A Family Affair
By Ben Comer, Chief Editor, Life Science Leader
This month’s cover story delves into the background and business strategy of Krystal Biotech, a Pittsburgh-based developer of gene therapies for rare disease. Founded and led by Krish and Suma Krishnan, a husband-and-wife team, the company’s lead candidate — a redosable, topically administered gene therapy, and a first in the field — was approved by the FDA in May.
The article covers the development and approval of Vyjuvek, the company’s manufacturing strategy and experience with regulators, and its approach to drug pricing, commercialization, and company culture, among other things. What it doesn’t cover is why Krish and Suma decided to create a company together, and lead it together as chairman and CEO, and president of R&D, respectively. That story begins with a sacrifice, made by Suma, to be closer to her family.
After meeting at the University of Pennsylvania, Krish and Suma pursued separate careers. In early 2002, Krish worked at Third Security, a manager of VC funds focused on the life sciences. From there, he started working with New River Pharmaceuticals in the early days of that company, via Third Security (both companies were founded by investor R.J. Kirk), while Suma worked at Shire, contributing to the approvals of Adderall XR and Fosrenol. They lived in different cities. But then a job opportunity at New River became available. Krish and Suma had a child that was two or three years old at the time. “We wanted to be together and to spend time at home with our kid,” says Krish. “We didn’t want to be in two separate cities trying to commute back and forth.”
Suma left behind a lucrative career at Shire, and joined New River as VP, product development. “That’s how we got started with this idea of working together,” says Krish. “It was initiated by us wanting to be closer together, but we’ve continued to work together because there are not many people who have been involved in four or five drug approvals, two that were start to finish.” Krish has his own domain of expertise, and spends a lot of time looking externally, as opposed to internally, to make sure the company is well funded. But they both get involved in all the different functions, he says.
Krystal has grown substantially since its founding, which wasn’t easy, says Krish. Securing the necessary funding for Krystal to succeed involves making sure the company story is told correctly, and making sure that a team is built around Suma and her group, with future plans in mind. “Any husband-and-wife team will tell you that their personal lives carry into work, and their professional lives carry into the home,” says Krish. “But at the end of the day, we’re doing all of this on behalf of somebody whose life is in a much worse situation. Personal issues are put aside — or compromised on — in service of that larger goal.” Husband-and-wife leadership in biopharmaceuticals isn’t common, but this one appears to be working.