Max Kaufman ’26: nChromaBio

As my high school career comes to an end, I need to start exploring my options to further my academic interests. Having loved STEM since I was little, I applied for the Rivers science internship program. Fortunately, I was given the opportunity to learn and gain real-world experience at nChroma Bio, a pioneering biotechnology company in Boston, for eight weeks. 

First week at nChroma! Standing in front of their sign made of balloons!

Working in the lab!

Formerly two separate companies, Chroma Medicine and Nvelop Therapeutics, decided to merge and share their technologies. nChroma is an early-stage gene editing biotech that specializes in epigenetic editing and delivery of genetic medicines using novel engineered virus-like particles (eVLPs). nChroma’s lead asset, CRMA-1001, is designed to treat Chronic Hepatitis B and is entering Phase I trials.

I joined as a corporate development intern, working alongside Mansi Shinde, Senior Director of Corporate Development, and Blaide Woodburn, Senior Manager of Portfolio Strategy and Competitive Intelligence. During my time at nChroma, I mainly focused on two projects. My first project was evaluating the competitive intelligence landscape. Gene editing is becoming very popular all over the world, so naturally, there are a lot of early-stage biotech companies trying to make a breakthrough. nChroma needs to gather and maintain intelligence on competitor companies, the maturity of their technology, and how their most recent data compares to nChroma’s.  

I began gathering a database of all companies worldwide making progress with genetic editing assets, and tracking their data and progress within their programs in a spreadsheet. I kept track of markers such as the latest mouse, non-human primate, and human data they have, while also recording what type of technology competitors are using. I recorded data for approximately 100 assets from countries spanning the globe.

Making note of a competitor’s assets

My second project was focused on landscaping recent business development deals for large pharmaceutical companies.  Early-stage biotech companies, like nChroma, typically need funding to support their research, development, and clinical trials. Funding can be given by company investors, venture capitalists, or large pharmaceutical companies in the form of research partnerships or even acquisitions. I was tasked with building a database that recorded every type of deal several large pharmaceutical companies made since 2022. I recorded information, including partner, asset name, upfront cash, upfront equity, milestones, royalties, and structure.

My process began with finding these companies' annual reports or 10-Ks, which are documents that report all financial activity during that year. Skimming through these 300-page documents, I tracked and recorded a significant number of transactions. To make sure that I was completely thorough with my work, I cross-referenced my work with Perplexity, an LLM that searched through all publicly available data on the internet. If anything came up that I didn’t find in the annual reports, I made sure to find a press release or a document from either company involved to fully confirm what I would be recording. The data that I have recorded will be used as a reference when targeting companies for potential deals or structuring terms.

Presenting my findings to Blaide and Mansi!

From my two projects at nChroma, I became proficient in reading and analyzing scientific data, efficiently searching through 300-page documents, and working in Microsoft Excel. Additionally, I improved my public speaking skills and gained an understanding of genetic editing techniques.

While my time at nChroma was filled with a ton of learning and working experience, it was also a great opportunity to build connections with older adults. Being the youngest person there, it was initially tough to reach out to others and build relationships with my coworkers. However, Blaide did an awesome job easing me in and introducing me to people at nChroma. I built such great relationships with amazing people, and the relationships were so strong that we went to a Red Sox game together!

My coworkers, Blaide and Songlei, with their partners and me at the Red Sox game!

Another thing that I learned is how important it is to relax for a bit in the middle of the workday. Regularly, Blaide and I would take walks around Fenway Park, discussing the stadium's history and observing the surrounding area. Taking these short walks after lunch was a great way to reset and ease any stress that I was under mentally. 

Me with my boss Blaide, on the last day!

I would like to thank Mr. Schlenker, Head of the Rivers Science Internship Program, and Mr. Walsh, CEO of nChroma Bio, for providing me with this opportunity to learn and gain experience over the past eight weeks. I would also like to thank Blaide Woodburn and Mansi Shinde for taking me under their wing. As the search for my college major begins, I am grateful to gain insight into what business in biotech looks like.