BioTech Social Announces Advisory Board to Advance Financial Innovation for Life Science Companies

BETHESDA, MD, Sept. 17, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Experienced leaders across biotechnology, finance, technology, patient engagement, communications, and company building will advise BSI as it builds financial infrastructure around life science innovation

BioTech Social Inc. (BSI), parent company of BioTech Funding Portal, today announced the formation of an advisory board bringing together experienced leaders from biotechnology, healthcare, finance, technology, patient advocacy, communications, and company building.

The advisory board will support BSI’s broader mission of addressing one of the most persistent challenges in life sciences: connecting promising innovation with the capital needed to advance through lengthy and expensive development pathways.

BSI is building financial infrastructure around life science innovation. BioTech Funding Portal, its SEC-registered and FINRA-member Regulation Crowdfunding portal, represents the company’s first implementation of that strategy. Over time, BSI intends to explore additional financial structures, tools, and vehicles designed around the distinctive capital needs of life science companies.

“Scientists spend years developing solutions for diseases for which patients still have too few options, only to see them fail due to funding gaps at the transition into clinical development” said Dr. Neva West, CEO and Co-Founder of BSI. “Advancing that research requires sustained support over many years. We want to help create an environment in which promising clinical science, meeting true unmet needs, can continue moving forward while keeping patients and the communities affected by the disease central to the conversation.”

Addressing the Life Science “Valley of Death”

The financing challenge is particularly acute during the so-called funding “valley of death”, the period in which companies must continue investing in research, clinical development, regulatory work, and company building, often before they can generate meaningful commercial revenue or attract traditional institutional capital.

BSI launched BioTech Funding Portal in June 2026 as a regulated investment crowdfunding portal built specifically for life science companies. The portal enables eligible companies to raise up to $5 million in capital annually from individual investors under Regulation Crowdfunding while creating opportunities for a broader population of investors to participate in private life science innovation.

BSI views the portal as the beginning of a larger effort.

“BioTech Funding Portal is our first implementation, not the endpoint,” said Brian P. Christie, Chair and Co-Founder of BioTech Social Inc. “Our broader objective is to build financial infrastructure around the science, developing financing mechanisms that better match capital to the milestones, risks and opportunities inherent in life science development.”Christie added, “Crossing the valley of death is not simply a fundraising problem. The capital has to work within a much larger system involving scientific milestones, regulatory pathways, patients, strategic partners, company leadership, and investor expectations. That is one reason we wanted an advisory board with such a wide range of experience.”

A Multidisciplinary Advisory Board

The advisory board brings together leaders who have built and financed companies, developed biotechnology partnerships, navigated regulated markets, created global technology and financial infrastructure, worked with patient communities, managed corporate reputation, and assembled leadership teams.

The group includes Dr. Imad Ajjawi, Bob Barich, John Couric, Karin Hellsvik, Ray Jordan, Dr. Eydith Comenencia Ortiz, William Schrader, and Andrew Willis.

Dr. Imad Ajjawi, Advisor, is CEO and Co-Founder of RyboDyn, a biotechnology company developing cancer immunotherapies targeting a cryptic proteome. Previously, he was Vice President of Business Development at Absci, where he drove more than $600 million in partnerships and played a role in the company’s $1.5 billion IPO. He also co-founded AI-driven protein design company Denovium, which was acquired by Absci. Ajjawi holds a PhD in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology and an MBA from the Rady School of Management at UC San Diego.

Bob Barich, Advisor, is an executive search professional with more than 26 years of experience recruiting communications, public relations, investor relations and government affairs leaders. Through CNR Search, he works with organizations to identify executives aligned with their strategic goals, culture and long-term leadership needs. His experience spans U.S. and international markets, with particular depth in pharmaceutical and healthcare communications, consumer products and financial services.

John Couric, Advisor, brings more than four decades of experience across finance, banking and technology. Most recently, he served as Chief Financial Officer of IntraFi Network, formerly Promontory Interfinancial Network, where he was part of the leadership team from its early years through its growth into a financial services network supporting thousands of institutions nationwide. Earlier, he held leadership positions at PSINet and Bell Atlantic, now Verizon and previously worked at the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). He holds an MBA from The George Washington University and a BS in Commerce from the University of Virginia.

