Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center
Facts
- HQ
- Federal Way
- Sectors
- Healthcare, Medical research, Cancer research
- Founded
- 1976
Former Salesforce/Tableau EVP Teri Hatfield named CRO at Iterable; Gates Foundation lawyer Ken Miller joins Arnold & Porter; AIM and Gravitics add C-suite hires
Teri Hatfield left Salesforce/Tableau to become chief revenue officer at Iterable; Gates Foundation legal director Ken Miller joined Arnold & Porter as partner; and Seattle startups AIM and Gravitics appointed new C‑suite executives including AIM's CMO Ben Reed.
Susan Kaech Named Executive VP at Allen Institute; Arthur Valdez Joins Impinj Board; Jason Bennett Shifts to AWS VP Role
Susan Kaech joins the Allen Institute as executive VP of the Immunology Moonshot; Arthur Valdez Jr. joins Impinj's board; Jason Bennett transitions to VP of worldwide startups and venture capital at AWS. These leadership changes reflect strategic moves across bioscience, RFID technology, and cloud services sectors.
Seattle Outpaces Toronto as Superior Tech Hub Despite Toronto's High-Valued AI Startups Amid ALCS Baseball Rivalry
Seattle and Toronto, both strong tech hubs, are compared on various metrics like talent rankings, corporate presence, and startups, with Seattle leading in corporate tech depth and number of unicorns, while Toronto boasts high-value AI startups like Cohere. Seattle ranks higher globally and has more engineering centers from major US tech firms, though Toronto shows strong growth in AI and security startups.
Fred Hutch-Led Synthesize Bio Raises $10M to Accelerate Drug Discovery Using AI Gene Expression Model
Seattle-based Synthesize Bio, led by Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center researchers, raised $10 million from Madrona to accelerate drug discovery using their AI model GEM-1, which predicts gene expression outcomes with lab-level accuracy. The startup aims to reduce drug development time and costs by simulating hypothetical lab experiments with generative genomics.
Washington State Sen. Joe Nguyễn, ex-Microsoft veteran, appointed head of Commerce; Remitly EVP Rene Yoakum retiring
Washington State Senator Joe Nguyễn, a former Microsoft employee and 2024 Public Policy Champion for Innovation, will become director of the Washington Department of Commerce, succeeding Mike Fong. Additionally, Remitly's EVP Rene Yoakum is retiring after over six years, transitioning to a consulting role through 2026.
Harshit Shah Named CTO of Kyruus Health; Ryan Asdourian Joins Lumen as CMO and EVP; Fred Hutch Announces 2024 Weintraub Awardees
Harshit Shah, former AWS engineering head, becomes CTO at healthcare software company Kyruus Health, while Ryan Asdourian, a longtime Microsoft manager, joins telecom firm Lumen as CMO and EVP. Additionally, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center announced 12 recipients of the 2024 Harold M. Weintraub Graduate Award.
Seattle Startup MotherDuck Hires Former Google Leaders Frances Perry and Margaret Lawrence Rosas; Humanly Adds VP of Growth Pallavi Sinha
Seattle startup MotherDuck hired Frances Perry, a former Google engineering director, as engineering manager, and Margaret Lawrence Rosas, former Looker and Google executive, as head of customer success. Additionally, Pallavi Sinha joined Seattle startup Humanly as vice president of growth.
Seattle’s Deverra Therapeutics Raises $2.4M to Develop Cellular Immunotherapies with Fred Hutch License
Seattle biotech startup Deverra Therapeutics, founded by oncologist Colleen Delaney, is raising $2.4 million through debt and warrants to advance its cellular immunotherapy platform licensed from Fred Hutch. The company recently secured $3.5 million from the Andy Hill CARE Fund and licensed an immuno-oncology platform from Coeptis Therapeutics for $570,000 plus shares.
Seattle's Dexter Yard Develops into Major South Lake Union Biotech Cluster with Outpace Bio and Allen Institute
Seattle's Dexter Yard has become a growing biotech and life sciences hub, attracting companies like Outpace Bio and the Allen Institute with 528,000 square feet of new lab and office space. The area, located in South Lake Union, is part of a larger regional expansion of science facilities supported by major real estate developments and significant biotech investment.
Affini-T Therapeutics Closes Seattle Lab, Offering Some Employees Relocation to Boston
Affini-T Therapeutics, a cell therapy company specializing in T cell receptor cancer immunotherapy, is closing its Seattle lab, impacting 17 employees, some of whom may relocate to Boston. The company raised $175 million last year and was spun out of Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center.
David Aronchick Named CEO of Expanso; Highspot Appoints Graham Younger President; Brad Booth and Pete Shimer Join Boards
David Aronchick was named CEO of Expanso to advance its Bacalhau distributed computing platform, while Highspot appointed Graham Younger as president of field operations. Additionally, Brad Booth joined NLM Photonics' board and Pete Shimer was added to Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center's board.
Genemod Raises $4.5M to Expand Life Sciences Data Collaboration Platform with Clients Like AstraZeneca and Merck
Seattle startup Genemod raised $4.5 million to expand its cloud-based collaboration platform for life sciences data management, aiming to improve research reproducibility. Key clients include AstraZeneca and Merck, with total funding reaching $6.2 million to date.
Armoire Hires Ex-Microsoft CTO Laura Butler; Chewy Acquires Petabyte for $43.4M, Elevates Founder Michael Hyman to VP
Clothing rental startup Armoire appointed former Microsoft technical fellow Laura Butler as CTO, while pet e-commerce company Chewy promoted Michael Hyman to VP following its $43.4 million acquisition of his veterinary startup Petabyte.
