When Leen Kawas led Athira Pharma through its initial public offering in 2020, she achieved something few entrepreneurs ever do. The company raised more than $400 million, positioning her as one of only 22 women founders in the United States to take a biotech company public. For Kawas, the IPO was not just a financial milestone. It was the culmination of years spent navigating the complexity of science, business, and leadership. The experience offered lessons that continue to guide her as co-founder and managing general partner of Propel Bio Partners, and as a mentor to biotech founders.
The Importance of Preparation
Kawas often explains that going public requires a level of preparation far beyond what many anticipate. Scientific validation, operational discipline, and financial transparency must all withstand scrutiny from regulators and investors. She recalls that at Athira, every process—from clinical trial management to corporate governance—had to be sharpened in advance.
She emphasizes that founders must adopt a mindset of readiness long before an IPO is on the horizon. By building strong systems early, companies reduce the risk of scrambling under the pressures of public disclosure. For Kawas, this preparation was as much about culture as it was about compliance. Teams needed to embrace accountability as part of their identity.
Balancing Science and Business
One of Kawas’ key lessons was the necessity of balancing scientific ambition with business pragmatism. Biotech companies often push forward with groundbreaking research, yet translating discovery into value for investors requires disciplined communication. She describes how Athira had to convey complex science in terms that markets could understand, without oversimplifying or overpromising.
This balance, she explains, is crucial to sustaining credibility. Investors support innovation, but they also demand clear strategies for commercialization. By bridging the language of science and the language of business, she ensured that Athira could appeal to both researchers and financial stakeholders.
Leadership Under Pressure
The IPO process also tested Leen Kawas’ leadership. Market conditions were uncertain, regulatory requirements were exacting, and the stakes were high. She reflects that leaders must demonstrate steadiness in such moments, even when challenges feel overwhelming. For her, that meant maintaining clear communication, empowering her team, and staying focused on the mission of advancing therapies for patients.
She acknowledges that pressure can expose weaknesses in leadership. Yet she believes it also provides opportunities for growth. By navigating scrutiny and setbacks with resilience, leaders gain credibility not only with investors but with their own teams.
Building the Right Team
Kawas highlights that no founder can take a company public alone. Success depends on assembling a team of experts who complement one another. At Athira, she worked with scientists, financial advisors, legal professionals, and operations leaders whose combined expertise carried the company through the IPO process.
She emphasizes that founders must learn to trust their teams while also holding them accountable. Delegating responsibility is essential, but so is setting clear expectations. In her view, the strength of a company lies in the ability of its people to operate cohesively under pressure.
The Value of Resilience
Kawas also learned that setbacks are inevitable. Drug development is uncertain, investor sentiment shifts, and timelines rarely unfold exactly as planned. She explains that resilience—the ability to adapt without losing focus—is the trait that allows founders to endure the unpredictability of the public markets.
Her advice to biotech leaders is to expect turbulence and to prepare emotionally as well as strategically. Resilience, as she noted in this interview with Billion Success, is not just about survival. It is about sustaining belief in the mission and continuing to lead others with conviction.
A Platform for Future Leadership
For Kawas, the lessons from Athira’s IPO extend beyond that single event. They inform her work at Propel Bio Partners, where she now supports other biotech founders. She draws on her experience to help them build stronger systems, communicate effectively with investors, and prepare for the possibility of going public themselves.
She views the IPO not only as a milestone but as a training ground for leadership. The process reinforced the importance of discipline, adaptability, and foresight—qualities she now encourages in the entrepreneurs she mentors.
Inspiring the Next Generation
Kawas also recognizes the symbolic importance of her achievement. Being one of the few women founders to lead a biotech IPO highlights the need for greater representation in the industry. She hopes that her path can inspire other women scientists and entrepreneurs to pursue leadership roles and to aim for milestones that once seemed out of reach.
Her message is clear: taking a company public is not the endpoint of innovation. It is a step in a larger journey of building sustainable enterprises that deliver value to patients, investors, and society.
Lasting Lessons
Looking back, Leen Kawas describes Athira’s IPO as both an accomplishment and an education. It taught her that preparation, communication, and resilience are the pillars of success in biotech leadership. More importantly, it reinforced her belief that founders who combine scientific vision with operational discipline can achieve breakthroughs not only in laboratories but also in markets.
For her, the path to taking a company public is not just about raising capital. It is about proving that innovation, when managed with integrity and foresight, can endure the scrutiny of the world stage.
Leen Kawas is also on the board of directors for EIT Pharma.