In researching and reporting our feature, Biotech’s Pale Shadow, I came across Erich Jarvis, a professor and researcher at Rockefeller, and his essay, Surviving as an underrepresented minority scientist in a majority environment, which he wrote for winning the 2015 Ernest Everett Just Award from the American Society for Cell Biology. It’s a great read, and Jarvis has an incredible backstory, including winning scholarships to the Joffrey Ballet and the Alvin Ailey Dance school, and overcoming the murder of his father while Jarvis was in grad school.

I suspect the parts of the essay about grad school and his post-doc will feel familiar to many underrepresented minorities in the sciences, and it certainly resonated with what biotech’s minorities were saying in interviews for our feature. I spent maybe an hour with Jarvis on the phone, talking about his life in science and why he decided to write the essay he did.  He told me that most people, in their acceptance essay, focus on the moment of scientific serendipity or the big breakthrough that led to their hallmark discovery or technology, but he didn’t want to do that. Because he’s questioned so often about his life as an underrepresented minority in science, he decided he’d write about that topic instead and hopefully give it “a wider audience,” he said.

The essay has been added to some classrooms as required reading, and has been assigned in workshops on microaggressions, but it’s not often cited, and it hasn’t received that longer life that some papers in scientific journals do. “What that suggests is that the topic isn’t being written about much in the scientific community,” he said.

Through the course of his career Jarvis broke barrier after barrier, simply by doing his job. In 2007, he became just the second African American basic science professor in the Duke medical school to be hired and tenured in 28 years. He was the second African American to receive full professorship at Duke. He became the first and currently only African American full professor at Rockefeller in the history of the institution, which began in 1901. And in November, Jarvis was asked to give a presidential lecture for the Society for Neuroscience.

“I’d been hoping one day to be invited to do this,” he said. “Afterward, someone told me that I was the first African American to give this presentation. That lead me to think, internally, about where I am in my own life. And what I feel is, it’s a lonely place. It might sound like bragging to say you’re the first African American to do this and the first to do that, but in truth it means there aren’t other people around that I can relate to. And it’s not a happy feeling.”

His “surviving” essay can be found here. Our feature on racial disparities in biotech can be found here. Here’s a great bit of storytelling he does at The Moth about his life. Follow Jarvis on Twitter.

Brady Huggett

On February 7, 2017, in response to President Trump’s Executive Order on immigration issued on January 27, 2017, approximately 200 senior biotech leaders, including CEOs, company founders and venture capitalists, published a letter in Nature Biotechnology expressing our deep concern about the negative impact this order will have on medical innovation. Following a block by a US federal appeals court, the administration produced a new ban on March 6, which includes changes that remove Iraqis from the list of nationalities affected, exclude current visa holders and refugees already granted asylum, alter the ban on Syrian refugees from indefinite to temporary and implement the ban on March 16 (rather than with immediate effect). Speaking as individuals and the lead authors of that letter, we find this new Executive Order does nothing to ameliorate our originally expressed concerns. Like its predecessor, the newly issued order is deeply detrimental to America’s efforts to develop important new medicines to address serious unmet human needs. In addition it remains just as inimical to the fundamental values on which our great nation was founded.

Jeremy M Levin¹, Steven H Holtzman², John Maraganore³, Paul J Hastings⁴, Ron Cohen⁵ & Bassil I Dahiyat⁶

¹Ovid Therapeutics Inc., New York, New York, USA. ²Decibel Therapeutics, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA. ³Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA. ⁴OncoMed Pharmaceuticals, Redwood City, California, USA. ⁵Acorda Therapeutics Inc., Ardsley, New York, USA. ⁶Xencor, Monrovia, California, USA.

Part II (Part I found here)

Let me begin by stating the obvious: after 12 years of Kirchner governments (first husband, then wife), a new party is in power. But during those 12 years, the thin line between party politics and science policy was unprecedentedly blurred. Thus the scientific community had low expectations: it demonized the new President, Mauricio Macri, even before he took power. The first surprise came December 2015, when President Macri decided that the Ministry of Science, Technology and Productive Innovation (MINCyT) would be led by the same minister as in the Kirchner administration, Lino Barañao. Furthermore, many of Barañao´s close collaborators remained. It was unclear if the blurred lines would disappear.

