Mintz On Air

Client Corner: Meet Co-founder & CEO of Axoft, Paul Le Floch

Our Client Corner: Perspectives from Founders, Financiers, and Friends podcast series hosted by Mintz Member Joshua Fox explores the challenges and rewards associated with starting and running a business and investing in a business, through conversations with experienced entrepreneurs and investors working in the start-up community.

In this episode of Client Corner, Josh speaks to Paul Le Floch, Co-founder & CEO of Axoft. Paul discusses his journey from growing up in France to becoming a founder and the CEO of a neurotechnology startup. He provides insight into forming Axoft and navigating the fundraising process and offers advice to individuals starting new ventures.

Health Law Diagnosed: Mintz Health Law Team - Reflecting on What We Are Grateful For

As the Mintz Health Law team welcomes the beginning of 2024, many of its members take a moment to reflect on the exciting growth of the Health Law Practice, opportunities to partner with clients on complex legal issues, and the celebration of numerous milestones.

Client Corner: Gio Traverso’s Journey Starting Biotech Companies

Our Client Corner: Perspectives from Founders, Financiers, and Friends podcast series hosted by Mintz Member Joshua Fox explores the challenges and rewards associated with starting and running a business and investing in a business, through conversations with experienced entrepreneurs and investors working in the start-up community.

In this episode of Client Corner, Josh speaks to Gio Traverso, MIT professor, founder of several biotech companies, and a physician. Gio discusses his experience starting six different companies with Josh, comprising both for-profit and nonprofit entities. He reflects upon the process of deciding whether to start a business using a nonprofit or a for-profit structure, bringing together a strong team, evaluating potential investors, and licensing intellectual property from a university.

Client Corner: Carlos Araque on Leading a Startup

Our Client Corner: Perspectives from Founders, Financiers, and Friends podcast series hosted by Mintz Member Joshua Fox explores the challenges and rewards associated with starting and running a business and investing in a business, through conversations with experienced entrepreneurs and investors working in the start-up community.

In this week's episode of Client Corner, Josh speaks to Carlos Araque, Co-founder and CEO of Quaise Energy. Carlos discusses his motivation in co-funding Quaise Energy and his guiding philosophy of impact over probability of success. He provides advice to other first-time CEOs and offers insights on the state of diversity in the energy sector.

Client Corner: Anna Turetsky on Venture Investing

Our Client Corner: Perspectives from Founders, Financiers, and Friends podcast series hosted by Mintz Member Joshua Fox explores the challenges and rewards associated with starting and running a business and investing in a business, through conversations with experienced entrepreneurs and investors working in the start-up community.

In this week's episode of Client Corner, Josh chats with Anna Turetsky, Principal, Venture Investments for the Mark Foundation for Cancer Research. Anna discusses the Mark Foundation's mission and her journey from a traditional venture capital firm to a nonprofit. She provides advice on pitching strategies for entrepreneurs and reflects on her experience as a woman navigating the venture capital and biotech industries.

Health Law Diagnosed: Women Leaders in Health Care -The Role and Importance of Mentorship

In this episode, host Bridgette Keller introduces a new series of Health Law Diagnosed titled Women Leaders in Health Care. This new series will bring together women leaders for discussions on timely key issues and reflections on developing a career in the industry.

Leah Pollema, Vice President and General Counsel at InhibRx, and Serene Katranji, Chief Operating Officer, Chief Compliance Officer, and Corporate Counsel at Orchard Laboratories, join Bridgette for this inaugural episode. Together, they share personal stories about their experiences as both mentees and mentors, shedding light on the invaluable impact mentorship has had on their professional journeys.

Serene underscores the fulfillment of opening doors for those facing similar career challenges and the satisfaction of seeing mentees surpass her own achievements. She reflects on the enduring impact of mentors who provided helpful guidance during her career, emphasizing the importance of paying forward the knowledge gained.

Leah adopts a modeling approach to mentoring, highlighting the significance of demonstrating the desired behaviors and skills for her colleagues. Drawing from her experience as a mentee, she fosters a collaborative mentoring environment, prioritizing active participation over passive instruction.

Both women stress the pivotal role of trust in successful mentorship, creating a safe and vulnerable space for mentorship to thrive. Additionally, they actively seek diverse relationships in their mentoring journeys, recognizing the importance of opening doors for others and modeling the way to success. This episode provides valuable insights into the multifaceted nature of mentorship in the world of health care.

 

 

 

 

Client Corner: Meet Syntis Bio Co-founder and CEO Rahul Dhanda

Our Client Corner: Perspectives from Founders, Financiers, and Friends podcast series hosted by Mintz Member Joshua Fox explores the dynamics of starting and running a business, investing in a business, and helping to support a business — through insights shared by entrepreneurs, investors, and members of the start-up community. We hope these conversations will provide valuable advice to you, the listener, as you’re working to successfully build your own business, as well as inspire others who are thinking about starting a new venture.

In this episode of Client Corner, Josh chats with Rahul Dhanda, co-founder and CEO of Syntis Bio, a preclinical company developing a new class of therapy. Prior to founding Syntis, Rahul was a founder and the president and chief executive officer of Sherlock Biosciences, where he also served on the company's Board of Directors. Rahul is also a founder and Chair of BLASTID, Inc.

Earlier in his career, Rahul spent 10 years at T2 Biosystems, helping grow the company from an early-stage, venture-backed start-up to a commercial, publicly traded leader in infectious disease diagnostics. He also worked in Boston Scientific’s urology division, leading a team responsible for over $100 million in annual revenue. In addition, while serving in a business development role at Interleukin Genetics, Rahul helped lead the negotiation of the firm’s acquisition by Alticor, Inc. and several other corporate value–creating deals.

Rahul earned his MBA from MIT’s Sloan School of Management and his BA from Wesleyan University. He is a former committee member of the AAAS Committee on Scientific Freedom and Responsibility, an inventor of numerous patents, and author of several publications — including Guiding Icarus: Merging Bioethics with Corporate Interests, the first book to address the crossroads between industry and bioethics/public policy.

Client Corner: Meet Biotech Executive John Edwards

Our Client Corner: Perspectives from Founders, Financiers, and Friends podcast series hosted by Mintz Member Joshua Fox explores the dynamics of starting and running a business, investing in a business, and helping to support a business — through insights shared by entrepreneurs, investors, and members of the start-up community. We hope these conversations will provide valuable advice to you, the listener, as you’re working to successfully build your own business, as well as inspire others who are thinking about starting a new venture.

In this episode of Client Corner, Josh chats with John Edwards, an executive chair, board member, and senior adviser to start-up and clinical-stage biotechnology companies.

John will draw insights from his experience in key industry roles:

• Recently, CEO of Abcuro and Verseau Therapeutics, Inc.
• Executive Chair at Tilos Therapeutics, where, in less than two years, he helped advance the company from its formation to its acquisition by Merck
• Executive Chair of F-star, at which he helped grow the company from the discovery stage to a leading developer of clinical-stage bispecific antibodies which included bringing in more than $200 million in revenue from business development deals
• Pivotal roles in building Siamab and Exonics, which both had successful M&A exits in 2019
• Chief Operating Officer at Adnexus, a tenure that included taking the company from the start-up period through a $450 million acquisition by Bristol Myers Squibb, serving as President of Adnexus, and working within BMS’s R&D organization during the early days of immuno-oncology
• Vice President of Sales, Marketing, and Medical Affairs at Transkaryotic Therapies
• A 15-year tenure with Genetics Institute/Wyeth, where he was responsible for leading the company’s first product from research to FDA and EMA approvals
• One of the first employees at Genzyme