Bruce Eaton is a busy man these days. Something he seems to enjoy if his career is an indication. Currently he serves as President and CEO of Velocity Sciences, Inc. and as President and Chairman at i2 Pharmaceuticals.
Velocity Sciences derives the bulk of its revenue from providing contract services for assay development. The company was formed in 2014 through various strategic partnerships with other ventures in the field of life sciences. Since it began the company has expanded its services into the field of immune-oncology (IO).
Technology related to hit discovery and lead optimization is the primary focus of i2 Pharmaceuticals. It allows the big data apparatus in medicinal chemistry to be used in conjunction with big data related to genomics and phenotypic screens. Ultimately, this could aid in the development of better drugs, faster and may help to bring personalized therapeutics within the IO industry.
Before His Current Roles
A Bruce Eaton profile cannot be complete without exploring life before his current positions. Bruce attended college at University of California, Berkley for his Ph.D. in organic chemistry after receiving his MS degree in organic chemistry at the University of Oregon. He graduated from UC Berkley in 1986 before moving into the corporate field.
Today he has more than 35 years of experience in the pharmaceuticals industry. A lofty career for anyone in any field. His career began before he completed his graduate studies at UC Berkley when he became a consultant to Hana Biologies. The company is a public company that developed both serum free media and created IVD products. He helped to develop the synthesis procedures used in the creation of monoclonal antibodies during his time there.
Once he completed his degree, Eaton became the vice president of NexStar Pharmaceuticals. This public company was formed when NeXagen merged with Vestar. His role here was to oversee all chemistry operations. This included small molecule discovery, formulations, new lipid chemistries and more. He also used this opportunity to restructure the chemistry research operations for the company. A process that involved a global reorganization that included layoffs and recruitment.
He served as President of Invenux Inc. in Denver, Colorado from 2000-2003. During his tenure the firm partnered with other pharmaceutical companies on various projects including lead generation in the antibiotics field along with discovering and successfully patenting anti-MRSA compounds.
He moved on to Boulder Colorado in 2011 where he served as Chief Operating Officer for Soma Logic, Inc. The organization specializes in in vitro diagnostics and life sciences tools. Eaton was responsible for strategic planning, project and alliance management, corporate communications, and business development. He was also responsible for a fee-for-services array, SomaSciences, that was being marketed to customers that could assist in various stages of drug development and discovery. He made hiring decisions, developed the marketing message, and establishes the metrics to measure performance in his capacity as COO.
Throughout his career, and playing a vital role in the Bruce Eaton profile is his role as consultant and entrepreneur with The Eaton Consulting Group. This role began before earning his graduate degree and is and continued until July 2014. In this role, Eaton has been instrumental in helping a wide range of biotech companies develop strategies for building strong business to businesses alliances and assisting them in developing their own businesses and transaction. His long history in the industry made him a great choice for a consultancy role and it was something he could do in conjunction with his roles for other companies in the industry.
In 2012, Eaton become a board member for the Colorado BioScience Association where he has served since. He is also a board member at the Colorado Institute for Drug, Device, and Diagnostic Development. The organization is dedicated to improving healthcare outcomes, reducing healthcare costs, and promoting growth within the biosciences industry in Colorado. It intends to do this by accelerating the creation and marketing of new drugs, diagnostics, and medical devices according to research conducted at Colorado’s research institutions.
About Bruce Eaton
Just as Bruce is dedicated to the science of saving lives and improving health, he is also dedicated to many different causes. Among those he cares most about are: educational causes, economic empowerment, science and technology, health, the environment, human rights, and arts and culture.
He finds a great deal of fulfillment in the work he does. Work that is responsible for the first successful aptamer IND and more than 70 worldwide patents. He has leant his expertise to non-profit institutions working to expand commercial opportunities within the biotech and live sciences industries. Perhaps that is why he is always working for one business or another with the intention of promoting this industry and the many benefits it provides today – and many more it will provide in the future.