What I Learned Running A Biotech During The Pandemic

By Sven Karlsson

As I biked home from PlateletBio’s new offices in Watertown, MA, last March, I was excited about all we planned to accomplish in 2020. We had recently raised more than $80 million in venture funding and non-dilutive grants, built our own lab, and had ambitious plans for 2020. We were hiring and laying the groundwork for upcoming clinical trials for our new class of cell therapeutics inspired by platelet biology.

Then … wham! The pandemic hit, and we didn’t know if we could even go into our new lab. As cofounder and COO, I was tasked with finding a way to make progress on our 2020 milestones while ensuring that we all stayed safe.