The sound of the opening Nasdaq bell on July 22, 2021, was heard throughout Portland — and it continues to reverberate today. That day, the bell marked the beginning of a new journey for a company that had started in Portland as simply an idea. An idea that grew into venture-funded Vancouver, Washington, based Absci. And with that bell, that idea became a public company, Nasdaq: ABSI, one of the only biotech companies in the region to do so in recent memory.
It is important to note, however, that the success of ringing that bell was anything but a solitary pursuit. Long before companies begin to dream of an initial public offering, they have to start and grow. And to do so, they rely on a variety of organizations that provide facilities, financing and guidance. Organizations that help startup founders realize their potential.
Absci was no different. A variety of players and organizations throughout the region worked to ensure Absci’s potential was realized, from its earliest beginnings to the ringing of the bell.
“When I first met Sean McClain in 2012, he was engineering E. coli to produce human proteins of interest, one of his initial concepts for Absci,” said Dr. Jennifer Fox, former executive director for Oregon Translational Research and Development Institute (OTRADI) & the Oregon Bioscience Incubator (OBI) and Absci employee. “I can remember thinking how promising the potential of the company seemed, but with startups, you can never be sure if a concept will lead to an innovative product.”
Portland State Business Accelerator (PSBA) provided space and facilities that allowed the idea of Absci to germinate. Absci engaged with OBI mentors in residence like William Newman and Gordon Hoffman, who leaned upon decades of experience running Northwest Technology Ventures, as they helped the company think through and strategize the commercialization potential of its discovery. Absci leveraged funding and guidance from the Oregon Nanoscience and Microtechnologies Institute (ONAMI), itself — like OTRADI/OBI — among the signature research centers (SRCs) supported by funding from the state of Oregon through its Oregon Innovation Council and Business Oregon.
And it wasn’t just the SRCs. Foundational organizations like the Oregon Bio Association had created a community of support for the biotech industry in the state. All thanks to the belief and efforts of community champions like Bob Lanier, Ann Bunnenberg, Carol Pratt, and John Tortorici, among others, who would not say quit. That organization and the bio industry are now a recognized factor in the regional business economy.
Those selfsame efforts that helped Absci also helped the region. Thanks to all of these organizations and their combined efforts, national and international players now see both the current value and the potential of Oregon's bioscience sector.
Non-bioscience-focused organizations helped, too. Local Venture Capital investors like Oregon Venture Fund — then known as the Oregon Angel Fund — participated in multiple rounds of financing for Absci, providing the much needed capital that allowed the company to continue its impressive growth. And hire the talent that would help facilitate that growth. And those talented employees and that growth that would eventually lead them to their historic IPO — and its return on investment for both investors and the employees who had built the company.
No one makes it alone. And no company succeeds in a vacuum.
From the hands-on support, mentoring and physical space of the PSBA and OTRADI/OBI to the advocacy and community promoted by Oregon Bio Association to Business Oregon funding programs like OTRADI/OBI and ONAMI to the local capital like OVF that fund startup growth, it is important to remember that it took an entire community and ecosystem of support to ensure Absci reached its true potential.
And each of them continue to do so, each and every day. With the next Abscis.
It is rare that these resources and organizations get any of the limelight in events like these — nor do they seek it. But they are critical components of a startup journey and our startup ecosystem. And without them, we will find it much harder to achieve these celebratory and laudable moments or to find the next publicly traded company.
It is heartening to see the success of all of these efforts come to fruition. And each and every organization that participated in Absci’s journey should be equally proud about our region’s newest public company. With the support of our robust bioscience community, there are surely more to come.
