The Biotech Industry Takes A Stance Against Immigration Ban

For those who are unaware of the span of the field of "Biotechnology" look no further than the introduction on the "Wikipedia page" shown below:

Biotechnology is the use of living systems and organisms to develop or make products, or "any technological application that uses biological systems, living organisms, or derivatives thereof, to make or modify products or processes for specific use" (UN Convention on Biological Diversity, Art. 2).[1] Depending on the tools and applications, it often overlaps with the (related) fields of bioengineering, biomedical engineering, biomanufacturing, molecular engineering, etc.

For thousands of years, humankind has used biotechnology in agriculture, food production, and medicine.[2] The term is largely believed to have been coined in 1919 by Hungarian engineer Károly Ereky. In the late 20th and early 21st centuries, biotechnology has expanded to include new and diverse sciences such as genomics, recombinant gene techniques, applied immunology, and development of pharmaceutical therapies and diagnostic tests.[2]

As you can see, the span of the field of biotechnology touches almost every aspect of our lives.  Increasingly, developments in the field are transcending boundaries into extraordinary areas which were previously thought to be unrelated.  With the threat to the industry from President Trump's recent immigration ban (executive order -- travel ban) being in deliberation (under question), many professionals from the field have signed onto a letter for their voices to be collectively heard.



Below is the letter -- which hopefully will get spread throughout the United States to show how such a ban would threaten the industry which is responsible for our health and well-being.

Biotech Takes Collective Action

The biotech industry is currently being bombarded with multiple threats.  First and foremost is the possible restructuring of prescription drug prices by the Trump Administration.  Additionally, the industry received a break from the Trump administration when the announcement was made that the US Food & Drug Administration would be "deregulated" with regard to certain prescription drugs for terminally-ill cancer patients and other diseases.



There is no doubt that the costs of drug prices have gone through the roof.  Although, as I wrote in a previous post, there is a good reason for that cost (research, clinical trials, regulatory procedures, etc.).  For a brief introduction into the process of designing drugs, see the following post from last year.



A different threat which looms large at the doorstep of various industries in the biotechnology sector is the problem of the recent immigration ban (executive order -- travel ban) recently implemented by President Trump.  As various news outlets have reported on over the last week, there are many problems with the language in the ban.  Some feel like the ban was not written properly and is unconstitutional.  Currently, there is a hold on the 'implementation of the ban' while the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals (in California) is deliberating on the constitutionality of the ban.



To the point of this blog, the biotech industry feels threatened by the ban.  In the letter below, one paragraph stands out (among others) in my mind which is true of all science with regard to effect of the ban on science research:

Though the ban from the Trump administration is aimed at seven countries, our global employees interpret the underlying message as, “America is no longer welcoming of any immigrants, whatsoever.” They fear similar orders could be issued for other countries at a moment’s notice. They fear being stigmatized and discriminated against, simply because of their religion, irrespective of the nation they come from. Several among us have heard from employees about their deportation fears, how they do not feel comfortable leaving the country on business or how they now feel cut off from their family abroad.

If the feeling is true for immigrants in this country, then the entire country should be ashamed.  We should be ashamed at ourselves for thinking that such a ban would be good for the nation.  No person should feel like they do not belong in this country if they are here legally.  Even if they are here seeking asylum, they should have the same opportunities that each American has been born with.  We are a nation of immigrants.  And every citizen improves science with their unique experience.



We are a global nation.  The concept of a country is rather outdated.  Since home can be spread throughout the world.  A scientist who works at Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena (California, USA) may call Pasadena a "local home".  Although, their country of birth might have been one of the seven banned countries.  Home has a new meaning in this global world.



Below is the full letter which is signed by over 166 leaders in the field of biotechnology.  The names and affiliations can be found at the very end of the blog post.  Without further ado, here is the full letter from leaders in the biotech industry:

To the Editor:

We the undersigned, founders and leaders of biotech companies, write to express our deep concern and opposition to the executive order signed by President Donald Trump on January 27, 2017, barring the entry of citizens from seven countries into the United States1.

The United States is the world’s greatest developer of medicines and new inventions to ameliorate and cure intractable diseases, a status achieved through massive investment in private and public companies, academia and R&D. Most importantly, our success has been founded on the creativity and dedication of our most precious resource—our people.

