Ask HN: Can you do meaningful work as a “solo hacker” in biotech?

I'm a software engineer who has recently begun biology coursework at a local university (always had a powerful interest, finally decided to dive in). I'm curious if the common software trope of a single developer beginning a project in their spare time has an equivalent in biotechnology, where the barriers to entry seem to be deeper.

For anyone with experience in the field, is it common to see interesting biotech projects launched by solo developers, or does the work almost always require the support of some larger organization to get off the ground?