Johannes Fruehauf
Founder of Stealth Startup
Johannes Fruehauf
Founder of Stealth Startup
Cambridge, Massachusetts
Overview
Work Experience
Founder, President & Executive Director
2012 - Current
LabCentral is the center for life science startups in Kendall Square, Cambridge, a unique, shared laboratory coworking space for startup companies built on our experience at BioLabs. http://www.labcentral.org Our shared laboratory model has changed the way biotechnology companies are built. Instead of investing huge amounts of capital into building out and equipping laboratory facilities, teams can focus on advancing their science in a fully functional and supportive environment. This results in much higher capital efficiency for these companies and their investors. In 2016, we developed a graduation-labs model for more advanced companies (LabCentral-610) in partnership with Pfizer. https://labcentral.org/facilities-services/labcentral-610/ In 2020, we launched the CCRCT (Cambridge Consortium for Rapid Covid Tests)-providing routine rapid testing for hundreds of employees and clients at LabCentral and Biolabs, and supporting the development of novel rapid tests for SARS-CoV2. In 2021, we launched LabCentral Ignite, our workforce development program specifically designed to broaden talent access and development into the biotech industry, also for underrepresented populations. In 2022, we launched LabCentral-238, the first-of-its-kind cowering laboratory purpose-designed for development stage companies working on cell and gene therapies and complex biologics. Please take a look at our recent reports below.
General Partner, Co-Founder
2011
Mission BioCapital is a seed-stage investment firm with ~$500m AUM for Healthcare and Life Sciences companies. Our teams look for investment opportunities in life sciences technologies and companies where we will take an active role in supporting the founding team, helping to form the vision and strategy for the company, and guiding it to success. Most investments come out of our network of shared laboratories organized by Biolabs/LabCentral, with an increasing investment focus in new areas, including in Europe. https://www.missionbiocapital.com/
President & CEO, Founder
2009
The Biolabs network constitutes the biggest "incubator" (we prefer co-working laboratory) platform for biotech startups in the US. Biolabs started as Cambridge Biolabs in 2009, launching as a contract laboratory research services for startup biotechnology and life science companies in the heart of Kendall Square in Cambridge, MA. With this service offering, we help early-stage or virtual companies get to the next milestone quickly. We provide investors with an opportunity to validate third-party technologies before they commit to investing. This allows investors to "wet lab test" with small financial commitments and produces much more successful startup companies in general. In the past 10 years we have worked with over 400 startup companies - these have gone on to raise more than $5.8bn in equity investments. Through this experience, we developed the Biolabs model of co-working for lab based companies. These facilities provide superior functionality and an innovative ecosystem for startups in life sciences and biotechnology. Cambridge Biolabs founded LabCentral in 2013, then Biolabs NC in 2015 and Biolabs SD in 2016. Through LabCentral, we launched the Harvard Life Lab in 2016. Including our partner sites we currently (2021) have >350 startups in residence. We continue to grow and have multiple Biolabs locations in planning (New Haven, CT, others undisclosed) and under construction (Dallas, TX & Heidelberg, Germany, Paris-Saclay) in key geographies in the US and around the world. We work with institutions, developers and municipalities to build and manage unique innovation spaces for lab-based companies. www.biolabs.io
Founder, President, Member of the Board
2022
New effort focused on advancing cell-and gene therapies from concept into the clinic and to commercialization.
Board Member
2018
QurAlis is a clinical-stage drug development company specifically focused on new therapies for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), the most common form of motor neuron disease. Chair of Compensation Committee
Board Member
2016
Vaxess is developing innovative solutions for stabilization and delivery of vaccines. www.vaxess.com
Board Member
2019
Arkuda is developing novel therapies for neurodegenerative diseases, including frontotemporal dementia (FTD).
Founding Investor and Board Director
2018 - 2021
Tidal Therapeutics is developing in-vivo reprogramming for T-Cells. In April 2021, Tidal was acquired by Sanofi.
Founding Investor and Observer
2018 - 2021
Totient uses machine learning and advanced biology to develop therapeutic antibodies for the treatment of cancer and infectious diseases. BioInnovation Capital-I (now Mission BioCapital) led Totient's seed financing and helped manage its successful sale to Absci in June 2021.
Board Director
2016 - 2021
Sentien Biotechnologies, Inc. is a clinical stage cell therapy company. The lead product is designed to allow for controlled, sustained delivery of mesenchymal stem cell (MSC) secreted factors. This approach immobilizes the MSCs in an extracorporeal device, allowing for doses of therapeutic secreted factors that are unattainable by direct injection. www.sentienbiotech.com