Employer Spotlight

For the Employer Spotlight, there is logo of the company named Rise Therapeutics.

 

 

 

 

Name of the Organization: Rise Therapeutics

Industry: Biotechnology

CEO/Founder: Gary Fanger

1) How has MTIP impacted your company or your ability to hire interns?

MTIP jump started a new effort to hire several interns at once over the summer, it went really well, so we’re continuing into the fall!

2) What inspired the founder to start the company?

During his successful career at several biotech companies, Gary Fanger saw firsthand the promise of breakthrough biologics for cancer and autoimmune diseases—but also their limits. Most were only available as injections and carried harsh immunosuppressive side effects. He became determined to change that, and founded Rise Therapeutics in 2017. His vision was simple but bold: create medicines that work just as well, but with fewer side effects, and make them available to patients as easy-to-take oral capsules. That mission led to the founding of Rise Therapeutics.

3) What problem is the company solving, or what service or feature is the company providing?

Rise Therapeutics has spent years designing novel therapies with unique mechanisms of action and enabling their oral delivery by engineering common probiotics into “mini-pharmacies.” These living medicines release biologic therapies directly in the gut—the body’s most active immune environment. The company is now rapidly advancing three clinical-stage programs for patients with inflammatory bowel disease, rheumatoid arthritis, and Sjögren’s syndrome, as well as a combination approach to enhance responses to checkpoint inhibitors that can be life-saving in many cancers.

4) Can you share a major milestone or success that has had a significant impact on your company’s growth?

In just the past two years, Rise has secured FDA clearance for six INDs and built a fully operational GMP manufacturing facility to supply its clinical programs. Our lean but powerful operations team is driving a diverse pipeline of first-in-class oral biologics, with clinical data continually validating the science and strengthening the path toward transformative new therapies.

5) What is your company aiming to achieve in the next 5 to 10 years?

We are committed to advancing our pipeline into pivotal Phase 2 placebo-controlled trials while securing the right pharmaceutical partners to bring these therapies to patients living with debilitating diseases. Clinical success will not only validate our platform, but also open the door to a broader portfolio of drug candidates aimed at transforming the treatment of autoimmune and cancer conditions.

6) What advice would you give to someone wanting to start a company in your industry?

Starting a biotech company is both exhilarating and daunting. You quickly learn that drug development isn’t just science—it’s a marathon of complexity, risk, and relentless challenges. The timelines are long, the costs enormous, and the setbacks inevitable. What makes the difference is having the right people by your side. Advisors, mentors, and partners who bring wisdom, resilience, and belief in the mission can turn what feels impossible into progress. At the end of the day, it’s the team you build around the science that makes the journey worth it—and gives patients hope.