Our people include researchers, clinicians, entrepreneurs and business executives from all over the world. They are colleagues in our laboratories, management teams and boardrooms. They discover and develop therapies that drive US biomedical innovation and deliver new medicines to patients, not only in America, but also across the globe. And they start companies that drive the economic growth and employment provided by biotech. Many of our colleagues from abroad ultimately become Americans, all to the great benefit of the United States. Indeed, a study found that in 2014, 52% of the 69,000 biomedical researchers in the United States were foreign-born2.

The biopharma industry originated in America and is dominated by American companies. US companies employ tenfold more people than European companies. Over the past decade, a total of $98.4 billion was invested in US emerging therapeutic companies through venture capital, follow-on public offerings and initial public offerings. US companies spent over $138 billion on upfront payments for in-licensing assets or acquiring global R&D-stage emerging companies. Larger US biopharma companies spent $161.7 billion over the past ten years on market-stage acquisitions.

The United States has led the world in medicine production for decades, not only because of its ability to finance drug discovery, but also because, more than any other country, the United States represents opportunity regardless of borders, gender, race, sexual orientation or political cast. This has enabled our industry to attract the best talent, wherever it is found. This aspect of our industry is a core reason the United States has built its unique strength in biopharmaceuticals.

At a stroke, the new administration has compromised years of investment in this national treasure. Our colleagues who are here on visas or are in global outposts are now fearful and uncertain of their status. Scientists based in other countries and employed by our companies are afraid to come to the United States or are canceling trips. The parents and families of immigrants who live and work in the United States are reluctant to attempt to travel to and from the United States.

Though the ban from the Trump administration is aimed at seven countries, our global employees interpret the underlying message as, “America is no longer welcoming of any immigrants, whatsoever.” They fear similar orders could be issued for other countries at a moment’s notice. They fear being stigmatized and discriminated against, simply because of their religion, irrespective of the nation they come from. Several among us have heard from employees about their deportation fears, how they do not feel comfortable leaving the country on business or how they now feel cut off from their family abroad.

Every nation has the right to determine who comes across its borders. Every nation needs to be vigilant in defending itself against and hunting down terrorists. The actions taken by the Trump administration, however, were poorly conceived and implemented; they have raised deep fears and concerns across the biotech industry, in which diversity and the free flow of ideas and people have created an American powerhouse of medicine.

If this misguided policy is not reversed, America is at risk of losing its leadership position in one of its most important sectors, one that will shape the world in the twenty-first century. Indeed, it will harm an industry dominated by smaller companies and startups, the very kind of industry the administration has said it wants to support. It will slow the fight against the many diseases that afflict us, as well as carry negative economic consequences for the United States.

America must remain the world’s greatest engine of innovation, as well as the beacon of liberty it has been for more than 200 years. The two are inextricably intertwined.

(On February 2, 2017, the United States District Court Western District of Washington at Seattle issued a temporary restraining order against the executive order that suspends its enforcement nationwide. The President has stated he will seek to overturn the ruling, but the restraining order remains in force while under appeal to the US Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit by the Department of Justice. As of 7pm on February 6, the federal appeals court has not yet ruled3.)

The leaders felt so strong that the letter was drafted.  Other scientific organizations have paused for concern about speaking out about science in the current administration.  I believe that any leader in any field of science should speak up.  In fact, the disparity associated with the lack of funding for scientific research is directly linked to scientists across the globe remaining silent about science.

Conclusion...

The public needs to hear about the importance of science in the community, state, federal level, and the world at large.  Only then will the citizens of the Earth understand the implications of defunding science.  Defunding science is taking away money that is meant to find cures for diseases, new forms of energy, research new materials which can be renewable.  Our daily lives cannot go on without science.



Everything that we do depends on science.  Scientists are constantly changing (updating their knowledge) and learning new strategies about which the world operates.  The results of which belong to you -- the tax-payer.  Each of us, regardless of being affiliated with science or not professionally should want to be more engaged in the scientific research which is emerging on a daily basis.



Below is a list of the leaders of the biotech industry which attached their name and affiliation to the letter above.  Take some time and look over the span of names of organizations which believe this executive order to be a threat to their companies well-being.  Without them, think about how research into various sectors would progress forward.



Maybe its time to listen to the experts!



Until next time, Have a great day!






References:



1) The White House. Executive Order: Protecting the Nation from Foreign Terrorist Entry into the United States, Jan. 27, 2017.

