Life Science Mentoring: Back Bay Sponsors Tufts New England Case Competition

This summer, we are again privileged to learn from future life science leaders through our involvement with the Tufts New England Case Competition (TUNECC).

On August 5th, members of the Back Bay Life Science Advisors strategy and investment banking teams served as judges, mentors, and support to the TUNECC teams during their third annual case competition.

Presented by The Tufts Biomedical Business Club, TUNECC is focused on structured problem solving for the global life sciences industry. The event brought together the most promising scientific minds to think beyond basic science to one of the toughest business challenges facing the life science industry today – the waning R&D pipeline.Seventeen institutions took part, including Duke, Harvard, Tufts, MIT, Yale, Columbia, and Stony Brook, forming 17 teams of advanced degree candidates and post-doctoral fellows.

Participants were challenged to focus on therapeutic areas that have seen significant boom, such as oncology, to measure R&D productivity and develop a business strategy to sustain growth. At Back Bay, we’re challenged every day to combine scientific, clinical, product and market analytics to form the best strategic counsel for our clients. TUNECC tested new scientists to apply all of these tools in tackling the problems of a leading clinical-stage immunotherapies company. Faced with daily breaking news around the company’s stock trajectory, the teams had a dynamic, real-life business scenario to play with —and they shone

.As we do for our own close-knit group of colleagues, the Back Bay team looked to these competitors to demonstrate an innate ability to integrate clinical and scientific background with thoughtful commercial perspective to work through this business problem

.The winning team – from Tufts and Boston University – successfully tackled the issue of disappearing R&D productivity from a strategic perspective. They navigated through heavy analytics and maintained the clarity and vision to see the big picture. As with Back Bay, teamwork and creativity ultimately won the day.TUNECC pulled in an incredible array of talent, and we’re optimistic about the future of life sciences with these bright minds.

Congratulations to the winners!