Flagship Ventures Tempts Former Merck CMO With 'Creative' Mentoring Role

When Merck & Co. Inc.'s former Chief Medical Officer Michael Rosenblatt retired earlier this year, he had no shortage of opportunities to go back to work, which is what he'll do in September as the CMO at Flagship Ventures – a newly created position in which Rosenblatt will mentor the venture capital firm's portfolio companies.

Flagship Ventures CMO Michael Rosenblatt

Flagship Ventures

"Flagship proposed something creative and compelling," Rosenblatt said in an interview, noting that this may be the first time a VC firm has hired a CMO. But now that Flagship's investment portfolio includes about 40 therapeutics companies with more than 40 clinical trials under way, it makes sense to have an in-house mentor to guide biopharma entrepreneurs through the research and development process. And Flagship's stable of startups will only keep growing, since the VC firm is in the middle of investing capital from a $537m fund it closed in 2015. (Also see "Biotech benefits as VC firms raise cash in Q2" - Scrip, 11 Jul, 2015.)

"It used to be that you got a drug approved and that got you to the goal line. Now, you have to prove to insurers and payers around the world the value of the drug," Rosenblatt said. "Now we're bringing that perspective to early innovation, getting biotechs to think about not only how you would make this a drug that gets approved, but also how to demonstrate the value to patients and society."

The patient perspective has become vital in drug development, so that companies understand what patients need – and what they don't – from new medicines. The US FDA has made it clear, he noted, that it wants industry to listen to patients.

"It must be a conversation. We have to listen to what the patient is telling us and give the patient some useful information back," Rosenblatt said. (Also see "Drug Development Must Be Patient-Centric; Adherence Schemes Must Follow" - Pink Sheet, 27 Mar, 2014.)

With experience working in both pharma and academia, Rosenblatt also hopes to help Flagship build new bridges between academic researchers and biotechnology entrepreneurs who may able to translate basic science into new medicines.

"No one can really do it all on their own anymore. Doing translational research is a team sport," he said. "I think I'll be able to help with some of the connections between leaders in industry and in academia and now in biotech."

Flagship is counting on Rosenblatt's connections as well as his experience to help the VC firm find new science and fund successful companies.

"As Flagship's CMO, he will play a key role in our partnerships with academic researchers and biopharmaceutical partners, and will support and guide Flagship companies as they conduct clinical research at a rapidly increasing scale," the VC firm's founder and CEO Noubar Afeyan said in a statement.

Academia + Pharma Experience = Biotech Mentor

Rosenblatt's mix of pharma and academic experience includes medical school at Harvard University; an internship, residency and endocrinology training at [Massachusetts General Hospital], where he was Chief of the Endocrine Unit; two separate professorships at Harvard Medical School; and serving at various times as President of Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (BIDMC), Harvard Faculty Dean and Senior Vice President for Academic Programs at BIDMC, Director of the Harvard-MIT Division of Health Sciences and Technology, and Dean of Tufts University School of Medicine.

After Mass General, but before returning to Harvard to teach, Rosenblatt was Senior Vice President for Research at Merck Sharp & Dohme Ltd. for almost 10 years starting in 1984. He co-led development for the osteoporosis drug Fosamax (alendronate), helped lead international research efforts, established two basic research institutes, and led the big pharma's University and Industry Relations Department. He joined Merck again in 2009 as CMO after leaving Tufts. (Also see "Dr Michael Rosenblatt joins Merck & Co" - Scrip, 18 Dec, 2009.)

However, Rosenblatt never has worked in biotech on a day-to-day basis, although he has been a founding scientist, scientific advisory board member, or a member of the board of director for several biopharma companies. He's a founder of Radius Health Inc., which is seeking approval in the US and EU for an osteoporosis drug, and he's a board member at the Flagship-funded startup Rubius Therapeutics, which closed a $25m Series A round in December. (Also see "Radius Stock Rides Rollercoaster After ASBMR Bone Data" - Scrip, 23 Oct, 2015.) (Also see "Startups Stand Out As 13 Biotechs Raise More Than $409m" - Scrip, 18 Dec, 2015.)

"I have been a founder of three biotech companies, but I've never actually lived in one," Rosenblatt said. "It's very attractive to me to go into that sector now, because of the amount of innovation that's popping up."

When he begins working at Flagship full time on Sept. 12, Rosenblatt expects to interact with the VC firm's companies in three main ways: offering advice on drug development as needed, assisting companies that run into problems, or helping first-time CEOs at Flagship-funded ventures, including startups created in the VC firm's VentureLabs.

Rosenblatt's move to join Flagship is part of a growing trend of pharma veterans leaving those roles to eventually pursue entrepreneurial biotech ventures. Former Sanofi CEO Christopher Viehbacher, for instance, joined the $2bn health care-focused private equity fund Gurnet Point Capital in mid-2015 and he's since become chairman of the Gurnet Point-backed Boston Pharmaceuticals Inc. (Also see "Viehbacher surfaces at $2bn Bertarelli fund" - Scrip, 24 Jun, 2015.) (Also see "Boston Pharmaceuticals: A New Model To De-Risk Drugs" - Scrip, 30 Dec, 2015.)

As for Rosenblatt's foray into biotech, he said, "I like a situation where I can learn something from the other party, but I can also bring something to them. I get very energized by that."