2) Heggeness, M.L., Gunsalus, K.T.W., Pacas, J. & McDowell , G. Nature 541, 21–23 (2017).


3) 17-35105 State of Washington & State of Minnesota v. Trump. WD Wash. 2:17-cv-141, Judge Robart.








Leaders of biotech industry who signed the petition:

Jeremy M Levin¹, ¹Ovid Therapeutics Inc., New York, New York, USA. 

Steven H Holtzman², ²Decibel Therapeutics, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA.

John Maraganore³,  ³Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA.

Paul J Hastings⁴,  ⁴OncoMed Pharmaceuticals, Redwood City, California, USA. 

Ron Cohen⁵, ⁵Acorda Therapeutics Inc., Ardsley, New York, USA. 

Bassil I Dahiyat⁶, ⁶Xencor, Monrovia, California, USA.

Julian Adams⁷,  ⁷Clal Biotechnology Industries, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA. 

Chris Adams⁸, ⁸Cydan Development Inc., Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA. 

Brett Ahrens⁹, ⁹Caanan Partners, Menlo Park, California,USA.

Jeff Albers¹⁰, ¹⁰Blueprint Medicines, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA.

Mara G Aspinall¹¹, ¹¹Health Catalysts, Tuscon, Arizona, USA. 

James Audia¹², ¹²Constellation Pharmaceuticals, Inc., Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA. 

Martin Babler¹³, ¹³Principia Biopharma, South San Francisco, California, USA.

Peter Barrett¹⁴,  ¹⁴Atlas Venture, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA.

Zoe Barry¹⁵,  ¹⁵ZappRx, Boston, Massachusetts, USA. 

Nessan Bermingham¹⁶, ¹⁶Intellia Therapeutics, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA. 

Stephen Bloch¹⁷,¹⁷Caanan Partners, Westport, Connecticut, USA. 

Robert I Blum¹⁸, ¹⁸Cytokinetics, Inc., South San Francisco, California, USA. 

Paul B Bolono¹⁹, ¹⁹Wave Life Sciences, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA. 

Michael W Bonney²⁰, ²⁰Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA.

Bruce Booth²¹,  ²¹Atlas Venture, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA.

Daniel M Bradbury²²,  ²²Amylin Pharmaceuticals, San Diego, California, USA. 

Steven K Brauer²³, ²³Salus Discovery LLC, San Diego, California, USA. 

Brook Byers²⁴,  ²⁴Investor, Menlo Park, California, USA.

Pablo J Cagnoni²⁵, ²⁵Tizona Therapeutics, Inc., South San Francisco, California, USA. 

Brian M Cali²⁶,  ²⁶Ironwood Pharmaceuticals, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA.

Isaac Ciechanover²⁷, ²⁷Atara Bio, South San Francisco, California, USA.

Chip Clark²⁸, ²⁸Genocea Biosciences, Inc., Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA.

Michael D Clayman²⁹,  ²⁹Flexion Therapeutics, Burlington, Massachusetts, USA. 

Jeff L Cleland³⁰, ³⁰Graybug Vision, Redwood City, California, USA.

Paula Cobb³¹,  ³¹Decibel Therapeutics, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA.

Ron Cooper³²,  ³²Albireo Pharma Inc., Boston, Massachusetts, USA. 

Mark G Currie³³, ³³Ironwood Pharmaceuticals, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA. 

John Diekman³⁴,  ³⁴5AM Ventures, San Francisco, California, USA.

Eric l Dobmeier³⁵,  ³⁵Seattle Genetics, Bothell, Washington, USA. 

Doug Doerfler³⁶, ³⁶MaxCyte, Inc., Gaithersburg, Maryland, USA. 

Deborah Dunsire³⁷, ³⁷Southern Cross Biotech Consulting, Waltham, Massachusetts, USA.

Matthew During³⁸,  ³⁸Ovid Therapeutics Inc., New York, New York, USA.

Jens W Eckstein³⁹,  ³⁹SR One, Conshohocken, Pennsylvania, USA.

Eric Elenko⁴⁰,  ⁴⁰PureTech Health, Boston, Massachusetts, USA. 

Neil A Exter⁴¹, ⁴¹Third Rock Ventures, Boston, Massachusetts, USA. 

Jonathan J Fleming⁴², ⁴²Q-State Biosciences, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA.

Gregory J Flesher⁴³,  ⁴³OticPharma Inc., Irvine, California, USA. 

