Why Young Scientists Ditch Postdocs For Biotech Startups
Vindication was three years coming for Ethan Perlstein. On 19 October, his California biotechnology company, Perlara, announced a deal with Novartis. The Swiss drug giant will test a compound that Perlara has identified as a possible treatment for a rare childhood disease, and will invest an undisclosed sum in the smaller firm.
Numerous biotech investors turned Perlstein away before he started Perlara in San Francisco in 2014, because he wasn’t the tenured professor that most venture capitalists saw as founder material. “They pretty much told me to take a hike,” he recalls.
Numerous biotech investors turned Perlstein away before he started Perlara in San Francisco in 2014, because he wasn’t the tenured professor that most venture capitalists saw as founder material. “They pretty much told me to take a hike,” he recalls.