SAN FRANCISCO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--California Life Sciences Institute (CLSI), the non-profit affiliate of California Life Sciences Association (CLSA), has appointed Colleen Cutcliffe, Ph.D., CEO and Co-Founder of Pendulum Therapeutics as the Chair to its board of directors. Dr. Cutcliffe will serve as board chair to lend her valuable expertise in life sciences entrepreneurship and corporate leadership to support CLSI’s mission of ensuring California’s leadership in life sciences innovation through support of entrepreneurship, education, and career development.
“California is a flourishing life sciences ecosystem fueled by pioneering spirit and experience, and Colleen truly embodies that spirit as the leader of a successful young company,” said Lori Lindburg, President & CEO of CLSI. “We are excited to have Dr. Cutcliffe assume the helm of the CLSI board of directors, as her dynamic leadership will be greatly beneficial as we continue to develop the innovation pipeline for the industry and cultivate strategic partnerships designed to strengthen the life sciences economic and intellectual influence in California.”
Dr. Cutcliffe is the Co-founder and CEO of Pendulum Therapeutics (formerly Whole Biome), an evidence-based microbiome company that is taking an integrated approach to analyzing and identifying bacteria in the microbiome in order to develop novel interventions that positively affect human health and disease management. She is also an alumna of CLSI’s FAST Advisory Program, having been selected to participate with fellow entrepreneurs in the second cohort of the 12-week program back in spring of 2014. The renown FAST program provides select entrepreneurs with intensive team review and coaching to perfect their business model, product development, and commercialization strategy.
“Just as my company benefited from the California Life Sciences Institute, I look forward to working with a dynamic team and board to ensure that CLSI continues to lead and support initiatives that will bring life-changing innovations in life sciences,” said Dr. Cutcliffe, CEO and Co-Founder of Pendulum Therapeutics.
Dr. Cutcliffe brings more than 20 years of experience managing teams in academia, pharmaceuticals, and biotechnology, having previously held roles at Pacific Biosciences and Elan Pharmaceuticals. She earned her Ph.D. in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology from Johns Hopkins University and her B.A. in Biochemistry from Wellesley College.
To learn more about the initiatives of California Life Sciences Institute and its offerings, please visit www.https://califesciencesinstitute.org/.
FAST Success
CLSI’s Fellows All-Star Team (FAST) Advisory Program provides entrepreneurs with coaching to perfect their business model, product development plans, and build a compelling commercialization strategy. Since launching in Fall 2013, the FAST program has graduated 65 companies, four of which have been acquired, one of which has gone public and only two of which have ceased operations. Since graduating from FAST, these companies collectively have raised $893 million, including 26 Series A investments, and have tripled their workforce. The FAST program has expanded to serve non.-U.S.-based early stage companies who are seeking to gain a commercial foothold in U.S. markets. Learn more about FAST.
About California Life Sciences Institute (CLSI)
California Life Sciences Institute (CLSI) supports the foundations of innovation that have made California home to the world’s most prominent life sciences ecosystem. CLSI’s mission is to maintain California’s leadership in life sciences innovation through support of entrepreneurship, education and career development. CLSI also serves as the west coast accelerator for CARB-X, the world’s largest public-private partnership devoted to combatting antimicrobial resistance. CLSI is an affiliate of the California Life Sciences Association (CLSA), which represents California’s leading life sciences organization. The California Life Sciences Institute is a non-profit 501(c)(3) and was established in 1990 as the BayBio Institute. Learn more at http://califesciencesinstitute.org.
