Though its program failed in clinical trials, Nektar kicked off an appreciation for what might be possible with a better IL-2. As other companies carry on with programs in part inspired by Nektar’s early data and vision, we explore failure in biotech, ignoring the naysayers, and the value of carrying on when the odds are slim.

Some might consider Trikafta’s gains to be “good enough” for CF patients. But I think we can do better. And that’s why we’re so excited to introduce the world to Sionna.

When a biotech company is valued at around the same amount of cash it has sitting in the bank, is it a safe investment? Some investors might think so - and so we looked at the data. The answer might surprise you.

Created through the fusion of parallel efforts at RA Capital and Atlas Venture, TRIANA is a newly launched biotech that is building its pipeline using a target-first, rational approach to molecular glue discovery.

Important news from RA Capital! For immediate release: April 1, 2022.

When I received detailed communications about my companies on a regular basis, I found I was both more likely to remember what was going on when it came time for the next board meeting and less likely to continually call my CEOs to figure out the bottom line. “Board love notes’ are a win-win.

Lining up spring break plans for this month? If you’re anything like us, you’re probably looking for a good book to bring along. Welcome to the RApport Bookshelf, where we compile what we consider the most essential reads in biotech and health care.

If, like us, you are appalled by Russia's aggression against Ukraine and inspired by the bravery of the Ukrainian people, please sign on to our commitment to sever financial ties with the Russian government and economic elite.

Members of TechAtlas work closely with the Investment Team and our portfolio companies to put data into context, identify breakthroughs, and develop conviction about how to solve particular problems given what we know of all the different technologies in development.

Gateway is RA Capital’s new board-building tool. It’s free to use, so give it a try. And if you’re on a biotech board or aspire to be on one, please take a minute to fill out a profile.

Ah, the American Old West. Where the buffalo roamed, cowboys fought, and Coke still had cocaine. A LOT of things had cocaine. Only the most vigilant and educated physician or pharmacist could hope to keep harmful or useless drugs off their shelves. And if we can still find physicians prescribing ivermectin for COVID today, imagine how hard finding reliable information must have been back then. 

Take a few minutes at the beginning of a board meeting to give the board the big picture before asking them to analyze individual pieces of your narrative. At RA Capital, we encourage our companies to use a tool called the Elephant Slide. This slide helps visualize a company’s value proposition, goals, challenges, and upcoming decisions in one place - allowing you to address the elephant in the room.

As a Swede who has lived in the United States for ~25 years, I’ve experienced two very different healthcare systems. As a child and young adult, I took free (or nearly free) healthcare for granted. However, when I left Sweden to pursue a graduate degree in the US, I was shocked to realize that the system here is very different. I learned new words like ‘deductible’ and ‘copay’ that were not previously part of my vocabulary.

GentiBio CEO Adel Nada discusses why biotechs should build organizations that allow the kind of “good” failures necessary for striking into the unknown and forming the foundations of success. To do so, we must foster cultures that prepare us for, and prepare us to learn from, the field’s inevitable setbacks.

The biotech job market is hotter than ever and it’s not likely to cool down in 2022. So if you’re thinking about joining the Great Resignation and jumping into a new role at a biotech startup, it’s crucial to learn how to think about valuing competing equity offers.

In case you missed it (or if you’d like to send a link to a colleague), we’ve compiled a list of RApport’s most popular stories of 2021, along with a few things we’ll be reading over our end-of-year break.

As the Omicron variant looms over this holiday season, an increasing number of companies are pushing back return-to-office plans (again). What does this mean for all of us? Another year of Zoom. And, Zoom, after spending almost two years “working” on your platform, I have some notes.

Growing emphasis on ESG may be a net positive, but how do individual companies allocate resources toward tracking, reporting, or implementing additional practices when those resources might be better spent on their core business that is inherently ESG-focused?

Biotech board members and management teams are increasingly asking how their companies can benefit from what RA Capital and others call a “Series I” IPO process (also known as a data-driven or logic-based IPO). Here we’ve compiled common questions and answers.

In this month’s episode, we discuss the latest COVID news. Then Peter Kolchinsky talks with our guest, Dr. Joshua Cohen of Tufts Medical Center, about how they estimate the value of a drug.