Sandeep Kulkarni, a co-founder and board member at Zura Bio before becoming CEO, highlights this path's advantage. It avoids the challenges external CEOs face in learning the assets, people, and culture, and prevents the mistake of simply reapplying a generic playbook that may not fit the company's unique situation.
Despite having three assets, Zura Bio's strategy is to be ruthless with capital allocation. The primary focus—development dollars, time, and team attention—is overwhelmingly on its lead program. This demonstrates that a portfolio approach still demands singular, disciplined focus on the most promising asset to succeed.
Sandeep Kulkarni's experience as a public market investor ingrained a constant awareness of capital allocation, competitive threats, and creating options. This external lens, often differing from a purely scientific founder's internal focus, helps in making pragmatic, value-driven decisions and navigating market dynamics.
Founders must balance scientific conviction with market feedback. Kulkarni shares that his team abandoned pursuing certain indications that, while scientifically sound, failed to gain investor traction. This shows the critical need to pivot based on market signals, not just internal belief, to ensure continued funding and support.
Sandeep Kulkarni shares a framework from his chairman, Clay Siegall: a biotech can fail, get acquired after short-term success, get acquired after long-term success, or achieve rare 'escape velocity' to stay independent. This pragmatic view frames acquisition not as a lesser option but as a primary successful outcome for most.
Instead of waiting for a formal sale process, Tourmaline began discussions with strategic partners as soon as their Phase 2 trial started. This proactive approach is about creating future options, gauging interest, and building relationships long before an exit is imminent, a crucial strategy for capital-intensive drug development.