The majority of the scientific community loved the Kirchners, but a minority had a strained relationship. This is how it went with the Kirchner government – people were strongly for or against, with no gray area. The problem is that the minority against the Kircnhers could not speak its mind for fear of losing grants and doctoral students, and the majority that loved Kirchner was silent on the issues of unpaid grants and the troubling aspects of inflation. Scientists suffered all kinds of inconsistencies under that administration, yet the disgruntled ones were restrained from talking because they feared consequences. Incredibly, many of the scientists passionately protesting today against Macri´s scientific policies are part of the majority that remained silent during the Kirchner era. I think, when dealing with the Kirchners, many of them had refused to see that the King was naked. It´s called denial.

Today, the PIPs and PIOs are being paid, and The PICTs are somewhat adjusted by inflation. Many problems remain, and we still have plenty of issues to deal with, and budget restrictions are one of the main ones. But looking back, I believe some lessons should be learned.  Above all, we should realize that living in denial is contrary to a scientist´s purpose in life. We are not advancing the case for science when we hide or distort statistics, or keep quiet about unpaid grants. And no scientist should be an accomplice to that, however unwittingly. Science is not a religion, and our critical thinking should not be impinged upon. Loyalty, gratitude or fear do not excuse scientists from unveiling the truth.

In 2016, Argentina celebrated 33 years of uninterrupted, but flawed, democracy — periods of uninterrupted democracies are a good reason to celebrate. Argentine science has a long and productive history, but in many ways it is as young and inexperienced as our democracy. If Argentine science were my 33-year old child, my advice would be:  “Your teenage years are officially over. You can no longer get stuck in bad romances. No more hiding dirty family secrets.”

In Argentina, hiding dirty family secrets has resulted in highly traumatic experiences, where both people and facts have disappeared. The scientific community cannot be privy to this again in the future.

To the Editor:

We the undersigned, founders and leaders of biotech companies, write to express our deep concern and opposition to the executive order signed by President Donald Trump on January 27, 2017, barring the entry of citizens from seven countries into the United States¹.

The United States is the world’s greatest developer of medicines and new inventions to ameliorate and cure intractable diseases, a status achieved through massive investment in private and public companies, academia and R&D. Most importantly, our success has been founded on the creativity and dedication of our most precious resource—our people.

Our people include researchers, clinicians, entrepreneurs and business executives from all over the world. They are colleagues in our laboratories, management teams and boardrooms. They discover and develop therapies that drive US biomedical innovation and deliver new medicines to patients, not only in America, but also across the globe. And they start companies that drive the economic growth and employment provided by biotech. Many of our colleagues from abroad ultimately become Americans, all to the great benefit of the United States. Indeed, a study found that in 2014, 52% of the 69,000 biomedical researchers in the United States were foreign-born².

The biopharma industry originated in America and is dominated by American companies. US companies employ tenfold more people than European companies. Over the past decade, a total of $98.4 billion was invested in US emerging therapeutic companies through venture capital, follow-on public offerings and initial public offerings. US companies spent over $138 billion on upfront payments for in-licensing assets or acquiring global R&D-stage emerging companies. Larger US biopharma companies spent $161.7 billion over the past ten years on market-stage acquisitions.

The United States has led the world in medicine production for decades, not only because of its ability to finance drug discovery, but also because, more than any other country, the United States represents opportunity regardless of borders, gender, race, sexual orientation or political cast. This has enabled our industry to attract the best talent, wherever it is found. This aspect of our industry is a core reason the United States has built its unique strength in biopharmaceuticals.

At a stroke, the new administration has compromised years of investment in this national treasure. Our colleagues who are here on visas or are in global outposts are now fearful and uncertain of their status. Scientists based in other countries and employed by our companies are afraid to come to the United States or are canceling trips. The parents and families of immigrants who live and work in the United States are reluctant to attempt to travel to and from the United States.

Though the ban from the Trump administration is aimed at seven countries, our global employees interpret the underlying message as, “America is no longer welcoming of any immigrants, whatsoever.” They fear similar orders could be issued for other countries at a moment’s notice. They fear being stigmatized and discriminated against, simply because of their religion, irrespective of the nation they come from. Several among us have heard from employees about their deportation fears, how they do not feel comfortable leaving the country on business or how they now feel cut off from their family abroad.

Every nation has the right to determine who comes across its borders. Every nation needs to be vigilant in defending itself against and hunting down terrorists. The actions taken by the Trump administration, however, were poorly conceived and implemented; they have raised deep fears and concerns across the biotech industry, in which diversity and the free flow of ideas and people have created an American powerhouse of medicine.

