Industry Insights: Early-Stage Companies and Venture Capital in the Biotech Sector

Dr. Adam Hansen is an accomplished scientist and entrepreneur who has dedicated his career to relieving human suffering through the advancement of precision medicine. He founded and leads Geneial, a private exchange for genetic and patient-reported outcomes data. Less than two years after completion of his doctoral training, Dr. Hansen and team were awarded a $2.3M fast-track Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) grant from NHGRI. He serves as Principal Investigator, Founder, and CEO at Geneial and is a co-inventor of three international patent applications (pending).

Liz Todia is a Principal at Mutual Capital Partners, a Cleveland-based venture capital fund that invests in healthcare IT and medical device companies. Liz manages all deal flow and due diligence for the fund, as well as supporting portfolio companies and overseeing LP relations. She has been on the team since graduating from the University of Dayton in 2017 where she received a BS in Entrepreneurship and Finance with honors.  Prior to joining Mutual Capital Partners and while at Dayton, she spent two years managing the Flyer Angels Fund, a $1 million seed investment fund investing in early stage, Ohio-based technology companies. Liz currently serves as Executive Co-Chair of the nonprofit VentureNext, the premier peer group of rising venture capital investors that work with, manage, and run venture capital investment funds. Under Liz’s leadership the group has grown to over 200 funds across the country with a collective $59B AUM, and has been responsible for over $800M of syndication in investments across the Midwest. 

Noah Wolfson is a biotech professional with 15+ years managing program execution in the biotech, consulting, and academic spaces.  After getting his PhD in biochemistry from the University of Michigan Noah went on to hold a number of positions in companies including Ophthotech, Molekule Consulting, Aceragen, and Arnasi Group. During his time at these organizations he helped developed medical and commercial strategies for 8+ commercial and pre-commercial medical products.