Cracking the Code: Phil Sharp and the Biotech Revolution

Join us for an evening of inspiration as we delve into the incredible story of Phil Sharp, a Kentucky farm boy who changed the world of science forever!

This film is a powerful reminder that breakthroughs and life-saving biotech treatments don’t happen by accident. They happen because of a unique ecosystem—one that supports bold ideas, invests in basic research, and encourages entrepreneurs to take risks. The market plays a critical role in this ecosystem, turning scientific discoveries into real-world solutions that improve lives and drive economic growth. Phil Sharp’s journey—from groundbreaking research to founding transformative companies like Biogen and Alnylam—shows how science, entrepreneurship, and the market can work together to solve humanity’s greatest challenges.

We hope you will join us for the film and the important conversation about how cutting funding for science or rolling back incentives for innovation isn’t just a budget decision—it’s a choice to walk away from the next great discovery and the economic growth fueled by the biotech sector.

More info here.

The film will be followed by a post-screening conversation with Phil Sharp and director Bill Haney.

Phillip A. Sharp, PhD – Phillip A. Sharp, an Institute Professor emeritus at MIT, is a member of the Department of Biology and the Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research. His work studying the molecular biology of gene expression relevant to cancer and the mechanisms of RNA splicing earned Sharp the 1993 Nobel Prize in Physiology for Medicine. Sharp is past President of AAAS, serves on the boards of directors of the Broad Institute, Stand Up 2 Cancer, and the Gairdner Foundation. He is a co-founder of Biogen and of Alnylam Pharmaceuticals and serves on the Scientific Advisory Boards of F-Prime Capital, Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, Danahers, Dewpoint Therapeutics, and Skyhawk Therapeutics, He is also advisor to Longwood and Polaris Venture Funds.

Bill Haney – Bill Haney is a filmmaker, inventor, and entrepreneur. His most recent film projects include Cracking the Code: Phil Sharp and the Biotech Revolution, and Jim Allison: Breakthrough. He has started more than a dozen companies and is currently the Co-founder and CEO of Dragonfly Therapeutics, a clinical stage biotech focused on novel NK-cell based immune engagers, and Co-founder & Chairman of Skyhawk Therapeutics, a clinical stage biotech focused on small molecule RNA splicing modifiers. Bill is a graduate of Harvard College and served as a Fellow of Harvard's Kennedy School.