If this misguided policy is not reversed, America is at risk of losing its leadership position in one of its most important sectors, one that will shape the world in the twenty-first century. Indeed, it will harm an industry dominated by smaller companies and startups, the very kind of industry the administration has said it wants to support. It will slow the fight against the many diseases that afflict us, as well as carry negative economic consequences for the United States.

America must remain the world’s greatest engine of innovation, as well as the beacon of liberty it has been for more than 200 years. The two are inextricably intertwined.

(On February 2, 2017, the United States District Court Western District of Washington at Seattle issued a temporary restraining order against the executive order that suspends its enforcement nationwide. The President has stated he will seek to overturn the ruling, but the restraining order remains in force while under appeal to the US Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit by the Department of Justice. As of 7pm on February 6, the federal appeals court has not yet ruled³.)

Jeremy M Levin¹, Steven H Holtzman², John Maraganore³, Paul J Hastings⁴, Ron Cohen⁵, Bassil I Dahiyat⁶, Julian Adams⁷, Chris Adams⁸, Brett Ahrens⁹, Jeff Albers¹⁰, Mara G Aspinall¹¹, James Audia¹², Martin Babler¹³, Peter Barrett¹⁴, Zoe Barry¹⁵, Nessan Bermingham¹⁶, Stephen Bloch¹⁷, Robert I Blum¹⁸, Paul B Bolono¹⁹, Michael W Bonney²⁰, Bruce Booth²¹, Daniel M Bradbury²², Steven K Brauer²³, Brook Byers²⁴, Pablo J Cagnoni²⁵, Brian M Cali²⁶, Isaac Ciechanover²⁷, Chip Clark²⁸, Michael D Clayman²⁹, Jeff L Cleland³⁰, Paula Cobb³¹, Ron Cooper³², Mark G Currie³³, John Diekman³⁴, Eric l Dobmeier³⁵, Doug Doerfler³⁶, Deborah Dunsire³⁷, Matthew During³⁸, Jens W Eckstein³⁹, Eric Elenko⁴⁰, Neil A Exter⁴¹, Jonathan J Fleming⁴², Gregory J Flesher⁴³, Jean-Francois Formela⁴⁴, Robert Forrester⁴⁵, Cedric Francois⁴⁶, Heather Franklin⁴⁷, Mason W Freeman⁴⁸, Leonard Patrick Gage⁴⁹, Nicolas Galakatos⁵⁰, James A Geraghty⁵¹, Simba Gill⁵², David V Goeddel⁵³, Mark