Jean-Francois Formela⁴⁴, ⁴⁴Atlas Venture, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA.

Robert Forrester⁴⁵,  ⁴⁵Verastem Inc., Needham, Massachusetts, USA. 

Cedric Francois⁴⁶, ⁴⁶Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Crestwood, Kentucky, USA. 

Heather Franklin⁴⁷, ⁴⁷Blaze Bioscience Inc., Seattle, Washington, USA.

Mason W Freeman⁴⁸,  ⁴⁸5AM Ventures, Boston, Massachusetts, 

Leonard Patrick Gage⁴⁹, USA.⁴⁹Tetraphase, Watertown, Massachusetts, USA. 

Nicolas Galakatos⁵⁰, ⁵⁰Clarus, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA.

James A Geraghty⁵¹, ⁵¹Juniper Pharmaceuticals, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.

Simba Gill⁵²,  ⁵²Evelo Biosciences, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA.

David V Goeddel⁵³,  ⁵³The Column Group, San Francisco, California, USA.

Mark A Goldsmith⁵⁴, ⁵⁴Revolution Medicines, Inc., Redwood City, California, USA.

Maxine Gowen⁵⁵,  ⁵⁵Trevena Inc., King of Prussia, Pennsylvania, USA.

Tom Graney⁵⁶, ⁵⁶ Ironwood Pharmaceuticals, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA. 

David Grayzel⁵⁷, ⁵⁷Atlas Venture, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA.

Barry Greene⁵⁸,  ⁵⁸Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA. 

Paul Grint⁵⁹, ⁵⁹Regulus Therapeutics, San Diego, California, USA.

J C Gutierrez-Ramos⁶⁰,  ⁶⁰Synlogic, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA.

Tuan Ha-Ngoc⁶¹,  ⁶¹KEW, Inc., Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA.

Bill Haney⁶²,  ⁶²Dragonfly Therapeutics, Inc., Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA.

Faheem Hasnain⁶³,  ⁶³FSG Biotech, San Diego, California, USA.

Yujiro Steve Hata⁶⁴,  ⁶⁴IDEAYA Biosciences, South San Francisco, California, USA.

Peter Hecht⁶⁵, ⁶⁵Ironwood Pharmaceuticals, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA. 

Rich Heyman⁶⁶, ⁶⁶Metacrine, Inc., San Diego, California, USA. 

Herve Hoppenot⁶⁷, ⁶⁷Incyte, Wilmington, Delaware, USA. 

H Robert Horvitz⁶⁸,  ⁶⁸Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA. 

Thomas E Hughes⁶⁹,  ⁶⁹Zafgen, Inc., Boston, Massachusetts, USA. 

Wende S Hutton⁷⁰, ⁷⁰Caanan Partners, Menlo Park, California, USA.

Annalisa Jenkins⁷¹,  ⁷¹Dimension Therapeutics, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA. 

Rachel King⁷², ⁷²GlycoMimetics, Inc., Rockville, Maryland, USA.

Vanessa King⁷³,  ⁷³Luc Therapeutics, Inc., Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA. 

Nina Kjellson⁷⁴, ⁷⁴Caanan Partners, Menlo Park, California, USA. 

Gerhard Koenig⁷⁵,⁷⁵Quartet Medicine, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA.

Scott Koenig⁷⁶, ⁷⁶MacroGenics, Inc., Rockville, Maryland, USA. 

Peter Kolchinsky⁷⁷, ⁷⁷RA Capital Management, LLC, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.

Paul Laikind⁷⁸,  ⁷⁸ViaCyte, Inc., San Diego, California, USA. 

Robert (Bob) Langer⁷⁹, ⁷⁹Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA.

John J Lee⁸⁰, ⁸⁰Decibel Therapeutics, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA.

Jonathan S Leff⁸¹,  ⁸¹Deerfield Management, New York, New York, USA..

Nick Leschly⁸²,  ⁸²Bluebird Bio, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA.

Mark Levin⁸³,  ⁸³Third Rock Ventures, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.

Arnold Levine⁸⁴,  ⁸⁴Institute for Advanced Study, Princeton, New Jersey, USA.

Alan Levy⁸⁵,  ⁸⁵Chrono Therapeutics, Hayward, California, USA.

David Liu⁸⁶,  ⁸⁶Editas Medicine, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA.

Harvey F Lodish⁸⁷, ⁸⁷Whitehead Institute MIT, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA.

