Looks like Solstice Biologics, the tumultuous San Diego biotech that’s developing some promising RNAi therapeutics, continues its rocky gait – it appears to be sans a CEO.
Through a regulatory filing, we learn it’s just raised a small cache of cash: It has brought in $4 million from two investors. But the filing says much more: Namely, that the company’s been under new management since this past June.
Now, Solstice Biologics was famously enmeshed in an attempted murder trial right around its 2013 founding – when Hans Peterson shot his old partner and Solstice’s academic founder, Steven Dowdy. This brought far more attention to Solstice’s drama than to its core science – creating a delivery mechanism to allow RNA therapeutics to penetrate tissues.
But Lou Tartaglia, a former partner at Boston-based Third Rock Ventures with a long history in successful startup launch, joined Solstice in June 2014 – an indication that the broader investment community stood behind the company’s RNAi science.
However, as of this past June, Tartaglia is “temporarily retired,” according to his LinkedIn profile – and the reins of CEO have been assumed by Dr. Corey Goodman, a partner at life sciences investment firm venBio. Goodman was considered the startup’s CEO before Tartaglia’s hire.
While Solstice announced the hire of Tartaglia some aplomb, it has been a little quieter about the fact that it’s effectively down a CEO. Inquiries to Solstice surrounding how it’ll use the new funding – and its leadership status – have yet to be answered.
However, it looks like Tartaglia has landed back in the Boston venture capital world – he’s been appointed CEO of 5am Ventures’ incubator, called the 4:59 Initiative. His role there will be much like his role at Third Rock: Forming and incubating biotech companies.
A Deep-dive Into Specialty Pharma
A specialty drug is a class of prescription medications used to treat complex, chronic or rare medical conditions. Although this classification was originally intended to define the treatment of rare, also termed “orphan” diseases, affecting fewer than 200,000 people in the US, more recently, specialty drugs have emerged as the cornerstone of treatment for chronic and complex diseases such as cancer, autoimmune conditions, diabetes, hepatitis C, and HIV/AIDS.
This latest $4 million for Solstice builds on top of the $18 million Series A the company’s raised since its 2013 founding – backed largely by venBio and Aeris Capital AG. Given its uncommonly rocky start, it’ll be interesting to see where it takes its challenging – but promising – RNAi therapeutics.
