Factor Bioscience was founded in 2011 by Dr. Matt Angel and Dr. Christopher Rohde to develop new technologies in a little-explored area that they believed had enormous potential: messenger RNA (“mRNA”). The two co-founders started out in a small biotech incubator space, which they filled with used lab equipment purchased with their limited personal savings.
Today, Factor’s innovations are protected by more than 100 patents, we engage in and fund research projects with our university collaborators and industry partners, and we create and invest in new companies that use our technology to develop the next generation of engineered cell therapies.
While we have come a long way from our small incubator space filled with used lab equipment, we are proud to have maintained the entrepreneurial spirit of those early days, and we look forward to being a part of this exciting field for years to come.
Matt Angel, Ph.D.
Co-Founder, Chairman and CEO
Dr. Matt Angel has led Factor Bioscience since its founding in 2011. A pioneer in mRNA technology development, Matt is a prolific inventor with more than 100 patents covering mRNA, nucleic acid delivery, gene editing, and cell reprogramming technologies. Matt is a serial entrepreneur, and is Co-Founder of immuno-oncology company, Exacis Biotherapeutics, where he serves as Scientific Advisory Board Chair, and the recently acquired cell therapy company, Novellus Therapeutics.
Matt received his Ph.D. from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where he studied the innate immune response of cells to exogenous RNA molecules. Prior to his graduate studies, Matt was a member of MIT Lincoln Laboratory’s Biodefense Systems Group, where he developed technologies to detect and mitigate biological weapons threats.
Christopher Rohde, Ph.D.
Co-Founder, Chief Technology Officer
As Chief Technology Officer, Dr. Christopher Rohde leads Factor’s efforts to develop new applications of its mRNA, gene editing, and cell reprogramming technologies.
Chris co-founded and served as President and CEO of Novellus Therapeutics from its founding in 2014 until its acquisition by Brooklyn ImmunoTherapeutics (Nasdaq: BTX) in 2021. As President and CEO of Novellus, Chris led multiple successful out-licenses of its induced mesenchymal stem cells (“iMSCs”), including for COVID-19 related Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome (“ARDS”), other acute respiratory conditions, and cancer. Chris serves on the Scientific Advisory Boards of Brooklyn ImmunoTherapeutics and Exacis Biotherapeutics.
Chris received his Ph.D. from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where he studied nerve regeneration in C. elegans. Chris has served as Principal Investigator on programs sponsored by the National Institutes of Health to generate new models for the study and treatment of Alzheimer’s disease. Chris’s work is described in numerous peer-reviewed publications and has been covered by Technology Review, Nature, Bioscience Magazine, Analytical Chemistry, The Economist, and many others.
Factor Bioscience is seeking new team members to help us develop the next generation of mRNA and cell engineering technologies.
