Steve Holtzman

Steve is one of biotech’s great platform strategists and dealmakers, and a longtime advisor to ambitious technical founders.

Steve’s rigorous thinking dates back to his days studying philosophy as a Rhodes Scholar at Oxford. Afterwards, he picked the most obvious next career move and founded DNX Corporation, the first company developing transgenic animals. He later became the Chief Business Officer of Millenium Pharmaceuticals, one of the first companies applying genomic technologies to drug discovery. Millenium is an iconic case study in biotech partnering. The business struck over 20 deals that brought in over $2B in committed funding, and was ultimately acquired by Takeda for $8.8B.

Steve went on to lead Infinity Pharmaceuticals as the CEO for a decade, before moving to the other side of the dealmaking table at Biogen. As the EVP of Corporate Development, he played a key role in several critical global partnerships and acquisitions. Biogen more than doubled its revenue during his tenure.

In the last chapter of his full-time operating career, Steve was the Founding CEO of Decibel Therapeutics, a business developing gene therapies to treat various forms of congenital hearing loss. Decibel was acquired by Regeneron in 2023. Last year, Decibel’s programs delivered transformative clinical results, restoring hearing in deaf children.

Steve has had an objectively impressive career. But he’s not done making a big impact. He now actively advises the next generation of great biotech entrepreneurs. Steve serves as an executive chair at Manifold Bio and Qihan Biotech, holds board positions at Camp4 and Cellular Intelligence, and advises many other founders and startups. Founders seek out Steve for his ability to break down complex problems, shape strategy, and negotiate important deals.