Lexington, MA Est. 2025

Consulting for early drug discovery teams. Early drug discovery and translational biology consulting. Turning discovery-scale data into decision-ready biology.

First Wave Discovery partners with early-stage biotechs, small pharma, and scientific Founders — helping their teams credential targets, design translational programs, and operate the discovery engine with the discipline of senior in-house leadership.

What we do

Six disciplines, one operating principle - the data must lead.

First Wave partners across the early-discovery cycle - from target hypothesis and biomarker identification through program launch and drug discovery. Engagements are scoped to a single discipline or spanned across multiple domains.

First Wave's five disciplines around a central practice Discovery Strategy and Program Leadership 01 NGS TECHNOLOGY ADVANCEMENT 02 TARGET IDENTIFICATION AND VALIDATION 06 TRANSLATIONAL SCIENCE 03 DRUG DISCOVERY 05 PROGRAM MANAGEMENT 04 DUE DILIGENCE
01 / 06
NGS

NGS Technology Advancement

CRISPR screens, ATAC-seq, ChIP-seq, single-cell RNA-seq, RNA metabolism — interpreted with mechanism in mind.

02 / 06

Target ID & Validation

Hypothesis to defensible target package — ranked, scored, and ready for diligence.

03 / 06
Rx

Drug Discovery

Discovery assays and cascades scoped to the biology and chemistry at hand.

04 / 06

Due Diligence

Evaluating and de-risking a startup's viability, assets, and programs.

05 / 06
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Program Management

Discovery-engine operations, CRO orchestration, and decision-grade milestones.

06 / 06

Translational Science

Biomarker discovery, patient stratification, and bench-to-clinic correlate maps.

01

NGS Technology Advancement

CRISPR screens, ATAC-seq, ChIP-seq, single-cell RNA-seq, RNA metabolism — interpreted with mechanism in mind.

02

Target ID & Validation

Hypothesis to defensible target package — ranked, scored, and ready for diligence.

03

Drug Discovery

Discovery assays and cascades scoped to the biology and chemistry at hand.

04

Due Diligence

Evaluating and de-risking a startup's viability, assets, and programs.

05

Program Management

Discovery-engine operations, CRO orchestration, and decision-grade milestones.

06

Translational Science

Biomarker discovery, patient stratification, and bench-to-clinic correlate maps.