Breakthrough Biotech Builders: Mary Lynne Hedley
The Breakthrough Biotech Builders series are curated, invitation only gatherings that convene an elite cohort of Boston’s most successful founders and executives—leaders who have turned visionary concepts into life-saving therapies. Our goal for these discussions is to provide founders & CEOs of biotech companies an opportunity to engage directly with pioneers in the field, and learn from their experience bringing a drug candidate through a successful development path to the clinic.
This session features Dr. Mary Lynne Hedley and will be moderated by Prof. William (Bill) Chin. We will explore the milestones of her journey, contributions to the field, and the enduring impact of her work on the future of biotechnology and medicine.
About Dr Mary Lynne Hedley:
Dr Mary Lynne is a senior scientific fellow at the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard. Mary Lynne was elected to the Eli Lilly and Company Board of Directors in 2022, and is a Venture Partner at Third Rock Ventures. She is Chair of the Life Science Committee at the Boston Museum of Science, an active participant in the Biotech CEO sisterhood and serves as an advisor to several biotech CEOs.
Most recently, Mary Lynne was co-founder, director, president, and COO/CSO of TESARO, a biotechnology company focused on the development and global commercialization of medicines to treat patients living with cancer. She oversaw a team responsible for R&D, global manufacturing and operations, portfolio management, commercial development, business development, and corporate strategy. Prior to its acquisition by GSK for $5.1 billion, over 8 years TESARO had built a robust pipeline of products and drug candidates, had received multiple drug approvals, was commercializing medicines in the US and Europe, and was recognized for its productivity and creative drug development strategies. Notable successes were the development of the PARP inhibitor Zejula, which changed the treatment paradigm for women diagnosed with ovarian cancer, and the approval of dostarlimab in first line endometrial cancer and its development in first line MSI-H rectal cancer.
About the Moderator: Prof. William (Bill) Chin is the Bertarelli Professor of Translational Medical Science and Professor of Medicine Emeritus at Harvard Medical School. He previously served as Executive Vice President for Science and Regulatory Advocacy and Chief Medical Officer at PhRMA, leading advocacy efforts with the FDA and NIH. Prior to this, he was an Executive Dean for Research at HMS and Senior Vice President for Discovery Research and Clinical Investigation at Eli Lilly, overseeing over 100 drug candidates. A Harvard-trained endocrinologist, Dr. Chin has a distinguished 25-year career at HMS, including roles as Chief of the Genetics Division at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and a Howard Hughes Medical Institute Investigator. He has advised Singapore for over 40 years on developing its biotechnology innovation ecosystem, serving as an active Board Member of A-STAR. In 2023, he received honorary Singapore citizenship for these contributions. Dr. Chin earned his A.B. from Columbia University and M.D. from Harvard Medical School, and has received numerous awards for research, mentorship, and leadership.
About TINS: Technology Innovation Studio (TINS) is an innovation studio that uses systems dynamics models to accelerate innovation. TINS carries out interest groups based programming and builds communities through curated events and complements this with expert-led concierge and consulting services. TINS has interests in venture creation and in doing syndicated investments in early-stage deep-tech companies.
About the Breakthrough Biotech Builders Series: A quarterly series that aims to offer unparalleled insights into the minds of leaders who have successfully and repeatedly translated great ideas into medicines. Previous sessions were held with Dr. Steve Paul https://luma.com/5rfgvqfd and Dr. John Maraganore https://luma.com/z34kjv1p
Note: Registration fees contribute toward venue costs and complimentary refreshments.
A big thanks to our founding partner Greenberg Traurig for supporting the BBB series.