I. What changes - news to watch this week

Concerto Biosciences Gains FDA IND Approval for Innovative Atopic Dermatitis Treatment

Cambridge, MA– Concerto Biosciences, a pioneering biotechnology company and Nucleate Activator Alumni (2019), has achieved a significant milestone with the FDA's approval of their Investigational New Drug (IND) application. This approval allows Concerto to initiate a Phase 1 clinical trial for their groundbreaking live biotherapeutic product, Ensemble No.2 (ENS-002), aimed at treating atopic dermatitis (AD).

A Biotech Startup Founded by 3 MIT PhDs

Concerto is a biotech startup that was founded by the following three PhDs at MIT, Bernardo Cervantes, PhD, Jared Kehe, PhD, and Cheri Ackerman, PhD.

The core technology/IP behind this startup is chip, a technology that allows scientists to screen through many microbial ecosystems simultaneously and find out which microbial ecosystem is advantageous for certain microbes. From the sense of microbes, it’s like having many different planets on kChip and seeing which is the most livable.

What is worth highlighting is that these founders went through the Nucleate program in 2019, started the company in 2020, and achieved IND approval by the FDA in mid-2024. This shows that they know what they are doing and the domain expertise their advisory team has.

What is more interesting is that Nucleate was founded only in 2018 at Harvard and in Boston.

From Concept to Clinic

Concerto Biosciences' journey from concept to clinical trial has been remarkably swift. Founded in 2019 and nurtured through the Nucleate Activator program, Concerto has demonstrated exceptional progress in developing ENS-002. "We are tremendously proud of our team and the work they've accomplished to bring ENS-002 to the clinic with such rigor and efficiency," said Bernardo Cervantes, COO and cofounder of Concerto Biosciences.

Looking Ahead

The upcoming Phase 1 trial will be the first human test of ENS-002, focusing on its safety and preliminary efficacy. The results of this trial could pave the way for subsequent phases and eventually lead to a new, effective treatment option for AD patients. As Concerto continues to harness the potential of microbial ecosystems, the future looks promising for innovative treatments that could transform the landscape of dermatological care. For more information about Concerto Biosciences and their groundbreaking work, visit their website.

About Concerto Biosciences

Concerto Biosciences is dedicated to unlocking the therapeutic potential of microbial ecosystems. Using their proprietary kChip technology, they discover and develop innovative microbial, prebiotic, and postbiotic products aimed at improving human health.

About Nucleate

Nucleate is a student-led organization that empowers academic biotech founders through its flagship Activator program, providing unparalleled support and resources to accelerate the journey from lab to market.

II. What never changes - timeless wisdom

🙅‍♀️ Why I never recommend entrepreneurship to anyone

Talk to entrepreneurs you meet on a Start-Up Day or conference; it is not hard to find them overhyping on small things, smiling way too much, being overly optimistic, as if they are overdosed. Are their minds f up?

Talk to entrepreneurs when they are drunk. Ask them why they quit their corporate jobs. You will probably see how much their eyebrows frowned and mentioning “corporate dogs,” “soullessly working for big companies,” “cannot have their lives in control,” etc.

Well, the flip side of the coin is that people with a corporate job have a way, way more stable life, probably a month of paid time off, better work-life balance, and better mental health than those entrepreneurs. Plus, you can very likely earn $5k post-tax from a corporate job if you stay in it for more than a decade. Overseeing the immense benefits of a stable corporate life, these entrepreneurs, who probably have just an idea and zero paying customers, seem delusional. What makes them so crazy?

They want to be the boss - not true. Any people in the game know that sooner or later, you will have to play the game of capitalism and the rules of free markets. These overhyped entrepreneurs, who keep their noses up to the sky and secretly slash prices to beg and win some customers, know. So, what is that?

A sense of purpose. It is like a belief, a calling, a North Star, and a mental thing. Nobody can see it, not even the entrepreneurs. They can visualize it in their mind, but no comparable real-life counterparts can reflect what it is in their mind. So, they step out of their comfort zone and use their efforts to mold it into reality. Remember, these entrepreneurs who are overhyping and being super optimistic probably have debts on them and bring less than $5k post-tax back home every month. Yet, this sense of purpose keeps their heads up. I can throw another two hundred words about the highest level in the pyramid of Maslow's hierarchy of needs, but I think you all get that.

To answer the question of what keeps entrepreneurs so driven and not giving up even in 5 figures of debt and not making any profits, I want to bring in 3 Chinese words: 不甘心. This adjective describes the state of unwillingness to submit to the current situation. I can’t find its English counterpart, so comment if you know a reasonable translation of these words. Here is my try: 不(not; un-) 甘心 (settled; willing to submit).

Of course, not every entrepreneur may share the sense of purpose as the reason they start a business - it could be money, challenge, or life is just too dull. Nonetheless, it is that sense of 不甘心 of looking at what you are doing and calling your life a wrap. They want to try and see if the ideas in their minds would work. Maybe it is a sense of curiosity. Perhaps it is hardwired in our DNA. I have no doubt to imagine that some of our ancestors actually jump off the cliff and see if we can fly. This sense of risk-taking, curiosity, and stepping into the unknown venture generates as much hype as the calling itself.

During COVID, my business was hit pretty hard. It was the fifteenth month of my startup. Things were getting on track. Then, everything stopped. Nobody wanted to study abroad. It was a crazy spring and summer to the point I could cry when I listened to certain songs. I was lucky to hang on there, and as the pandemic ceased, the acceptance rate for international students studying abroad was the highest as the border reopened. It was like the spring blossom after a bleak winter.

I could easily say that this roller coaster would not financially outperform me if I took a corporate job and stuck with it. Yet, life would not be as interesting as enjoyable. However, it is a brain-, soul-, and heart-wrecking journey that I would not recommend to anyone unless you share the same enjoyment, which some of my friends surely do. As much as I want, I can’t stop them from doing entrepreneurship but to join them because, just like them, I want to be different. I want to build a legacy. No matter how much higher it pays, I don’t want to be a corporate d. I am 不甘心. :p

Let’s have a break…

Thanks for reading,

— Anthony