Seattle Startups Karat and Common Room Hire New Execs; Microsoft Veteran Peter Petesch Departs After 32 Years
Seattle startups Karat and Common Room have hired new executives, with Karat appointing Scott Bonneau as EVP of operations and product, and Amy Sennett as general counsel, while Common Room brought on Matt Duchesne as VP of sales. Additionally, longtime Microsoft engineering leader Peter Petesch departed after 32 years, and Seattle-based Skytap hired Rahul Tripathi as chief product and technology officer.
Seattle Startup Pattern Computer Develops Rapid COVID-19 Test Using Light Patterns from Saliva with Proprietary AI System
Seattle startup Pattern Computer is developing a rapid COVID-19 test using light pattern analysis from saliva with a proprietary computer system, attracting top biotech and tech experts. The company, founded by notable figures including CEO Mark Anderson, has kept details secret but has garnered significant industry interest.
Amarjit Kaur Sandhu joins Ozette as VP of Engineering; AWS marketing chief Rachel Thornton to depart after 10 years
Amarjit Kaur Sandhu joined Ozette Technologies as vice president of engineering, bringing experience from Nuance Communications and Saykara. Additionally, AWS executive Rachel Thornton is leaving, and various leadership moves across Pacific Northwest tech firms have been announced.
SEngine Precision Medicine Raises $10M to Advance Paris Test for Personalized Cancer Drug Treatment
Seattle startup SEngine Precision Medicine raised $10 million to advance its Paris Test, which tailors cancer drug treatments by culturing patient tumor cells and testing drug responses. The test aims to provide personalized treatment options beyond traditional genomic tests and has been used by about 800 patients so far.
Pacific Northwest Life Sciences Update: Talus Bioscience Raises $9.75M, Kineta Merges with Yumanity, UW’s David Baker Launches Charm Therapeutics
Recent Pacific Northwest life sciences news includes Talus Bioscience raising $9.75 million, Kineta going public via merger with Yumanity, and UW's David Baker launching Charm Therapeutics. Key partnerships involve TwinStrand and Singular Genomics developing rare gene variant tests, and Umoja Biopharma partnering with TreeFrog Therapeutics for stem cell therapies.
Andreessen Horowitz, Madrona and other tech VCs ramp up bets on AI-driven biotech startups as founders from software enter life sciences
Tech venture capital firms like Andreessen Horowitz and Seattle’s Madrona Venture Group are increasingly investing in life-science startups that use AI, machine learning and data science to speed drug discovery and development. Investors are following founders who transitioned from software to biotech—such as Sujal Patel of Nautilus and Terry Myerson of Truveta—seeing reduced perceived risk and new opportunity at this intersection.
Affini-T Therapeutics launched by Fred Hutch scientists including Juno co-founder Philip Greenberg to develop engineered TCR cancer therapies
Affini-T Therapeutics, founded by Fred Hutch scientists including Philip Greenberg (a Juno co-founder), Aude Chapuis and Thomas Schmitt, launched to develop T cell receptor (TCR) cancer immunotherapies that add engineered CD8 co-receptors and other gene edits. The Boston-headquartered company, led by CEO Jak Knowles, was unveiled at the J.P. Morgan Health Care Conference and will operate a research lab in Seattle.
Seattle’s Tasso Raises $100M Series B to Scale Self‑Administered Blood‑Collection Devices
Seattle startup Tasso raised $100 million in a Series B round to advance its self‑administered blood‑collection devices used for remote patient monitoring, decentralized clinical trials and mailed liquid or dried samples. The funding brings total capital to $131 million, building on prior grants and a $17 million raise in July 2020.
Alexandria Executive Chairman Joel Marcus Says Pandemic Is Shifting Biotech Toward Hubs Like Seattle as Investment Surges
Alexandria Real Estate Equities chairman Joel Marcus says the pandemic is accelerating biotech investment and changing industry geography, reinforcing hubs like Seattle where his company has extensive lab real estate, tenants, and venture investments.
Life Science Washington CEO Leslie Alexandre to retire after leading state’s biotech resurgence as 2021 IPOs raise hundreds of millions
Leslie Alexandre, president and CEO of Life Science Washington, is retiring after five years leading the group during a period of strong growth in Washington state's biotech sector that recovered from a 2016 slump. The region has seen several major biotech IPOs in 2021 (including Sana Biotechnology's $587M, Absci's $200M, and Icosavax's $180M+), growing research strength and recognition as an emerging biotech market.
Cloudentity Names Jason Needham as CEO After $13M Series A; Leafly Appoints Suresh Krishnaswamy as CFO; Chris Suh Joins Cardlytics Board; Three Named HHMI Investigators
Seattle startup Cloudentity named Jason Needham, ex-CloudCoreo and VMware multi-cloud security lead, as CEO and board member after a $13M Series A; Leafly hired Suresh Krishnaswamy as CFO as it prepares for a SPAC, and Microsoft CVP Chris Suh joined Cardlytics' board. Trevor Bedford, Frederick Matsen IV and David Veesler were named 2021 HHMI Investigators, each receiving roughly $9M over seven years.
Study Finds Seattle Startup Tasso’s Tasso‑SST Self‑Collection Device Matches Venous COVID‑19 Antibody Results
A study led by Seattle researchers found the Tasso-SST self-administered upper-arm blood collection device produced antibody results nearly identical to venous draws and worked for a high proportion of users, even after simulated 48-hour shipping. The device, made by Seattle startup Tasso, could replace some clinic blood draws for COVID-19 antibody testing.
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Jeff Leek Executive, Co-founder and Chief Data Officer
