Resilience Raises $800M to Revolutionize Pharma Manufacturing

Resilience, a newly established biopharmaceutical firm supported by $800 million in funding from investors such as ARCH Venture Partners and 8VC, has launched with the goal of fundamentally changing drug and therapy production within the United States.

National Resilience Inc., operating as Resilience, was founded by Robert Nelsen, an investor at ARCH Venture Partners, and stemmed from his concerns regarding the inadequate U.S. response during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The company plans to make substantial investments in the advancement of novel manufacturing technologies encompassing cell and gene therapies, viral vectors, vaccines, and proteins, as stated in a company announcement.

Resilience’s leadership pinpointed challenges within the therapeutic manufacturing process as a significant obstacle to bringing innovative treatments to patients – a challenge the company was specifically created to address.

“The COVID-19 pandemic highlighted significant weaknesses in medical supply networks, and current manufacturing capabilities are insufficient to meet the pace of scientific advancement, medical breakthroughs, and the demand for large-scale production and distribution of essential medications. We are dedicated to resolving these substantial issues through an entirely new business approach,” Nelsen explained in a statement.

The company has assembled a team including prominent investment firms in healthcare and biosciences, alongside operational leaders like Rahul Singhvi from Flagship Pioneering, who will serve as Resilience’s chief executive officer; Scott Gottlieb, the former commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration and a partner at New Enterprise Associates, serving as a director on the Resilience board; and Patrick Yang, previously the executive vice president and global head of technical operations at Roche/Genentech.

“It’s essential to implement solutions that will safeguard the manufacturing supply chain and enhance predictability in drug development, as well as the ability to scale up production of complex, yet safe and effective, products enabled by scientific progress,” stated Dr. Gottlieb. “Resilience will facilitate these solutions by integrating advanced technology, a uniquely skilled workforce, and a pioneering shared service business model. Functioning similarly to Amazon Web Services, Resilience will provide drug developers with resources to better integrate discovery, development, and manufacturing, while also creating opportunities for earlier investment in formulation and manufacturing innovations during the conception and development phases.”

The company is also collaborating with other leading figures in medicine and biotechnology, including Frances Arnold, a Nobel laureate and professor at the California Institute of Technology; George Barrett, the former chief executive of Cardinal Health; Susan Desmond-Hellmann, the former president of product development at Genentech; Kaye Foster, the former vice president of human resources at Johnson & Johnson; and Denice Torres, the former president of Johnson & Johnson Pharmaceutical and Consumer Companies.