Uri Lopatin⁸⁸,  ⁸⁸Assembly Biosciences, Carmel, Indiana, USA.

Ted W Love⁸⁹,  ⁸⁹Global Blood Therapeutics, South San Francisco, California, USA. 

Guy Macdonald⁹⁰, ⁹⁰Tetraphase, Watertown, Massachusetts, USA.

Gail J Maderis⁹¹, ⁹¹Antiva Biosciences, Inc., South San Francisco, California, USA.

Ankit Mahadevia⁹²,  ⁹²Spero Therapeutics, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA. 

Nagesh K Mahanthappa⁹³, ⁹³Scholar Rock, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA. 

Joel F Martin⁹⁴, ⁹⁴Dauntless Pharmaceuticals, Inc., San Diego, California, USA.

W Eddie Martucci⁹⁵,  ⁹⁵Akili Interactive, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.

James McArthur⁹⁶,  ⁹⁶Imara, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA. 

Corey M McCann⁹⁷, ⁹⁷Pear Therapeutics, Boston, Massachusetts, USA. 

Sean A McCarthy⁹⁸, ⁹⁸CytomX, South San Francisco, California, USA. 

C Geoffrey McDonough⁹⁹, ⁹⁹Sobi, Waltham, Massachusetts, USA.

John Mendlein¹⁰⁰, ¹⁰⁰aTyr Pharma, San Diego, California, USA

Diego Miralles¹⁰¹, ¹⁰¹Adaptive Biotechnologies, Seattle, Washington, USA. 

Kenneth I Moch¹⁰², ¹⁰²Cognition Therapeutics, Inc., Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA. 

Bob Moore¹⁰³, ¹⁰³Alta Partners, San Francisco, California, USA.

Andrew G Myers¹⁰⁴,  ¹⁰⁴Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA.

Michael A Narachi¹⁰⁵,  ¹⁰⁵Orexigen Therapeutics, La Jolla, California, USA.

Amir Nashat¹⁰⁶,  ¹⁰⁶Polaris Partners, Boston, Massachusetts, USA. 

William J Newell¹⁰⁷, ¹⁰⁷Sutro Biopharma, Inc., South San Francisco, California, USA. 

Bernat Olle¹⁰⁸, ¹⁰⁸Vedanta Biosciences, Inc., Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA. 

John E Osborn¹⁰⁹, ¹⁰⁹Egalet, Wayne, Pannsylvania, USA. 

Julia C Owens¹¹⁰, ¹¹⁰Millendo Therapeutics, Inc., Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA.

Atul Pande¹¹¹,  ¹¹¹Verity BioConsulting, San Diego, California, USA.

H Stewart Parker¹¹², ¹¹²Parker BioConsulting, Seattle, Washington, USA. 

Kush M Parmar¹¹³,¹¹³5AM Ventures, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.

Matthew R Patterson¹¹⁴, ¹¹⁴Audentes Therapeutics, Inc., San Francisco, California, USA.

Steve M Paul¹¹⁵,  ¹¹⁵Voyager Therapeutics, Inc., Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA.

Rob Perez¹¹⁶,  ¹¹⁶Life Science Cares, Boston, Massachusetts, USA. 

Matthew Perry¹¹⁷, ¹¹⁷BVF Partners, LP, San Francisco, California, USA.

Cary G Pfeffer¹¹⁸,  ¹¹⁸Third Rock Ventures, Boston, Massachusetts, USA. 

Mike Powell¹¹⁹, ¹¹⁹Sofinnova Ventures, Menlo Park, California, USA. 

Dennis J Purcell¹²⁰, ¹²⁰Aisling Capital LLC, New York, New York, USA.

Amit Rakhit¹²¹,  ¹²¹Ovid Therapeutics Inc., New York, New York, USA. 

Kartick Ramamoorthi¹²², ¹²²Encoded Genomics, South San Francisco, California, USA.

William Rastetter¹²³,  ¹²³Neurocrine Biosciences Inc., San Diego, California, USA. 

Adrian (Ad) Rawcliffe¹²⁴, ¹²⁴Adaptimmune, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA. 

Laurence E Reid¹²⁵, ¹²⁵Warp Drive Bio, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA.

Jason P Rhodes¹²⁶,  ¹²⁶Atlas Venture, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA.

William J Rieflin¹²⁷,  ¹²⁷NGM Biopharmaceuticals, Inc., South San Francisco, California, USA.

