Lessons In Leadership And Biotech Growth From Rallybio CEO Martin Mackay

Veteran pharma leader Martin Mackay, CEO of Rallybio, recently spoke with In Vivo about building a new company on the cusp of retirement, what drives him, how he leads and what he is excited about in the company’s pipeline.

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Believing In The People He Has Worked With Has Gone A Long Way For Martin Mackay • Source: Shutterstock

It is an understatement to say that Martin Mackay is an industry veteran. The Rallybio Corp. CEO entered the field at the age of 16, later to return to advanced level studies. As he likes to note, he has had 31 bosses over his career, but has notably held top positions himself, at Alexion Pharmaceuticals Inc., AstraZeneca PLC and Pfizer Inc., where he helped develop and commercialize several ultra-rare and ultra-orphan therapies.

After a brief stint as a retiree, Mackay co-founded New Haven, CT-based Rallybio, a rare disease-focused biotech. He has shepherded the company into two significant co-development partnerships, several asset acquisitions and helped the company raise $182m before going public in the summer of 2021 and raising another $93m. (Also see "Rallybio Leverages Founders’ Experience, $145m In New Cash For Rare Diseases" - Scrip, 20 May, 2020

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