“I’m all in.” Immunectra’s founder left her faculty position to form groundbreaking company
Caroline Vissers left a faculty position at UCSF to run her startup full-time. What outside support was necessary to make her career change viable, rather than a leap of faith? See where QB3’s Innovation Discovery and Early Stage Mentoring programs factored in, below.
Meet Caroline and her company, Immunectra
Navigating autoimmune diagnosis can be a nightmare. Patients may spend years with unexplained symptoms, seeking opinions from doctor after doctor, being subjected to test after test without answers. By the time a patient gets diagnosed, often long past disease onset, permanent damage may already be done. Immunectra saw a better way. What if a diagnostic tool looked at the immune system itself, instead of symptoms?
Antibody history serves as a record of infection: a patient’s antibodies illustrate what illnesses they’ve had and anything they are currently fighting. Harnessing antibody history, a team of UCSF faculty, including Caroline Vissers, Joe DeRisi (cofounder and professor of biochemistry and biophysics at UCSF), and Michael Wilson (professor of neurology at UCSF), developed biomarker-based tests that can aid in autoimmune diagnosis by testing for a disease’s unique antibody fingerprint. They spun this out into a startup, Immunectra, which is using this technology to target multiple sclerosis first — a degenerative disorder where early diagnosis can change patient outcomes drastically.
Early-Stage Mentoring connects Immunectra to its market
Caroline had begun a career at one of the world’s top research universities, but she knew that focusing on her startup would change lives faster. Even with field-leading cofounders Joe DeRisi and Michael Wilson at her side, she needed more support to make the shift tenable.
Academic groups and tech transfer offices only took her so far — many of her questions and needs were just too specialized. Searching for another outlet, she turned to Regis Kelly, former QB3 director and UCSF neuroscientist. Having led QB3 for over a decade, he knew exactly where to send her.
In QB3, the UC-affiliated champion of early-stage biotech entrepreneurship, Caroline found a partner that could meet all her needs. “They put people on your team who see the gaps you don’t know exist and can help you fill them before it ever becomes a problem,” she says.
She joined QB3’s Early-Stage Mentoring program and was matched with Mickey Urdea, a leading figure in the diagnostics field and founder of the consulting firm Halteres Associates. Mickey was an “unbelievable fit” according to Caroline. He was conducting a health economics study on early diagnosis in MS, knew every hurdle she would run into, and could answer specific questions about economic modeling and reimbursement. For his part, Mickey was impressed. “Caroline and the Immunectra team are on a path to make a huge contribution to multiple sclerosis care,” he says.
With Innovation Discovery’s support, Immunectra reaches investors
Bolstered by Mickey’s knowledge and network, Caroline turned to raising capital and joined another QB3 program: Innovation Discovery. She began working with Katarina (Kat) Klett, who was able to match her with investors tailored to Immunectra’s technology, providing countless warm introductions.
Kat was a sounding board before and after every pitch. “I could always call Kat and debrief with her,” Caroline says. “If it was before a meeting — was there anything that I was missing? Or after, having Kat to talk to was a necessary way to process what had happened and think strategically about what we should do next.”
With Caroline’s questions answered and connections with investors formed, she left her position at UCSF to steer Immunectra full time.
“QB3’s singular goal is to drive your success. There is no other entity like it”
—Caroline Vissers
What’s next for Immunectra?
Immunectra is building up momentum. Recently, Caroline won a $100K proof-of-concept award from QB3, which she pitched for the first day after officially leaving UCSF to lead the company. “I’m all in!” she said at the pitch session. UCSF Innovation Ventures also honored Immunectra with the Weill Institute-Catalyst Final Award. Caroline’s vision is for Immunectra to become a dominating force in autoimmunity, and the company is well on its way: it will soon be expanding beyond MS to lupus.
Caroline reflects on her experience with QB3: “QB3’s singular goal is to drive your success. There is no other entity like it.” Caroline had the option to play it safe and to stay in her faculty position at UCSF. By coupling her conviction and scientific savvy with the drive of QB3’s support, she launched her dream company instead.
Does your story mirror Caroline’s? Looking for guidance on early stage company creation? Reach out to QB3’s Innovation Discovery and Early-Stage Mentoring!
