Features Biotechnology

It’s a corporate goal that’s likely impossible, for this world has never been free of infectious diseases. Nevertheless, incremental progress is to be recognized and furthered as infectious diseases continue to threaten global health, economic security and society. So onward Vanina de Verneuil pushes as senior vice president of legal and corporate secretary of Vir. […]

Lynn Zuchowski researched hepatitis C by constructing and analyzing a series of mutations of an enzyme involved in viral replication while at Vertex Pharmaceuticals.  She left the lab for law school more than 20 years ago, but her practice areas with bluebird bio of Somerville, Massachusetts, still enable her to help patients suffering from severe […]

For many lawyers, the pinnacle of their careers is making partner at a prestigious law firm. Some, like Jennifer Fox, however, reach that summit—only to start searching for new and challenging career opportunities. For Fox, that next thrilling peak to summit appeared in 2018 in the form of Emergent BioSolutions, a Maryland-based biotechnology company that […]

The responsibilities had evolved though her title had not. As recently as early last year Jessie (Fox) Bustamante was still referred to as staff attorney for ProPharma Group, though time was overdue for her to delegate and concentrate on big-picture matters. ProPharma, a provider of consultancy services to life sciences companies, had just merged with […]

His most recent employer is on the mend. Same goes for General Counsel Neil Belloff, a cancer survivor with an intensified resolve to apply his legal and business skills to those in the life sciences. “Fifteen years ago, my form of cancer was inoperable, but thanks to the dedicated men and women in life sciences, […]

The biotech’s mission being gene therapy, it couldn’t be sidetracked by what had been a bigger agenda. Thus, last year, bluebird bio—and that is lowercase—spun off its oncology division so it could better focus on bringing treatments for so-called SGDs, or rare and severe genetic diseases. Though there was nothing acrimonious about the split with […]

It helps to go the extra mile. Or, more precisely, the extra 8,000 miles. That’s roughly the distance as the plane flies between Buenos Aires in Argentina and Riyadh in Saudi Arabia. The Middle East seemingly prime territory for the kind of livestock medication Biogenesis Bago produces and distributes throughout South America and beyond, it […]

The past few years, innovation and adaptation became necessities. In a pinch, multi-million-dollar deals were carried out from kitchen tables and meals from Michelin-starred restaurants were enjoyed on splintery, wooden deck chairs in backyards. It’s not “business as usual” but rather “the show must go on.” “We at Venus Concept weren’t quite so lucky,” Michael […]

Meditation, a cup of coffee, studying martial arts—people have many ways to tackle stress and find the courage to conquer obstacles at work and in life. Annie McGuire just looks down at her left forearm. Inked in her forearm is a quote from French-Cuban-American writer Anais Nin: “Life expands or contracts in proportion to one’s […]

Growing up in India, Subhashini Ayyalasomayajula was always interested in science. So, after earning her master’s degree in microbiology at Osmania University, she moved to the U.S. to pursue a Ph.D. in immunology. “I continue to be curious about science and how the body functions,” she says. “It’s so beautiful and complex, and yet so […]