Amy Schulman on the draw of Singapore, and more – The BioCentury Show

Singapore is more than a portal to Asia, a feature that’s important, but understates the potential impact that ecosystem can have on global biotech, said Polaris Partners Managing Partner Amy Schulman on The BioCentury Show. 

“Singapore is small but mighty,” said Schulman. In addition to the wealth of academic science that is hungry to be translated, she said, there’s a welcoming environment from the government that runs from respect for IP to data integrity, and a culture that fosters predictability in terms of timelines and administrative processes.

Polaris has planted a flag in Singapore, one of the most prominent western VCs to do so, leading or co-leading substantial series A rounds for at least two companies in the last year — a $126 million A round for Tessa Therapeutics Ltd. last June, and a $100 million series A for Paratus Sciences Corp. in February. The vision is to broaden not only to local markets such as Vietnam, Indonesia, the Philippines and China, but to target the U.S. and Europe as well. “We don’t need to be provincial about where science starts,” said Schulman.

Schulman also discussed her views on the market downturn, arguing it was a “correction that was a little bit overdue.”

Too many biotechs were created, and companies and investors should have been prepared for this, she said. “That doesn’t mean it’s fun or it’s easy, but I do think it’s focusing,” said Schulman. She doesn’t think the market reset will fundamentally change behaviors when money flows again — memories are short, says Schulman. 

Still, it wasn’t all irrational exuberance in the boom years, she added, meaning that there will be continued reason to fund and grow new companies. The convergence of advances in cellular medicine, regenerative medicine and more mean that “the pace and substrate of scientific innovation is so exciting that it justifies increased investment.”

Schulman is split on the issue of progress for women in leadership. She chairs the boards of three companies that also have female CEOs, a relatively rare feature: Alnylam Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ:ALNY),  Lyndra Therapeutics Inc. and  Larkspur Biosciences Inc. That combination, along with more women in leadership generally, has a knock-on effect in enabling more balance and gender equity in the next generation of leaders, says Schulman.

“Not because women are easier on women, or women are invariably nicer and more empathetic, but because as you’re coming up through the ranks, you’re aspirationally looking around, and if you see no-one who looks like you, it’s a lot harder to stick through the drudgery.” That pattern extends to other underrepresented groups too, she said. 

There’s certainly progress. But at the same time, “the numbers don’t change,” said Schulman. “You look at law firms and it’s been 17% female full equity partners from the time I graduated from Yale Law School until now.” Moreover, even when women founders do break through and get audiences with investors, there’s often a “female tax” that translates to lower funding. 

“It’s the one area in my life in which I’m willing to be persistently disappointed and persistently an optimist,” said Schulman. 

Schulman also talked about the success factors behind good executives, what the Polaris team looks for, and some do’s and don’ts that can be difference makers when pitching to VCs.