
Who are the young biopharma leaders shaping the industry? Nominate them for Endpoints' special report
We were in the homestretch for our annual 20 under 40 project when the pandemic hit the US. On March 8, I canceled my train tickets to Boston to meet with nominees Jason Kelly at Ginkgo and David Cheng. The next day was the first warm day in New York City, and the streets and parks were littered with joggers and families out chatting in shrill, voluble tones after three months cooped in the cold. I spoke amiably on the phone with Otello Stampacchia about how biotech was adapting and about his family in Italy, the crisis there and the crisis coming. The WHO declared a pandemic two days later. Soon, no one was out.
Now, it’s been a year and although the pandemic is still raging, biotech, after some initial fumbling, has largely gotten back on track. Some learned to run clinical trials without clinical trial centers. Others developed the vaccines now helping curb the pandemic, helping unlock new technologies in the process. Still more collaborated with longtime rivals to screen millions of molecules and help scale up antibody drugs.
Biopharma has changed since Covid-19 descended on the US. Now, as we prepare for our third 20 under 40 project, we’re asking for your help finding the youngsters who are helping change it. Send us the under-appreciated researcher who played a pivotal role in an mRNA vaccine, the hotshot developing a second-generation jab or antibody, and all the other precocious academics, scientists and executives that could reshape the industry or a given disease for decades to come. Any name our readers should know, or will soon.
It’s very simple. Just give us their name(s) and tell us why you did. And we’ll be back with our special report at the beginning of April. Here’s the link. The deadline is February 15.
You can also email me directly at jason@endpointsnews.com.