Blackbird Labs is a life sciences accelerator with a mission to develop Baltimore’s biotech startup ecosystem. Funded by the owners of the Baltimore Ravens, Blackbird’s focus is on bridging the gap between research labs and clinical trials.
In Episode #32, Andy Rogers of Key Tech talks with Blackbird Labs CEO Matt Tremblay about Blackbird’s integrated initiative to foster life science and biotech research in Baltimore.
Need to know
Building Baltimore’s biotech infrastructure — The Baltimore area is home to some of the nation’s top biotech research institutions with lots of mid-career talent, but a relatively underdeveloped investor ecosystem compared to Silicon Valley.
Building a thriving ecosystem — With a mission to foster entrepreneurship and reduce Baltimore’s opportunity gap, Baltimore Ravens owner Steve Bisciotti’s family foundation wants to develop the region’s biotech innovation.
Blackbird Labs gets innovations out of the lab — A $100 million founding grant will let Blackbird Labs accelerate life sciences innovation by helping promising research cross the gap separating the lab from the market.
Blackbird Bioventures moves startups towards the market — Making seed-stage investments and cultivating a network of investors, advisors, and leaders will help biotech startups shift from research to clinical trials.
The nitty-gritty
Blackbird Labs and Blackbird Bioventures address a significant hurdle preventing novel therapies and technologies from reaching the market. A laboratory discovery is too risky for investors. There are too many open questions concerning safety and efficacy.
“When a new therapeutic is identified,” Tremblay explains, “we can’t just immediately go into a clinical study.”
Blackbird Labs attacks the problem from one end by funding research at universities and contract labs that no longer fits within the academic systems of publications and grant-making.
“What you may need is another one to two years of very focused research to create the data that will then draw in investors that can support the development of this technology all the way to market.”
That is when Blackbird Bioventures enters the picture. Startups need capital to prepare for and enter clinical trials, which Blackbird’s early seed investments and investor networks help provide. Since its launch last November, Tremblay’s organization has already awarded grants to six research teams and invested in four existing startups.
Data that made the difference:
“An important element of our business model is syndicating with other investors but also strategic partners like Big Pharma,” Tremblay says. “We have a few different layers of challenges to overcome. We’re not just looking at… commercial potential, but we also have to look at the feasibility on a one to three-year timescale.”
The goal is to generate what Tremblay calls “prudent principal data” to excite potential investors. This data must meet two criteria. First, is there a strong mechanistic underpinning for therapy’s efficacy? Second, can the project generate clinical data on a meaningful timescale to show that the therapeutic works?
Blackbird’s data and investments, Trembly explains, “is a signal to the market that this is an important technology. The goal is then to bring investors from within the Baltimore ecosystem — but importantly from outside of the mid-Atlantic —folks that are investing in very high-quality companies in Boston and San Francisco to look at what we’re building here.”