Sean Kevlahan, PhD - Polymers, Pivots and Exits

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Exited founder Sean Kevlahan, PhD tells the story of Quad Technologies and how an interesting polymer contributed to the explosion of cell therapies in the last decade. Sean gives great advice for biotech founders and investors, and joins Armon Sharei in my pantheon of chemical engineers who are gifted communicators.

Sponsored by Purdue University entrepreneurship and Peter Fasse, patents attorney at Fish & Richardson.

Highlights:

• Sal Daher Welcomes Sean Kevlahan, PhD, Founder of Quad Technologies
• “...how do you release a cell from a substrate [underlying substance] without killing a cell?”
• “Magnetic beads have been around for a while. Researchers use them to separate cells.”
• How Do You remove the Magnetic Beads without Killing the Cell?
• Quad Technologies’ Polymer Made It Possible to Remove the Magnetic Beads
• “When we first started out Quad, we focused on the academic markets.”
• The Success of CAR T-cell Therapies Opened Up an Opportunity for Quad -Help Multiply the CAR T-cells
• Emily Whitehead, the First Patient Treated with CAR T-cell Therapy, Is in Remission for Ten Years
• The Aha Moment that Put Quad Technologies on the Map
• Sean Kevlahan’s Epiphany Led to a Pivot and Product/Market Fit
• Ran Into Someone from Bio-Techne at the JP Morgan Conference & Discovered the Strategic Fit
• Bio-Techne Acquired Quad Technologies in July of 2018 – Investors Did Very Well
• Sal Daher Is Eager to Learn About Sean Kevlahan’s Stealth Startup
• “Even in biotech winter exited founders who have had this kind of success are very much in demand.”
• Sean Kevlahan’s Grandfather Was an Entrepreneur, a Successful Restauranteur
• Sean’s Entrepreneurship Activated by Hitting the “3-Year Wall” Doctoral Students Experience
• Quad’s Polymer Used to Be Just Coating for Microfluidics Chips; Sean and Adam Hatch Imagined Many More Uses
• “We went from obviously, biotech, which just makes the most sense to coating the undersides of boats for marine biofouling.”
• Due to MassChallenge, Quad’s Tech Was Used in the International Space Station
• Sean Kevlahan Speaks Well of Northeastern University’s Tech Transfer Office
• Quad Raised $ 6 Million Which Qualifies as Angel-Scale
• The Vital Importance of Clear Messaging by Life Science Founders – Lose the Jargon!
• “...I have to do a mental check, and making sure that I'm not being too jargony.”
• Biotechnologies Are Multiplying and Creating a Cascade of Opportunities
• Quad Raised $ 6 Million from Fifteen Angel Investors
• Siamab Raised $ 14 Million from More than Forty Angels
• Going from Biotech Founder to Biotech Executive: Compare and Contrast
• Jeff Behrens Recommends that Prospective Biotech Founders Get Experience at Big Biotech Companies
• Parting Thoughts from Sean Kevlahan, PhD

Topics: biotech, partnerships with strategics, pivot, returns, IP / patents, Mass Challenge