A Goldsmith⁵⁴, Maxine Gowen⁵⁵, Tom Graney⁵⁶, David Grayzel⁵⁷, Barry Greene⁵⁸, Paul Grint⁵⁹, J C Gutierrez-Ramos⁶⁰, Tuan Ha-Ngoc⁶¹, Bill Haney⁶², Faheem Hasnain⁶³, Yujiro Steve Hata⁶⁴, Peter Hecht⁶⁵, Rich Heyman⁶⁶, Herve Hoppenot⁶⁷, H Robert Horvitz⁶⁸, Thomas E Hughes⁶⁹, Wende S Hutton⁷⁰, Annalisa Jenkins⁷¹, Rachel King⁷², Vanessa King⁷³, Nina Kjellson⁷⁴, Gerhard Koenig⁷⁵, Scott Koenig⁷⁶, Peter Kolchinsky⁷⁷, Paul Laikind⁷⁸, Robert (Bob) Langer⁷⁹, John J Lee⁸⁰, Jonathan S Leff⁸¹, Nick Leschly⁸², Mark Levin⁸³, Arnold Levine⁸⁴, Alan Levy⁸⁵, David Liu⁸⁶, Harvey F Lodish⁸⁷, Uri Lopatin⁸⁸, Ted W Love⁸⁹, Guy Macdonald⁹⁰, Gail J Maderis⁹¹, Ankit Mahadevia⁹², Nagesh K Mahanthappa⁹³, Joel F Martin⁹⁴, W Eddie Martucci⁹⁵, James McArthur⁹⁶, Corey M McCann⁹⁷, Sean A McCarthy⁹⁸, C Geoffrey McDonough⁹⁹, John Mendlein¹⁰⁰, Diego Miralles¹⁰¹, Kenneth I Moch¹⁰², Bob Moore¹⁰³, Andrew G Myers¹⁰⁴, Michael A Narachi¹⁰⁵, Amir Nashat¹⁰⁶, William J Newell¹⁰⁷, Bernat Olle¹⁰⁸, John E Osborn¹⁰⁹, Julia C Owens¹¹⁰, Atul Pande¹¹¹, H Stewart Parker¹¹², Kush M Parmar¹¹³, Matthew R Patterson¹¹⁴, Steve M Paul¹¹⁵, Rob Perez¹¹⁶, Matthew Perry¹¹⁷, Cary G Pfeffer¹¹⁸, Mike Powell¹¹⁹, Dennis J Purcell¹²⁰, Amit Rakhit¹²¹, Kartick Ramamoorthi¹²², William Rastetter¹²³, Adrian (Ad) Rawcliffe¹²⁴, Laurence E Reid¹²⁵, Jason P Rhodes¹²⁶, William J Rieflin¹²⁷, Chad Robins¹²⁸, Scott M Rocklage¹²⁹, Michael Rosenblatt¹³⁰, Jonathan G Rosin¹³¹, William J Rutter¹³², Saurabh Saha¹³³, Camille Samuels¹³⁴, Vicki L Sato¹³⁵, George Scangos¹³⁶, John A Scarlett¹³⁷, Stuart L Schreiber¹³⁸, Andrew Schwab¹³⁹, Paul Sekhri¹⁴⁰, Thomas Shenk¹⁴¹, Clay B Siegall¹⁴², Nick J Simon¹⁴³, Nancy Simonian¹⁴⁴, Jeff Stein¹⁴⁵, Michael Su¹⁴⁶, Mary T Szela¹⁴⁷, Henri Termeer¹⁴⁸, Nancy A Thornberry¹⁴⁹, Martin Tolar¹⁵⁰, Richard Ulevitch¹⁵¹, Akshay K Vaishnaw¹⁵², Anne VanLent¹⁵³, George P Vlasuk¹⁵⁴, Michel Vounatsos¹⁵⁵, Samuel G Waksal¹⁵⁶, Neil Warma¹⁵⁷, Ryan J Watts¹⁵⁸, Yaron Werber¹⁵⁹, Christoph Westphal¹⁶⁰, Wendell Wierenga¹⁶¹, Doug E Williams¹⁶², Lewis (Rusty) Williams¹⁶³, Kleanthis G Xanthopoulos¹⁶⁴, Daphne Zohar¹⁶⁵ & Sandford (Sandy) Zweifach¹⁶⁶

