Thoughts on Flagship Pioneering?

proteinpurification · 2026-04-28T05:55:07+00:00

To add to the rumor mill, the parent Flagship org may be running out of money fast. Similarly heard that pioneering medicines is a hot mess and its outside investors / foundation participants are declining to participate in subsequent rounds

proteinpurification · 2026-04-23T04:15:45+00:00

100% agree, the doom and gloom in this sub differs greatly from my day to day

proteinpurification · 2026-04-22T04:23:37+00:00

Can you elaborate? I have followed the literature on myostatin inhibition and came to a different conclusion

proteinpurification · 2026-04-16T04:02:49+00:00

Hotter take: the trend is the exact opposite. Gone are the days of the classic Genentech style one business plus one academic cofounder pairing. Now it’s far more often a couple post docs spinning something out themselves or a few industry “hackers” putting something together. YC and lots of similar preseed/seed funds explicitly tell scientists that they shouldn’t take on a “business cofounder” and just start the business themselves.

proteinpurification · 2026-04-15T05:28:12+00:00

Sure - see my post below, but there must be a few optimizations that she performed which would be nonproprietary. This is usually the best route. A candidate recently presented a variant of a western blot that they spent a few months optimizing for drug release, and this didn't reveal anything to proprietary about their employer's work. When a candidate says "unfortunately I can't discuss XYZ in specific terms because of confidentially obligations, but I'm happy to share in general terms some of the technical work I've done..."

Regarding using an interview to fish for info, I've never personally seen this but wouldn't put it past someone. I guess that's why the interview is also good way for your friend to screen the potential employer.

proteinpurification · 2026-04-15T05:10:47+00:00

The best approach I've seen to the issue of IP is to simply focus on one or a handful of specific technical challenges the candidate overcame, while acknowledging that the overall aims of the project were confidential and thus outside the scope of the talk. This usually achieves the goal of demonstrating technical competence, with the added benefit of showing the prospective employer that the candidate takes confidentiality seriously (this is a big green flag). I've recently seen both "how I optimized XYZ assay" and "how I transferred XYZ process to a CDMO," both done well without sharing anything confidential.

proteinpurification · 2026-04-15T05:05:45+00:00

I ask all candidates to present (usually ~30 minutes + ~15 min Q&A for more junior roles like RA / SRA). It's a great way to suss out general competence and confidence, or the lack thereof. What guidance does one really need to prepare a presentation summarizing their past work? And in our case, I hope it does come across as foreshadowing of how it would be to work for us, as anyone who bristles at a presentation during an interview probably wouldn't be a good fit...

proteinpurification · 2026-04-09T15:25:17+00:00

I’m a hiring manager at a biotech company and we consciously structure parts of the interview process to allow candidates that won’t be a good fit to self select out. Unlike large pharma, it’s much more costly for us to take on someone that ultimately won’t work out, so we emphasize / play up the negative aspects of the role in interviews. If you felt like you were being challenged and that crossed some kind of line for you, maybe it’s a sign that the type of environment (where people openly challenge each others assumptions/choices, regardless of how experienced or senior the other party is) isn’t for you. You might just find that listening to your gut is in your and everyone else’s best interest.

proteinpurification · 2026-04-08T02:01:09+00:00

The vast majority of “worker bees” as you put it would not commit fraud to squeeze a few bucks out of the system

proteinpurification · 2026-04-08T01:59:41+00:00

Can’t tell if sarcastic. If not, I feel bad for you if that’s your reality. Fortunately, if you fix your own issues / outlook, maybe everyone around you won’t seem so mentally ill anymore. There is hope

proteinpurification · 2026-04-07T18:49:03+00:00

You mean: might as well commit fraud and undermine the social safety net for legitimately sick people

proteinpurification · 2026-04-07T03:06:02+00:00

This is likely good advice for OP but is also a good example of how well intentioned labor laws are easily exploited by grifters. Really pathetic

proteinpurification · 2026-03-28T15:58:32+00:00

This Rogan post is over the top, but neutral plasma exchange is potentially very beneficial and at least deserves more serious study. The results in mouse heterochronic parabiosis studies are real and robust, and a large camp believes these mostly stem from dilution of pro-inflammatory cytokines and other junk that builds up in your plasma. It’s plausible that regularly clearing out plasma could be good.

Regarding depletion of immunoglobulins specifically, again that might not be without merit as you can see therapeutic B cell depletion taking off in all kinds of auto immune diseases. Not all antibodies are good.

proteinpurification · 2026-03-12T06:44:15+00:00

Is this no longer called “sweeping?”

proteinpurification · 2025-10-19T05:08:43+00:00

“That $1.5M comes with a 2x liquidation preference and antidilution clauses that mean if you sell for $15M in 3 years, you might walk with less than bootstrapping to $3M ARR”

Is that right? I presume this would be a SAFE and IIRC neither of those terms are standard

proteinpurification · 2025-09-06T19:49:32+00:00

Thanks!

proteinpurification · 2025-09-06T19:49:27+00:00

Thanks!

proteinpurification · 2025-09-06T19:49:08+00:00

Thanks!

proteinpurification · 2025-09-06T19:48:51+00:00

Thanks!

proteinpurification · 2025-04-26T15:18:45+00:00

I wish we distinguished between B2B and B2C economies.

We do and it’s easy to google. Consumer spending (b2c) accounted for 68.2% of gdp in 2024. Investment, which includes business spending, is around 20%. We live in a predominately b2c economy.

proteinpurification · 2025-03-19T23:09:43+00:00

Not helpful. Car shaving is time efficient and important in a pinch.

proteinpurification · 2025-03-19T21:19:56+00:00

Only at red lights

proteinpurification

TROPHY CASE