Karin Hellsvik, Advisor, is Vice President, Corporate Affairs, Investor Relations and Operations at Foghorn Therapeutics, where she also serves as Chief of Staff to the CEO. She brings 20 years of experience in strategic communications, advocacy and patient engagement. Previously, Hellsvik headed corporate affairs for Biogen’s Alzheimer’s Disease Business Unit and helped establish the company’s global Patient Advocacy function from its international headquarters in Switzerland. She serves on the Board of Directors of UsAgainstAlzheimer’s. 

Ray Jordan, Advisor, is a corporate affairs leader whose career spans biotechnology, healthcare, technology, advanced manufacturing, consumer industries and financial services. He has held senior corporate affairs and global communications leadership positions at Moderna, Amgen and Johnson & Johnson, as well as senior communications and strategic counsel roles at Pfizer and other companies. His work has focused extensively on reputation, stakeholder engagement and communicating innovation in complex industries.mulet

Dr. Eydith Comenencia Ortiz, Advisor, is a life sciences strategy executive and Founder and CEO of CONECTA. She advises biopharmaceutical, diagnostics and digital health companies on strategy, patient engagement, and evidence generation, helping organizations optimize the development and delivery of healthcare solutions. Previously, she led global advocacy and patient engagement initiatives at Roche, Genentech, Biogen, and Global Blood Therapeutics, with extensive experience across oncology, hematology, and rare diseases. She holds a PhD in Neuroscience from Tufts University School of Medicine.

William Schrader, Advisor, is an entrepreneur, investor and mentor who founded PSINet, the world’s first commercial Internet Service Provider. As Chairman and CEO, he grew the business from a startup into a global enterprise with approximately 10,000 employees, 400 offices in 30 countries and $2 billion in revenue. During his career, Schrader has raised approximately $5 billion in capital and developed extensive experience scaling technology companies and infrastructure. He holds an MBA and a BS in Biology from Cornell University, where he concentrated in Neurobiology and Behavior.

Andrew Willis, Advisor, is an executive, board member, advisor and investor with experience across biotechnology, healthcare, digital health and education technology. He was Co-Founder and a member of the Board of Directors of Crossix Solutions, a healthcare analytics company acquired by Veeva Systems. Willis serves on the Healthcare and Pharmaceutical Management Program Advisory Board at Columbia Business School and the Board of Advisors at Georgetown University’s McDonough School of Business. He earned a BSBA from Georgetown University and a JD and MBA from Columbia University.

Financial Models Designed Around How Life Sciences Develop

Life science companies differ fundamentally from many other emerging businesses. Capital requirements are frequently driven by scientific, clinical and regulatory milestones rather than conventional revenue growth. Development timelines can span years, and significant enterprise value may be created well before a product reaches the market.

BSI believes those characteristics create an opportunity to develop financial models that more closely reflect how life science innovation actually progresses.

“For me, this ultimately comes back to science and the people it is intended to serve,” West said. “Patients and patient communities often understand both the urgency of unmet need and the realities of living with disease in ways that can add important perspective to the development process and they should be able to invest in these companies. As we think about new ways to support emerging life science companies, we want those perspectives represented alongside those of scientists, entrepreneurs, and investors.”

BSI expects the advisory board to provide strategic guidance as the company develops BioTech Funding Portal and evaluates additional approaches to expanding access to capital for life science companies.

“Our focus is straightforward,” Christie said. “There is remarkable science being developed by emerging companies, and too much of it encounters a financing gap before its potential can be validated. We want to build financial infrastructure that gives more of that science an opportunity to make it across.”

About BioTech Social Inc.

BioTech Social Inc. is building financial infrastructure around life science innovation. The company develops platforms, tools, and financial structures intended to expand access to capital for biotechnology, pharmaceutical, medical technology, diagnostic, digital health, and other life science companies. BioTech Social Inc. is the parent company of BioTech Funding Portal LLC.

For more information, users can visit: https://www.biotech.social

About BioTech Funding Portal

BioTech Funding Portal is an SEC-registered funding portal and FINRA member focused exclusively on life science companies raising capital under Regulation Crowdfunding. The portal enables eligible companies to raise up to $5 million in capital annually from individual investors while providing investors access to private life science investment opportunities under Regulation Crowdfunding.

Investment opportunities offered through BioTech Funding Portal are speculative, illiquid, and involve a high degree of risk, including the possible loss of the entire investment. This press release is for informational purposes only and does not constitute an offer to sell or solicitation of an offer to buy any security. Any securities offering conducted through BioTech Funding Portal is made only pursuant to applicable offering materials filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

For more information, users can visit: https://www.biotech.fund 

Lee-Ann Murphy
BioTech Social Inc
leeann@biotech.social