acquisition by larger firms, but recent trends, supported by increased funding and streamlined FDA processes (especially for rare diseases), allow some companies to commercialize their products independently, building their own sales and distribution channels.

EMERGING TECHNOLOGIES AND ENABLING INFRASTRUCTURE

Enabling technologies are playing a crucial role in accelerating biotech innovation. Companies are productizing services that were once expensive and complex, such as regulatory consulting for FDA submissions. This trend mirrors the development of the software industry, where platforms and tools have democratized company creation. Iorns believes that such infrastructure will streamline the path from discovery to market, making it more efficient for new biotech ventures to navigate the scientific and regulatory landscape and ultimately bring life-changing therapies to patients.

Mentioned in This Episode

●Software & Apps

●Companies

●Organizations

●Studies Cited

●Concepts

●People Referenced

Biotech Startup Advice: Dos and Don'ts

Practical takeaways from this episode

Do This

Solve your own problem when starting a company.

Build a curated marketplace with Quality Assurance in B2B sectors.

Focus on the core value proposition and become the platform for managing all external projects.

Perform the 'killer experiment' early to validate your core hypothesis.

Find co-founders who genuinely want to solve the same problem and whom you enjoy working with.

Consider bioinformatics and analysis tools for non-scientists entering biotech.

Leverage patient advocacy networks and key opinion leaders for rare disease commercialization.

Productize regulatory processes to help streamline FDA approvals.

Qualify all suppliers and continuously monitor their performance in a marketplace.

Set clear deliverables and expectations upfront on a platform to ensure quality.

Avoid This

Don't underestimate the inefficiency of traditional scientific collaboration.

Don't be afraid to ask universities about intellectual property ownership early on.

Avoid building a company solely on a research hypothesis without focusing on development.

Don't rely solely on academic credentials; demonstrate credibility through deep knowledge and motivation.

Avoid losing too much of your company too soon during the early stages.

Don't try to manage all external vendors through complex, outdated systems like SharePoint if a better platform exists.

Do not delay the 'killer experiment' because it might fail; early validation is crucial.

Avoid assuming business co-founders are only needed for financial expertise; focus on complementary skills and shared passion.

Don't assume you need a PhD to be a co-founder in biotech; focus on demonstrating deep understanding and motivation.

Don't take supportive mentors for granted when leaving academia.

Common Questions

Science Exchange is an online marketplace designed to streamline the process of outsourcing scientific experiments. It addresses the inefficiencies and fragmentation in scientific research by connecting scientists with qualified providers, managing projects, and ensuring quality.

Topics

Health & Longevity Science & Mathematics Business & Entrepreneurship Venture Capital Drug Development Startup Founding Scientific Research Biotech Startups Marketplace Dynamics Reproducibility In Science Academic To Industry Transition

Mentioned in this video

Organizations

University of Miami School of Medicine

Institution where Elizabeth Iorns worked as an assistant professor and conducted her postdoc.

QB3

An organization that provides cost-effective lab space by the bench, lowering barriers to entry for biotech startups.

prostate cancer foundation

Foundation involved in a reproducibility project with Science Exchange, which is one of their most followed projects.

University of London

Institution where Elizabeth Iorns obtained her PhD in cancer biology.

LabCentral

A facility that provides cost-effective lab space by the bench, lowering barriers to entry for biotech startups.

FDA

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration, which regulatory development strategies and productized regulatory infrastructure are discussed in relation to biotech startups.

The Gates Foundation

Organization that Science Exchange worked with to do reanalysis of epidemiology results.

Companies

Reformer Therapeutics

A company chaired by Elizabeth Iorns, which recently went through Y Combinator.

Stripe

A company that has helped build infrastructure making it easier for people to create companies.

Amgen

A large pharmaceutical company that used Science Exchange for all of its discovery research, signifying product-market fit. Also mentioned for its successful migraine drug.

Enzyme

A company funded by Y Combinator that provides productized FDA regulatory processes for biotech startups.

Science Exchange

An online marketplace for outsourcing science experiments, founded by Elizabeth Iorns. It aims to improve the quality and efficiency of scientific research by connecting researchers with service providers.

Upwork

A modern version of Elance and oDesk, representing the application of a marketplace model to connect experts with clients.

Y Combinator

A startup accelerator that Elizabeth Iorns' company, Science Exchange, was part of in the summer of 2011. She is also a part-time partner, advising hundreds of biotech companies.

Genentech

A biotechnology company mentioned as a pioneer in the field of biologics (antibodies and proteins).

Elance

A platform similar to Upwork, which Iorns and her co-founder looked at for inspiration when developing Science Exchange.

Notable Labs

A biotech company founded by non-scientific founders who self-taught themselves about the sector. They are motivated by a personal connection to find therapeutics for glioblastoma.

Concepts

marketplaces

A business model involving connecting buyers and sellers, which is the foundation of Science Exchange. Running a marketplace presents unique challenges, particularly in balancing supply and demand.

microarray analysis

An older technique for analyzing gene expression profiling that Elizabeth Iorns used in her breast cancer research. Its inefficiency and fragmentation were factors that inspired Science Exchange.

biologics

A category of therapeutic modalities including antibodies and proteins, which became prominent after small molecule inhibitors.

breast cancer research

The area of research Elizabeth Iorns was involved in before starting Science Exchange.

small molecule inhibitors

A traditional type of therapeutic modality in biotech, which was the primary option before recent advancements.

rare diseases

A focus area for some biotech companies that allows for commercialization without acquisition due to strong patient advocacy and key opinion leader engagement.

cell based therapy

A type of therapeutic modality that has recently seen approvals, representing a turning point for the biotech industry.

gene therapies

A type of therapeutic modality that has recently seen approvals, representing a turning point for the biotech industry.

Glioblastoma

A type of brain cancer for which the founders of Notable Labs are seeking new therapeutics, driven by a personal connection.

RNAi

An approved marketable product that represents a recent therapeutic modality and a turning point for the biotech industry.

Locations

Cambridge

A location mentioned as a hub for numerous biotech startups.

San Diego

A location mentioned as a hub for numerous biotech startups.

Studies & Research

cancer biology reproducibility project

A well-known project by Science Exchange focused on replicating published results in cancer biology. It is controversial because it goes against cultural norms and people fear career impact from failed replication.

People

Elizabeth Iorns

Cancer biologist by training, founder of Science Exchange, Chairman of Reformer Therapeutics, and part-time partner at Y Combinator. She advises biotech companies and shares insights on running marketplace companies and the biotech startup landscape.

Alexis Ohanian

Co-founder of Y Combinator who initially told Elizabeth Iorns she wouldn't get in due to lacking a technical co-founder.

Software & Apps

AWS

Amazon Web Services, mentioned as infrastructure that has made it easier for people to create companies.