Venture Firm Hunts for Biotech Breakthroughs

BOSTON (TheStreet) -- PureTech Ventures specializes in sniffing out medical breakthroughs at academic research centers and turning them into companies. But unlike many venture capital firms, PureTech prioritizes the technology rather than the pedigree of those who created it.

"Venture firms will often say that they'll bet on the jockey, not the horse," says Daphne Zohar, who founded the Boston firm in 2001. "We bet on the horse, and we're the jockey until we bring in someone terrific to take over."

The company's portfolio includes Enlight Biosciences, a drug developer whose financial backers include Eli Lilly(LLY Quote), Merck(MRK Quote), Pfizer(PFE Quote), and Johnson & Johnson(JNJ Quote).

Earlier this week, Zohar took time to talk to TheStreet.com about the biggest problems and most promising technologies in the world of venture capitalism.

Tell me about the decision to start PureTech Ventures.

Zohar: I became aware of the gap between academia and the venture world, and the need for a firm that funds academic innovation. PureTech is set up to do so in an efficient way, focusing on commercializing innovation. Our primary activity is starting the company ourselves.

How is this different from a technology transfer office at a university?

Zohar: Tech transfer offices in general do a good job in taking the technology and marketing it to partners. The difference is that they're not the entrepreneurs. There's not really an institutionalized process for being an entrepreneur, and that's sort of what we do.

You've said that one of the biggest problems with the VC model is that VCs "devour entrepreneurs." Can you elaborate on this and explain how you would change the model?

Zohar: When you talk to venture firms that say they're "good partners to entrepreneurs," what they usually mean is that they have good relationships with the management teams. But the person who creates something out of nothing: that's the entrepreneur, that's the founder.