Transforming various sectors, from housing to healthcare: Audrey Greenberg's global impact mission
Audrey Greenberg's Career: Bridging Industries and Pioneering Biomanufacturing
Audrey Greenberg has carved out a remarkable career that spans across business, real estate, and biopharma, with a distinctive focus on advancing the cell and gene therapy sector. Her unique journey is marked by her ability to bridge diverse industries and capitalise on her business acumen to build pioneering infrastructure in biotech manufacturing.
Greenberg began her career in business, deviating from the family tradition of medicine. However, her life took an unexpected turn when her daughter was diagnosed with cholesteatoma, a non-cancerous tumor in the ear. This experience pulled her into the healthcare field, where she started a real estate venture focused on tax credit housing, specifically developing battered women's shelters and senior housing in impoverished areas.
In 2021, Greenberg, along with her associates, created a biomanufacturing hub for cell and gene therapy called the Center for Breakthrough Medicines (CBM). Located near the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia's Cellicon Valley and easily accessible to an international airport, the CBM was designed to address a critical bottleneck in cell and gene therapy: the ability to scale manufacturing and make revolutionary cures accessible beyond the initial research labs.
The CBM combined capital sources for emerging companies with practical manufacturing capabilities, innovator companies, and partnerships with Big Pharma, creating an integrated ecosystem that did not previously exist. The hub provides services such as plasmid DNA production, viral vector manufacturing, cell processing, testing, and analytical services, enabling small biotech firms and large pharmaceutical companies alike to accelerate the production and delivery of advanced gene and cell therapies.
The COVID-19 pandemic forced the CBM team to learn a new way to do business, moving key meetings onto Zoom. Despite the challenges, the CBM grew to include international clients and became an ecosystem for the cell and gene therapy industry. In September 2023, Greenberg sold the CBM to SK Pharmteco, a California subsidiary of South Korean investment group SK Group, for an undisclosed amount.
Greenberg stayed on for one year to facilitate the transition before joining the Mayo Clinic as a partner at a new venture arm they were starting up in 2024. After selling the CBM, Greenberg received at least a dozen offers from biotechs to become CEO. She encourages shooting for lofty goals, stating that you will achieve what you set out to achieve.
In the brutal biotech market, Greenberg advises executives to mitigate expectations and understand that investors are calculating risk and valuations more conservatively. She also emphasises the importance of having a great rapport with your team, especially if something goes wrong. Greenberg's career exemplifies transformational leadership that crosses industry boundaries to create vital infrastructure supporting breakthrough medical technologies. Her work in creating biomanufacturing hubs like CBM underscores her impact on accelerating the translation of scientific innovations into real-world cures for patients.
- Audrey Greenberg, moving from the realm of business and real estate, plunged into the cell and gene therapy industry, creating the Center for Breakthrough Medicines (CBM) in 2021, funded by investments from various sources.
- Post selling the CBM to SK Pharmteco in 2023, Audrey Greenberg joined the Mayo Clinic's new venture arm, continuing her efforts in bridging industries and accelerating the development of breakthrough medical technologies, all with a focus on cell and gene therapy.
