Dearest Brazeryens: The latest in AIā¦ Sora hamburger surge pricing.
[Welcome to Issue Number 51 ofĀ The House Brazeryen, where we break down the latestĀ #startup, #biotech, and #ScientistCEO-related news for you fortnightly, in roughly 5 minutes. Brought to you byĀ Brazen Bio, Brazen CapitalĀ andĀ brainsurgerydropout.]
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Introducing āEmiliaā (aka BrazenGPT š¤)
by W. Shawn Carbonell, MD, PhD ā May I interest you in a FREE ChatGPT tailored for biotech startups and aspiring scientist-CEOs?
Welcome, ā”ļø EMILIA ā¬ ļø aka BrazenGPT (hosted by HuggingFace).
š„ DRACARYS
Given the AI-mania of late, Iāve been digging in to this technology (daily) which promises to completely change the world (possibly by killing literally everyone).
So, why not learn in context by assembling our own custom AI chatbot?
š MAKING OF THE SAUSAGE
The first step was tuning the model with a source prompt biased to founder-led bio. I then demoed it through three popular open source LLMs and ultimately landed on Mixtral 8x7B which was the most accurate (if not a tad wordy). Metaās Llama2 was very good *most* of the time but often too verbose.
Speaking of meta, I used Anthropicās ClaudeGPT to ask which of the other open source models I should test and Claude suggested CodeLlama (optimized for writing code). I protested, but Claude insisted so I went ahead and tried it.
To Claudeās credit, I really liked CodeLlamaās more playful language, liberal and surprisingly accurate use of emojis, and more succinct answers. Unfortunately, it brain farted nearly a dozen times rendering it completely unusable.
š TAKING EMILIA FOR A SPIN
Emilia is tuned for biotech, but it is always helpful to be as detailed as possible in your prompts for best results.
Are you founder-curious and donāt know where to start? Ask Emilia, āIām a post-doc who made a recent discovery in the laboratory that I think could lead to a promising new cancer therapeutic. What is the first step?ā
Did you win a big grant or business plan competition and youāre not incorporated yet? Ask Emilia, āI won a [major business plan competition] for my biotech startup, but havenāt set up an entity or bank account yet. How should I proceed?ā
Are you a potential scientist-CEO and donāt know how much equity to give to your PI who probably didnāt contribute much to your discovery and probably will continue to contribute little to your young startup? Ask Emilia, āI donāt know how much equity to give to my PI (principal investigator of my lab) who probably didnāt contribute much to my discovery and probably will continue to contribute little to my young startup.ā
Are you a founder who received a pre-seed term sheet from a smaller VC with a double-ratchet clause? You should probably just run from that VC, but if you insist, ask Emilia, āMy biotech startup received a term sheet from a VC for my pre-seed round which contains a double ratchet clause. Help me understand the implications and suggest potential alternatives to consider in negotiations.ā
Have you chosen a lead candidate therapeutic antibody and had questions about various aspects of manufacturability? Ask Emilia, among other things, āWe have identified a putative lead candidate for our therapeutic monoclonal antibody. What methods are available to test for aggregation? What are the gold standard methods and how many should we use?ā
PS: YES, you can use Emilia to ask about virtually anything beyond biotechnology, however, she may get testy and redirect you with unsolicited biotech banter.
BRAZEN BREAKDOWN
Please give Emilia (URL shortcut: bit.ly/brazengpt) a try and let us know what you think.*
We will continue to fine-tune things under the hood based on your feedback and as the platform allows for additional functionality. Alternatively, we may DESTROY her.
*It goes without saying that Emilia is for informational purposes only and you should consult qualified legal, financial, medical, and other professional advisors before making important decisions.
VC CORNER: Tech Transfer (Pt. 3)ā¦ Has Bayh-Dole Worked?
byĀ Scott Alpizar, PhDĀ ā Weāve been talking about how modern-day technology transfer came to be, from the push to fund more science after World War II to the championing and signing of the Bayh-Dole Act in 1980. While the goal of Bayh-Dole was to incentivize the patenting of technology-based inventions originating from federally-funded research, has it actually worked? Forty plus years later, letās break it down!
BRAZEN BREAKDOWN
Remember, innovation was stagnant before Bayh-Doleāintellectual property protections and exclusive licenses were hard to come by and investors were not making the investments needed to truly move technologies forward.
The Impact
Over 200 drugs and vaccines have been developed and approved since it was passed. Countless lives that have been impacted from work created at universities and licensed into the private sector. There has also been economic impact with Bayh-Dole contributing to over $1.3 trillion in economic growth, over 4 million jobs, and over 11,000 new startup companies.
With numbers like those, we canāt deny Bayh-Doleās massive impactāit pushed universities to work more closely with industry and created a stronger model for commercialization.
The Problems
Although there has been tremendous impact, there have also been issues. Bayh-Dole created the profession of tech transfer without any standardization.
I know that without these offices many impactful technologies would still be stuck on a shelf somewhere, but you already know I see major problems with their approach to patenting and licensing. The hope that less restrictions on patenting would transform universities into entrepreneurial institutions that churn out successful spin-off companies did not quite come to fruition.
āAnd since the universities are more motivated to generate revenue than start successful companies, there is a strain on the relationship between academia and industry.ā
The number of patents coming from university research has increased, but it brought with it an overly restrictive licensing mentality that has made it difficult to spin companies out. The bureaucracy was essentially shifted from the government to universities. And since the universities are more motivated to generate revenue than start successful companies, there is a strain on the relationship between academia and industry.
There are also more recent concerns about how the government using their āmarch-in rightsā to control drug pricing may impact licensing and collaboration. Itās brought Bayh-Dole back into conversations and has led to legislators spearheading efforts to take a comprehensive look at the act to determine if itās āburdensome and outdatedā policies still serve their purpose effectively or if changes are needed. I am personally quite interested to see how this turns out.
Bayh-Doleās impact is undeniable, but we need new, standardized policies guiding patenting and technology transfer to truly unlock innovation and empower successful startup companies in the current world.
š BRAZEN THOUGHTS
āEvery startup is a disaster until itās suddenly not.ā
āDavid Friedberg, All-In Podcast
š BRAZEN SNAX
āš¾ Community-generated list of Black founders and investors to know in 2024
š First human Neuralink patient able to control mouse with mind
š§¬ Identification of a novel diagnostic for neurodivergence: grad school
š° Become a Brazen Capital LP! Rich folks need only apply (no really! itās the law)
š King Cobra AND Green Mamba owners rejoice thanks to Scripps scientists
š āWeāve landed on the moon!ā (Again)
šļø Biotech layoff trackerā¦ 2024 so far
ā° TikTokCrak:Ā Watch Nina recover from Guillain-BarrĆ© paralysis
šŖ CARVEOUT
The best way to learn about VC as a startup founder is still the book Venture Deals (featured previously as a carveout). However, it is probably too technical for the layperson or someone newly interested in startups and venture to casually read.
Hustle Fund VC solved this problem with their *FREE* 148-page book Raise Millions: The ultimate guide to fundraising for first-time founders. It is excellent and very accessible. You can download it *FREE* HERE (caveatā¦ it is a ālead magnetā so you do have to provide your name and email) .
šš½ A DOSE OF GRATITUDE
We are grateful for HuggingFace.co for hosting custom open source GPTs including BrazenGPT, Emilia!
š BRAZEN MEME
āļø FEEDBACK
Leave a comment and letās continue the conversation on X:Ā @brazencapital
This is awesome as always! Love the Emilia bot :)