Giacomo Tognini is a Staff Writer on the Wealth team at Forbes, covering billionaires and their wealth. He joined Forbes in 2019 and lives in New York.
Shares of a Massachusetts biotech firm founded by Harvard immunologist Timothy Springer rocketed up 75% Monday after the pharma giant said it would snap it up for $3.2 billion.first made headlines in 2020 when a biotech company he had invested in—Moderna—suddenly became a household name thanks to its Covid-19 vaccines, sparking a stock rally thatNow, he’s set to receive a nine-digit windfall from pharma giant Eli Lilly ’s $3.
Morphic is developing oral drugs using proteins called integrins, which help cells attach to, and communicate with, other cells. The firm’s therapies could treat autoimmune diseases and serious chronic conditions ranging from inflammatory bowel disease to cancer. It’s this research that sparked Eli Lilly’s interest, particularly a small molecule inhibitor named MORF-057, which is currently in Phase 2 studies to treat ulcerative colitis and Crohn's disease.
Springer, 76, got a Ph.D. in molecular biology in 1976 and began teaching at Harvard the following year. He has carried out groundbreaking research ever since. His work as an immunologist led to the discovery of integrins and lymphocyte function-associated molecules in the 1980s, which formed the basis of a biotech outfit, LeukoSite, which he founded in 1993.
Besides Morphic and Moderna, Springer has founded or been an early investor in at least three publicly traded biotech firms, including RNA cell therapy firm Cartesian Therapeutics, therapeutic protein and antibody firm Tectonic Therapeutic and Scholar Rock, which develops therapies for serious diseases. His work on integrins also earned him the prestigious Albert Lasker Basic Medical Research award in 2022 alongside two other scientists.
Biotech Pharma Morphic Tim Springer Timothy Springer Harvard Billionaire Billionaires
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