¹Ovid Therapeutics Inc., New York, New York, USA. ²Decibel Therapeutics, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA. ³Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA. ⁴OncoMed Pharmaceuticals, Redwood City, California, USA. ⁵Acorda Therapeutics Inc., Ardsley, New York, USA. ⁶Xencor, Monrovia, California, USA. ⁷Clal Biotechnology Industries, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA. ⁸Cydan Development Inc., Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA. ⁹Caanan Partners, Menlo Park, California,USA.¹⁰Blueprint Medicines, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA.¹¹Health Catalysts, Tuscon, Arizona, USA. ¹²Constellation Pharmaceuticals, Inc., Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA. ¹³Principia Biopharma, South San Francisco, California, USA. ¹⁴Atlas Venture, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA. ¹⁵ZappRx, Boston, Massachusetts, USA. ¹⁶Intellia Therapeutics, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA. ¹⁷Caanan Partners, Westport, Connecticut, USA. ¹⁸Cytokinetics, Inc., South San Francisco, California, USA. ¹⁹Wave Life Sciences, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA. ²⁰Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA. ²¹Atlas Venture, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA. ²²Amylin Pharmaceuticals, San Diego, California, USA. ²³Salus Discovery LLC, San Diego, California, USA. ²⁴Investor, Menlo Park, California, USA. ²⁵Tizona Therapeutics, Inc., South San Francisco, California, USA.  ²⁶Ironwood Pharmaceuticals, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA. ²⁷Atara Bio, South San Francisco, California, USA. ²⁸Genocea Biosciences, Inc., Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA. ²⁹Flexion Therapeutics, Burlington, Massachusetts, USA. ³⁰Graybug Vision, Redwood City, California, USA. ³¹Decibel Therapeutics, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA. ³²Albireo Pharma Inc., Boston, Massachusetts, USA. ³³Ironwood Pharmaceuticals, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA. ³⁴5AM Ventures, San Francisco, California, USA. ³⁵Seattle Genetics, Bothell, Washington, USA. ³⁶MaxCyte, Inc., Gaithersburg, Maryland, USA. ³⁷Southern Cross Biotech Consulting, Waltham, Massachusetts, USA. ³⁸Ovid Therapeutics Inc., New York, New York, USA. ³⁹SR One, Conshohocken, Pennsylvania, USA. ⁴⁰PureTech Health, Boston, Massachusetts, USA. ⁴¹Third Rock Ventures, Boston, Massachusetts, USA. ⁴²Q-State Biosciences, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA. ⁴³OticPharma Inc., Irvine, California, USA. ⁴⁴Atlas Venture, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA. ⁴⁵Verastem Inc., Needham, Massachusetts, USA. ⁴⁶Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Crestwood, Kentucky, USA. ⁴⁷Blaze Bioscience Inc., Seattle, Washington, USA. ⁴⁸5AM Ventures, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.⁴⁹Tetraphase, Watertown, Massachusetts, USA. ⁵⁰Clarus, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA. ⁵¹Juniper Pharmaceuticals, Boston, Massachusetts, USA. ⁵²Evelo Biosciences, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA. ⁵³The Column Group, San Francisco, California, USA. ⁵⁴Revolution Medicines, Inc., Redwood City, California, USA. ⁵⁵Trevena Inc., King of Prussia, Pennsylvania, USA.⁵⁶ Ironwood Pharmaceuticals, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA. ⁵⁷Atlas Venture, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA. ⁵⁸Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA. ⁵⁹Regulus Therapeutics, San Diego, California, USA. ⁶⁰Synlogic, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA. ⁶¹KEW, Inc., Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA. ⁶²Dragonfly Therapeutics, Inc., Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA. ⁶³FSG Biotech, San Diego, California, USA. ⁶⁴IDEAYA Biosciences, South San Francisco, California, USA. ⁶⁵Ironwood Pharmaceuticals, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA. ⁶⁶Metacrine, Inc., San Diego, California, USA. ⁶⁷Incyte, Wilmington, Delaware, USA. ⁶⁸Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA.  ⁶⁹Zafgen, Inc., Boston, Massachusetts, USA. ⁷⁰Caanan Partners, Menlo Park, California, USA. ⁷¹Dimension Therapeutics, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA. ⁷²GlycoMimetics, Inc., Rockville, Maryland, USA. ⁷³Luc Therapeutics, Inc., Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA. ⁷⁴Caanan Partners, Menlo Park, California, USA. ⁷⁵Quartet Medicine, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA. ⁷⁶MacroGenics, Inc., Rockville, Maryland, USA. ⁷⁷RA Capital Management, LLC, Boston, Massachusetts, USA. ⁷⁸ViaCyte, Inc., San Diego, California, USA. ⁷⁹Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA. ⁸⁰Decibel Therapeutics, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA. ⁸¹Deerfield Management, New York, New York, USA. ⁸²Bluebird Bio, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA. ⁸³Third Rock Ventures, Boston, Massachusetts, USA. ⁸⁴Institute for Advanced Study, Princeton, New Jersey, USA. ⁸⁵Chrono Therapeutics, Hayward, California, USA. ⁸⁶Editas Medicine, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA. ⁸⁷Whitehead Institute MIT, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA. ⁸⁸Assembly Biosciences, Carmel, Indiana, USA. ⁸⁹Global Blood Therapeutics, South San Francisco, California, USA. ⁹⁰Tetraphase, Watertown, Massachusetts, USA. ⁹¹Antiva Biosciences, Inc., South San Francisco, California, USA. ⁹²Spero Therapeutics, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA. ⁹³Scholar Rock, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA. ⁹⁴Dauntless Pharmaceuticals, Inc., San Diego, California, USA. ⁹⁵Akili Interactive, Boston, Massachusetts, USA. ⁹⁶Imara, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA. ⁹⁷Pear Therapeutics, Boston, Massachusetts, USA. ⁹⁸CytomX, South San Francisco, California, USA. ⁹⁹Sobi, Waltham, Massachusetts, USA.