“The time I spent with my CRT mentor was very rewarding. Their advice was invaluable, and covered everything from guidance on fundamental management issues to the detailed terms of a complex technology transfer deal. I was truly touched by the spirit of this mentorship. When I have sufficient experience behind me, I would like to pay back this gift by serving as a mentor as well.”
Lin Wang, Co-CEO
Allele Biotechnology
Allele Biotechnology and Pharmaceuticals is a San Diego company with a passion for life sciences discovery. Privately owned, the company has three lines of business: Oligo manufacture & molecular biology services, genomics and proteomics research, and RNAi-based gene silencing kits.
Allele was incorporated in 1999 as a biotechnology discovery company. In 2001, Allele’s R&D effort has yielded a breakthrough in ease-of-use for the broadly applicable RNA interference technique: the LineSilence™ platform, the basis of Allele’s core technology. Allele has been awarded 5 SBIR grants from the NIH. It also has a profitable oligo manufacture and molecular biology service business that augments its research activities. The Allele team has used this as a base from which to extend research operations, allowing the company to explore further in the extremely active RNAi field. Ongoing projects include novel transfection tools, RNA signal amplification, and antibody selection.
Annual Revenue: over $700,000
No. of Employees: 5 ft/2 pt
No. of Clients: over 100
The quest for the appropriate mentorship proved to be as challenging as the work in the lab. “Finding someone who understood our business proved to be very difficult,” said Lin Wang, Ph.D. co-CEO, Allele. “The biotech industry is not only highly complex, but also relatively young, making seasoned expertise difficult to find. I approached the SBA and SCORE, but they didn’t have anyone appropriate to assign to us at the moment. There aren’t too many retired biotech executives out there waiting for a coaching assignment.”
Discovering CRT
After completing the review process, Allele was approved as a CRT candidate for mentorship. “I was amazed by our mentor’s understanding of our business,” said Wang. “His depth of understanding of biotechnology and the challenges faced by an emerging company made it easy for me to communicate with him. As a result, the learning experience was very efficient and highly rewarding.”
Doing the Deal
CRT provided hands-on coaching throughout the deal-making process. “We were negotiating with a large company and a CEO who had a great deal more business experience than we did,” said Wang. “This could have made for a very intimidating experience, but after careful scrutiny of the terms and strategic coaching by our mentor, we were able to conduct the negotiations with confidence.”
A Once in A Lifetime Opportunity
“Working with CRT is a once in a lifetime opportunity for an entrepreneur,” said Wang. “If you take it seriously, communicate openly and commit to the process, you will really benefit from it. I have grown both professionally and personally from my CRT experience.”
- Clarifying business model for the company
- Negotiating first technology transfer deal
- Fundraising strategy for growth
- Establishing operational and managerial procedures
- Evaluate alternative business models and formulate a business plan around the adopted model
- Coached through each step of the technology transfer deal – making very specific recommendations throughout the deal-making process
- Based on current climate, fund through grants, research support payments and product sales
- Suggestions and guidelines for working processes
- Selected a business model that best fit team and resources
- Successfully concluded negotiations on technology transfer deal
- Continued to grow organically
- Gradual implementation of processes into daily operation