21THEBOTTOMLINE Technologiesthatpiggybackontothebody’s
trashdisposalsystemtodestroydiseaseshavebecomesomeof
thehottestnewwaystomakepills.existingcategoriesofcommercialdrugs,before
movingtowarduntriedorhard-to-hittargets.The
companyistestingitsprostatecancerdrugon
patientswhohavestoppedrespondingtoexist-
inghormone therapies. The first safety results are
due later this year.
A decade from now, a third of new drug
approvals could be degraders, says Nathanael
Gray, a chemical biologist working on degraders
at Dana-Farber who’s also a co-founder and sci-
entific adviser of biotech C4 Therapeutics. The
company has a deal with Biogen Inc. to pursue
degraders for brain diseases. Says Gray: “There
is really no disease that can’t be impacted by this
technology.” �Robert Langreth● Startup employees are pushing back against a relentless work culture as job losses mount
China’s Lost Tech Generation
Terry Hu first sensed trouble at the Beijing gaming
startup where he worked when his boss stopped
showing up. Then the stockpile of freebies for
users—gift cards, plush toys—ran out. The founder
finally said funding had dried up for the company.
Hu and about two-thirds of his colleagues were
fired, he says. “He told us we were the best and
brightest, that we might come back and work for
the company someday,” Hu says, asking that the
company’s name not be disclosed out of fear that
it would worsen his career prospects. “It was a
load of garbage.” It took him three months to land
a job at an English-language center, outside the
tech sector that once held so much appeal. “I’ve
learned my lesson,” he says.
A generation of Chinese tech workers is con-
fronting a new reality as the industry endures its
worst slump since the 2008 financial crisis. China’s
broader economic slowdown and the trade war
with the U.S. have ended the boom that birthed
heavyweightsincludingAlibabaGroupHolding
Ltd.andTencentHoldingsLtd.StartupsinGreater
Chinahaveraised$32.5billionviaventurecapital
dealssofarin2019,lessthana thirdoflastyear’s
$111.8billion, data from research and consulting
firm Preqin shows. Job losses are mounting, and◼ TECHNOLOGY Bloomberg Businessweek October 14, 2019