Experts in science, strategy, and company building.

Our team brings together seasoned biotech entrepreneurs, scientific innovators, and operational leaders dedicated to transforming early-stage academic discoveries into fundable, clinically focused ventures. We combine deep translational experience with hands-on support, giving founders and investigators the structure, resources, and strategy needed to advance breakthrough technologies toward the clinic.

The SBH BioFoundry Team

Headshot of Raphael Nir, Co-Founder of SBH BioVenture

  • Raphael is a biotech entrepreneur, protein chemist, and scientific innovator with more than 30 years of experience advancing biological technologies from discovery through commercialization. He has served as President and Chief Scientific Officer of SBH Sciences since co-founding the company in 1997. Under his management, SBH Sciences has become a leading supplier of recombinant cytokines and a preferred discovery research service provider.

    Raphael is an ambitious entrepreneur having co-founded seven additional biotech and diagnostics companies: Karyopharm Therapeutics, SBH Diagnostics, Woodland Biosciences, Galectin Sciences, Alma Bio Therapeutics, Vuja De Sciences and NeuroDex. To fulfill his vision and help startup companies, he co-founded two additional organizations: Sky Ventures and ABI-LAB, a 7-year-old bioincubator located in Natick, MA, currently housing 45 biotechnology companies.

    Raphael earned his Ph.D. in biotechnology, an M.S. in biochemistry, and a B.S. in chemistry from Tel-Aviv University. His postdoctoral research was at Schering Plough Research Institute where he later became a Senior Scientist/Associate Principal Scientist and developed innovative cell culture processes and solutions related to biological production. Additionally, he earned an M.S. in engineering management from New Jersey Institute of Technology (1997).

    At SBH BioVenture, Raphael leads scientific evaluation and translational strategy, guiding founders on experimental design, feasibility assessment, and development pathways to support rigorous, scalable, and investable biological innovation.

  • Eyal brings decades of experience as a serial entrepreneur in life sciences, having co-founded 12 ventures spanning therapeutics, biomaterials, and medtech. His portfolio includes companies such as Cerebrotec, Gelesis, Combinent Biomedical Systems, and Sensei Biomaterials, among others.

    Over the years, Eyal has been involved in five successful company exits through IPOs or acquisitions. He played instrumental roles in the development and approval of seven commercial products—ranging from oral sustained-release drugs like Perfusia® and reformulated Marplan®, to implantable and biodegradable systems such as Plenity®, Gliadel®, InFuse®, and ProLease®. His work has also extended into surgical applications including FocalSeal®, a pioneering biodegradable sealant, and novel protein/peptide delivery systems.

    Beyond his entrepreneurial work, Eyal is deeply committed to mentoring the next generation of life science innovators. He currently serves on five boards and supports early-stage teams through programs like MassChallenge, Stanford Biodesign, iCORPS, Northeastern’s Venture Mentoring Network, and EIT Health.

    At SBH BioVenture, Eyal provides strategic guidance on early venture formation, helping founders define their value proposition, shape product and development strategy, and validate the commercial assumptions required for fundable translation. He works closely with early teams to identify unmet needs, refine scientific and operational plans, and chart pathways that increase both technical rigor and market viability.

  • Lisa Portney, MBA - Business Development Advisor

    Lisa is a business development and strategy leader with experience across biopharma, investment banking, and early-stage biotech venture building. She began her career at Shire and Biogen, where she supported the commercialization and launch of Imraldi, gaining cross-functional experience in clinical positioning, market strategy, and operational execution for large-molecule therapeutics.

    She later worked in investment banking, focusing on IPO and follow-on offerings, strengthening her ability to assess company fundamentals, evaluate market narratives, and prepare founders for investor diligence. In her consulting work, Lisa has partnered with numerous biotech and platform startups across immunology, oncology, AI-enabled discovery, diagnostics, and digital biomarkers—developing value-inflection plans, diligence materials, market landscapes, and fundraising strategies.

    Lisa holds a B.S. in Chemistry from McGill University and an MBA from Columbia Business School.

    At SBH BioVenture, Lisa leads venture sourcing, assessment, investment thesis development, and operational execution. She works closely with founders and academic teams to define development pathways, shape commercial and investor narratives, and prepare early technologies for partnership and financing within a structured, milestone-driven framework.

  • Daniel Behr, MBA - Executive-in-Residence

    Daniel is an entrepreneurial leader with 25+ years’ experience driving innovation from conception to market across life sciences, industrial products, and advanced materials.  His career spans startups, entrepreneurship, venture capital, and technology transfer. He translates inventions into commercial realities by turning hypotheses into certainty, validating market adoption triggers, and building operational and financial plans aligned with investor expectations.

    Most recently, Daniel helped over 50 biomedical startups optimize their go-to-market strategies at the HealthTech Hub accelerator.  He previously served as CEO of Adaptive Surface Technologies, EVP of External Innovation at Ocean Biomedical and Rediscovery Life Sciences, and as a venture investor at both Access BridgeGap Ventures and Allied Minds. Daniel also held university tech transfer leadership positions at Brown and Harvard Universities.

    Daniel holds a B.S. in Engineering from the Georgia Institute of Technology and an MBA in from Harvard Business School.

    At SBH BioVenture, Daniel develops go-to-market strategies, operational roadmaps, and investor-ready business plans.  His expertise ensures that each opportunity entering the SBH pipeline is positioned for downstream clinical, strategic, and commercial success.