St. Louis innovation hub BioSTL says it's in the planning stages of launching a search for a new leader of its BioGenerator Ventures arm.
BioGenerator's prior leader, Charlie Bolten, left the organization in November. BioSTL has held off on the search for a replacement while it evaluates the qualifications it wants in a new BioGenerator leader, said BioSTL President and CEO Donn Rubin.
Rubin said the new head of BioGenerator would join the organization as it has ramped up its investment in startups. BioGenerator committed about $7 million to startups in 2023, an 80% increase over its previous historic high in annual deal flow, Rubin said. The $7 million includes roughly $5 million invested in 2023 and another $1.5 million pledged to deals that were in the works and had yet to close, per Rubin. BioGenerator has previously invested about $3.5 million annually.
Managing Director Crystal Winkeler has been leading BioGenerator since Bolten’s departure.
Bolten took the lead at start of 2023 following the retirement of Eric Gulve, who served as BioGenerator president since 2009. Bolten, previously the organization's senior managing director, spent 14 years at BioGenerator leading the investment portfolio, launching the BioGenerator Labs and overseeing its Executives in Residence program. He also served on the board of several companies, including chair of agriculture firm CoverCress, which in 2022 sold a majority stake to Germany-based pharmaceutical and agriculture giant Bayer. Other high-profile startups in which he was a board member include Canopy Biosciences, acquired by Bruker Corp. (Nasdaq: BRKR); and Confluence Life Sciences, which sold in 2017 to Aclaris Therapeutics (Nasdaq: ACRS) in a $100 million deal.
“Charlie had a great impact on our work,” Rubin said. “We wouldn’t be where we are today in a lot of ways without Charlie’s contributions.”
Following his departure from BioGenerator, Bolten joined St. Louis agriculture startup Solis Agrosciences — which launched out of BioGenerator — as CEO.
Rubin said BioGenerator’s uptick in startup investment comes as it targets “the tremendous opportunity ahead of us of what we’re seeing in terms of the blossoming of the ecosystem.” BioSTL had to use dollars that would have been allocated for 2024 to meet last year’s investment opportunities, Rubin said. BioSTL will need to raise additional funds to meet continued demand, “which is a good problem to have,” Rubin said.
But to raise those funds, BioSTL, a nonprofit, must also broaden the base of funders necessary to meet the needs of St. Louis’ innovation economy. BioSTL for 2022 reported revenue of $8.8 million and expenses of $11.1 million, according to its most recent IRS filing.
There isn’t a specific timeline to the search for a new leader at BioGenerator, Rubin said, with BioSTL being deliberate about determining the skills and experience needed for the role. In the meantime, he said BioGenerator will continue to push forward on expanding its startup investment.
“The team hasn’t missed a beat,” Rubin said.
