Katherine Bowdish: I had a variety of experience while navigating science early on in my career and I found that I was really interested in intricate biological pathways. There were no scientists in my family to help chart the course, so before I started my PhD I spent time exploring different scientific environments. including two positions in academic institutes. I was lucky because one of these was at The Scripps Research Institute, which was a very entrepreneurial environment. At the time, I also chose to spend time in a corporate or more applied scientific setting. I went to graduate school and then did a post-doc, after which I decided to launch a company, Prolifaron, that combined much of my earlier research. I stayed with that company for 10 years through partnerships, an acquisition and beyond. But I still had the biotech bug in my system and I went on to lead two other early-stage companies: Anaphore (now Birdrock Bio); and Permeon Biologics, a company developing a novel approach to intracellular delivery of biological therapies. During all this time in my career I actively said no to moving into large pharma until I received a called from Sanofi. This role leading Sunrise felt different: I was brought in to launch a unit to invest and simultaneously partner with leading scientists. The goal was to bridge gaps and accelerate the science.

Profile: Katherine Bowdish, Sanofi’s Early Science Investment Scout

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