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Y Combinator ups the ante with bio startups for 2015

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Re: Y Combinator ups the ante with bio startups for 2015

#41

Post by toufka »

comrade1 wrote: post #9

There's a big difference between the 5 - 15 years and billions of dollars to product in biotech/pharma, and the few at most years and relatively cheap amount of money for the payoff in software. And if you think there are shortcuts like uber and airbnb, there are not. Even 23 and me, a pretty innocuous idea, is essentially a failure.

If you think that biotech = pharma, you're about 2 decades behind. Biotech = fabrics, materials, health, food, chemicals, etc.

Perfumes, flavors, spider silk, biosensors, glowing plants, etc. are all biotechnology that require the one thing cheaper than software on this planet - dirt. They copy code orders of magnitude cheaper than bandwidth - water & sugar & light.

The billion dollar tools developed by big pharma now are running in the thousands of dollars, and there are no shortage of million dollar problems.

Re: Y Combinator ups the ante with bio startups for 2015

#43

Post by gourneau »

At Synthego, we are looking for people who want to help build a fully-automated, research facility that moves, mixes, manipulates, and analyzes molecules and cells.

We're looking for badassery in the following areas:

1) software engineers - mostly Python

2) mechanical engineers

3) wet lab technicians with experience in chemistry or biochemistry labs

4) anyone else who kicks ass in significant technically deep ways in an engineering or scientific discipline.

In general, we have—and are continuing to—build a team of extreme technical and scientific ass-kickers, in a joyful, bullshit-free, you-own-it kind of environment.

We are backed by Founders Fund, and located in Redwood City, CA

email me at josh@synthego.com for more information.

Re: Y Combinator ups the ante with bio startups for 2015

#44

Post by srunni »

gourneau wrote: post #43

At Synthego, we are looking for people who want to help build a fully-automated, research facility that moves, mixes, manipulates, and analyzes molecules and cells. We're looking for badassery in the following areas: 1) software engineers - mostly Python 2) mechanical engineers 3) wet lab technicians with experience in chemistry or biochemistry labs 4) anyone else who kicks ass in significant technically deep ways in…

How does Synthego compare to Emerald Therapeutics and Transcriptic?

Re: Y Combinator ups the ante with bio startups for 2015

#45

Post by softdev12 »

woah wrote: post #21
tikhonj wrote: post #19

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I actually agree. Exactly the same is true for most software coming out of YC. But that's not bad at all: the point of YC is not to do cutting-edge research—although a few companies do—but to execute and take a product to market. It's a vital part of an idea's development, but at a later stage than academic research. University projects are incredibly valuable, but only the rare exception produces something commercia…

Yea I mean look at Airbnb. It is, (in software jargon) a "crud" app. Virtually any software project you could care to choose in academia today is more advanced than airbnb's tech.

While I appreciate what you are saying, I think this statement is not really accurate if you look at the facts. I would not say "virtually any" because there are numerous academic projects that are now abandoned and whose creators consider a failure. So, semantically, "some" might be a better word in the place of "virtually any". In any case, I think you are underestimating how complex Airbnb's tech is. They have tons of banking regulations that they have to follow because of their payments and to think that their tech is "crud" is just a testament to how well they make the complex seem easy.

Re: Y Combinator ups the ante with bio startups for 2015

#46

Post by gourneau »

srunni wrote: post #44
gourneau wrote: post #43

At Synthego, we are looking for people who want to help build a fully-automated, research facility that moves, mixes, manipulates, and analyzes molecules and cells. We're looking for badassery in the following areas: 1) software engineers - mostly Python 2) mechanical engineers 3) wet lab technicians with experience in chemistry or biochemistry labs 4) anyone else who kicks ass in significant technically deep ways in…

How does Synthego compare to Emerald Therapeutics and Transcriptic?

To point out one similarity Founders Fund has invested in all of us. BioTech is a huge space, and to be purposely vague we are working on something pretty far away from the other folks.

Re: Y Combinator ups the ante with bio startups for 2015

#47

Post by jghn »

dluan wrote: post #23
coherentpony wrote: post #18

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> 23andme has created an affordable market for personal genomics Fair. > single-handedly forced modernization in regulation and policy Personal DNA kits were not pioneered by 23andme. The NHS in the UK sends out personal kits to test for colon cancer. One rather smart child, Jack Andraka [1], devised a personal kit to test for pancreatic cancer. And regulation in FDA policy is constantly shifting and changing. A nota…

One of the biggest challenges they've had to and continue to try to overcome is an outdated policy system around personal health data, within the U.S., and I'm not sure if Jack Andraka has attempted to mass produce and mass release his pancreatic kit. The statement was about their recent FDA battles, not about 'advancing science'. The 23andme dataset provides more value than HGP since it's an dataset of active partic…

One big negative is that they're only running a snp pnel for most cases and just now starting to toe the water of exomes

Re: Y Combinator ups the ante with bio startups for 2015

#48

Post by jghn »

chmille4 wrote: post #39
dluan wrote: post #37

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Good clarification, amended my comment too. Although, the 23andme dataset is with live participants with genealogy data. That's a dimension HGP doesn't offer. 1000 Genomes looks great, but how is it funded? Also, how is the sequencing done? Presents a few more open variables, and 23andme is orders of magnitude larger.

Absolutely, I meant to add above that the 23andme dataset has huge value due to its size. Also you bring up a good point about potential easy access to participants. If 23andme allows researchers to contact people who were of interest to their particular study and ask for more information, which could be as easy a questionnaire, that could be incredibly valuable. I don't agree with the above commenter that 23andme wa…

Worth noting that the sequencing was done at multiple centers, eg the broad institute

Re: Y Combinator ups the ante with bio startups for 2015

#49

Post by car »

untilHellbanned wrote: post #24
paul wrote: post #13

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Care to give a few specific examples? Also, these are companies, not "projects" -- it's important to understand the difference.

I called them all projects. Haploid genetics[1] is just one example of a technology that is doing real, far reaching stuff in human genetics (sorry, SNPs). There's numerous companies being developed from discoveries using this technology. I love YC (and huge props to you personally for all the amazing things you've contributed, I'm very honored to be speaking with you), but in talking to many colleagues, the money in…

Thanks for bringing this to my attention. This is very cool and groundbreaking indeed.

Re: Y Combinator ups the ante with bio startups for 2015

#50

Post by srunni »

vqc wrote: post #6
george88b wrote: post #4

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Something like this is already being done. Indiebio just launched in SF and they are doing great work at bringing in pot-doc chemists and biochemists and de-risking their academic work and turning them companies. Disclaimer, my company Pembient is in the first class.

Ah, that's perfect; the idea is validated. Time to start a competitor in other bio hubs. =)

There are already many well-established biotech accelerators/incubators in Boston (Lab Central, PureTech Ventures, Third Rock Ventures, Flagship Ventures, Atlas Venture, etc.), Seattle (Accelerator Corporation; also in NYC), NYC (Harlem Biospace), and San Diego/Montreal/Vancouver (Inception Sciences).
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