Partnering for health
Philadelphia M.D.-Ph.D. student Jonathan Brestoff Parker ’08 and his former Skidmore mentor T.H. Reynolds, both working on a new class of obesity treatments, have earned three patents and co-founded Symmetry Therapeutics. This summer, planning thank-you perks for a Symmetry crowd-funding effort, Parker enlisted another Skidmore mentor, Paul Arciero, whose company offers a diet and exercise app—and the firms struck a deal for Symmetry to provide Arciero’s app as a perk.
Parker says “the lifestyle changes that Dr. Paul promotes are in line with Symmetry’s vision, and it was a lot of fun negotiating with my former professor, who I still consider a mentor and friend.”
Taking its crowd approach even further, Symmetry does what most other pharma firms avoid: seeking input from prospective customers. “This kind of research is a complicated, lengthy process,” Parker says, “and we think the best way is to crowd-source it.” Since Symmetry’s mission is “helping people lead healthier lives, we think they deserve a voice in the way new therapies are sought and tested and brought to market.”
A Skidmore trustee, Parker says opening dialog between biotech and the public “reflects Skidmore’s values of scientific advancement, science literacy, entrepreneurship, and working for positive change.”