Chad Robins¹²⁸, ¹²⁸Adaptive Biotechnologies, Seattle, Washington, USA. 

Scott M Rocklage¹²⁹, ¹²⁹5AM Ventures, San Francisco, California, USA.

Michael Rosenblatt¹³⁰,  ¹³⁰Flagship Pioneering, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA. 

Jonathan G Rosin¹³¹, ¹³¹Ironwood Pharmaceuticals, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA.

William J Rutter¹³²,  ¹³²Synergenics, LLC, San Francisco, California, USA. 

Saurabh Saha¹³³, ¹³³Delinia, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA.

Camille Samuels¹³⁴,  ¹³⁴Venrock, Palo Alto, California, USA.

Vicki L Sato¹³⁵,  ¹³⁵Harvard Business School, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA.

George Scangos¹³⁶,  ¹³⁶Vir Bio, San Francisco, California, USA. 

John A Scarlett¹³⁷, ¹³⁷Geron Corporation, Menlo Park, California, USA.

Stuart L Schreiber¹³⁸,  ¹³⁸Broad Institute, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA. 

Andrew Schwab¹³⁹, ¹³⁹5AM Ventures, San Francisco, California, USA.

Paul Sekhri¹⁴⁰,  ¹⁴⁰Lycera Corporation, New York, New York, USA.

Thomas Shenk¹⁴¹,  ¹⁴¹Lewis Thomas Laboratory, Princeton University, Princeton, New Jersey, USA. 

Clay B Siegall¹⁴², ¹⁴²Seattle Genetics, Inc., Bothell, Washington, USA.

Nick J Simon¹⁴³,  ¹⁴³Clarus Ventures LLC, South San Francisco, California, USA.

Nancy Simonian¹⁴⁴, ¹⁴⁴Syros Pharmaceuticals, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA. 

Jeff Stein¹⁴⁵, ¹⁴⁵Cidara Therapeutics, San Diego, California, USA.

Michael Su¹⁴⁶,  ¹⁴⁶Decibel Therapeutics, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA.

Mary T Szela¹⁴⁷,  ¹⁴⁷Novelion Therapeutics, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.

Henri Termeer¹⁴⁸,  ¹⁴⁸Formerly of Genzyme, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA.

Nancy A Thornberry¹⁴⁹, ¹⁴⁹Kallyope, New York, New York, USA.

Martin Tolar¹⁵⁰,  ¹⁵⁰Alzheon, Framingham, Massachusetts, USA.

Richard Ulevitch¹⁵¹,  ¹⁵¹5AM Ventures, La Jolla, California, USA.

Akshay K Vaishnaw¹⁵²,  ¹⁵²Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA.

Anne VanLent¹⁵³,  ¹⁵³AMV Advisors, Princeton, New Jersey, USA.

George P Vlasuk¹⁵⁴,  ¹⁵⁴Navitor Pharmaceuticals, Inc., Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA. 

Michel Vounatsos¹⁵⁵, ¹⁵⁵Biogen, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA

Samuel G Waksal¹⁵⁶, .¹⁵⁶MeiraGTx, New York, New York, USA.

Neil Warma¹⁵⁷, ¹⁵⁷Opexa Therapeutics, Inc., The Woodlands, Texas, USA. 

Ryan J Watts¹⁵⁸,¹⁵⁸Denali Therapeutics, Inc., South San Francisco, California, USA. 

Yaron Werber¹⁵⁹, ¹⁵⁹Ovid Therapeutics, Inc., New York, New York, USA. 

Christoph Westphal¹⁶⁰, ¹⁶⁰Flex Pharma, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.

Wendell Wierenga¹⁶¹,  ¹⁶¹Crinetics Pharmaceuticals, San Diego, California, USA.

Doug E Williams¹⁶²,  ¹⁶²Codiak BioSciences, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA.

Lewis (Rusty) Williams¹⁶³, ¹⁶³Five Prime Therapeutics, Inc., South San Francisco, California, USA.

Kleanthis G Xanthopoulos¹⁶⁴,  ¹⁶⁴Cerus, La Jolla, California, USA.

Daphne Zohar^165  165PureTech Health, Boston, Massachusetts, USA. 

Sandford (Sandy) Zweifach¹⁶⁶¹⁶⁶Nuvelution Pharmaceuticals, Inc., South San Francisco, California, USA.