¹⁰⁰aTyr Pharma, San Diego, California, USA. ¹⁰¹Adaptive Biotechnologies, Seattle, Washington, USA. ¹⁰²Cognition Therapeutics, Inc., Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA. ¹⁰³Alta Partners, San Francisco, California, USA. ¹⁰⁴Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA. ¹⁰⁵Orexigen Therapeutics, La Jolla, California, USA. ¹⁰⁶Polaris Partners, Boston, Massachusetts, USA. ¹⁰⁷Sutro Biopharma, Inc., South San Francisco, California, USA. ¹⁰⁸Vedanta Biosciences, Inc., Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA. ¹⁰⁹Egalet, Wayne, Pannsylvania, USA. ¹¹⁰Millendo Therapeutics, Inc., Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA. ¹¹¹Verity BioConsulting, San Diego, California, USA. ¹¹²Parker BioConsulting, Seattle, Washington, USA. ¹¹³5AM Ventures, Boston, Massachusetts, USA. ¹¹⁴Audentes Therapeutics, Inc., San Francisco, California, USA. ¹¹⁵Voyager Therapeutics, Inc., Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA. ¹¹⁶Life Science Cares, Boston, Massachusetts, USA. ¹¹⁷BVF Partners, LP, San Francisco, California, USA. ¹¹⁸Third Rock Ventures, Boston, Massachusetts, USA. ¹¹⁹Sofinnova Ventures, Menlo Park, California, USA. ¹²⁰Aisling Capital LLC, New York, New York, USA. ¹²¹Ovid Therapeutics Inc., New York, New York, USA. ¹²²Encoded Genomics, South San Francisco, California, USA. ¹²³Neurocrine Biosciences Inc., San Diego, California, USA. ¹²⁴Adaptimmune, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA. ¹²⁵Warp Drive Bio, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA. ¹²⁶Atlas Venture, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA. ¹²⁷NGM Biopharmaceuticals, Inc., South San Francisco, California, USA. ¹²⁸Adaptive Biotechnologies, Seattle, Washington, USA. ¹²⁹5AM Ventures, San Francisco, California, USA. ¹³⁰Flagship Pioneering, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA. ¹³¹Ironwood Pharmaceuticals, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA. ¹³²Synergenics, LLC, San Francisco, California, USA. ¹³³Delinia, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA. ¹³⁴Venrock, Palo Alto, California, USA. ¹³⁵Harvard Business School, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA. ¹³⁶Vir Bio, San Francisco, California, USA. ¹³⁷Geron Corporation, Menlo Park, California, USA. ¹³⁸Broad Institute, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA. ¹³⁹5AM Ventures, San Francisco, California, USA. ¹⁴⁰Lycera Corporation, New York, New York, USA. ¹⁴¹Lewis Thomas Laboratory, Princeton University, Princeton, New Jersey, USA. ¹⁴²Seattle Genetics, Inc., Bothell, Washington, USA. ¹⁴³Clarus Ventures LLC, South San Francisco, California, USA. ¹⁴⁴Syros Pharmaceuticals, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA. ¹⁴⁵Cidara Therapeutics, San Diego, California, USA. ¹⁴⁶Decibel Therapeutics, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA. ¹⁴⁷Novelion Therapeutics, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. ¹⁴⁸Formerly of Genzyme, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA.¹⁴⁹Kallyope, New York, New York, USA. ¹⁵⁰Alzheon, Framingham, Massachusetts, USA. ¹⁵¹5AM Ventures, La Jolla, California, USA. ¹⁵²Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA. ¹⁵³AMV Advisors, Princeton, New Jersey, USA. ¹⁵⁴Navitor Pharmaceuticals, Inc., Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA. ¹⁵⁵Biogen, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA.¹⁵⁶MeiraGTx, New York, New York, USA.¹⁵⁷Opexa Therapeutics, Inc., The Woodlands, Texas, USA. ¹⁵⁸Denali Therapeutics, Inc., South San Francisco, California, USA. ¹⁵⁹Ovid Therapeutics, Inc., New York, New York, USA. ¹⁶⁰Flex Pharma, Boston, Massachusetts, USA. ¹⁶¹Crinetics Pharmaceuticals, San Diego, California, USA. ¹⁶²Codiak BioSciences, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA. ¹⁶³Five Prime Therapeutics, Inc., South San Francisco, California, USA. ¹⁶⁴Cerus, La Jolla, California, USA. ¹⁶⁵PureTech Health, Boston, Massachusetts, USA. ¹⁶⁶Nuvelution Pharmaceuticals, Inc., South San Francisco, California, USA.

1. The White House. Executive Order: Protecting the Nation from Foreign Terrorist Entry into the United States, Jan. 27, 2017.
2. Heggeness, M.L., Gunsalus, K.T.W., Pacas, J. & McDowell , G. Nature 541, 21–23 (2017).
3. 17-35105 State of Washington & State of Minnesota v. Trump. WD Wash. 2:17-cv-141, Judge Robart.

PDF of letter: US immigration order strikes against biotech