Business of Biotech Shorts

1. Ep. 263, Chapter 5: NIH Support and South Rampart Pharma's Path Forward With Hernan Bazan, M.D. 9/2/2025

   Despite challenges like funding fluctuations, Dr. Bazan is confident in the NIH's pivotal role in supporting biotech innovation. He believes the NIH's staff and leadership are committed to making the system more efficient, and that companies must adapt to changes in funding and grant reviews.

2. Ep. 263, Chapter 4: South Rampart Pharma's Evolution With Hernan Bazan, M.D. 9/2/2025

   Dr. Bazan states that, nearly a decade after its 2016 founding, South Rampart Pharma is where its founders envisioned: a clinical-stage company with robust human data for its lead drug candidate, SRP-001. The company successfully completed its Phase 1 trial, demonstrating that the drug is safe and well-tolerated while also establishing favorable pharmacokinetics. With an optimized protocol, the company is now prepared for a Phase 2 trial and aims to be ready for Phase 3 within 12 months.

3. Ep. 263, Chapter 3: The Economics of Pain Management With Hernan Bazan, M.D. 9/2/2025

   South Rampart Pharma operates with a lean business model, prioritizing R&D over large, costly operations. The company is raising an $8 million Series A to efficiently advance its lead drug candidate, SRP-001. The lean model also includes a team of fractional employees and consultants rather than full-time salaried staff. Additionally, the company focuses on a single pipeline, acute nociceptive pain, enabling them to execute a more efficient and less-dilutive Phase 2 trial. These strategies drive operational flexibility and ensure all resources are directed toward moving the technology forward.

4. Ep. 263, Chapter 2: Better Defining And Treating Pain With Hernan Bazan, M.D. 9/2/2025

   South Rampart Pharma’s lead candidate, SRP-001, is a novel, non-opioid pain treatment whose design was inspired by the well-known liver toxicity of acetaminophen (Tylenol), which is caused by a metabolite called NAPQI. South Rampart Pharma’s medicinal chemists created a library of compounds that maintain the analgesic effects of acetaminophen while blocking the formation of this toxic metabolite. The design also aims to avoid the gastrointestinal and renal toxicities associated with nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) and the addiction risks of opioids.

5. Ep. 263, Chapter 1: Introducing Hernan Bazan, M.D., Who Combines Surgery And Biotech Toward Pain Relief 9/2/2025

   Life Science Leader Chief Editor Ben Comer interviews Hernan Bazan, M.D., a practicing vascular surgeon at Ochsner Health, as well as co-founder and CEO of South Rampart Pharma. The company is focused on developing SRP-001 — a novel, non-opioid pain treatment.

6. Ep. 262, Chapter 6: Addressing Unmet Needs In Obesity Treatment With Roger Cone, Ph.D. 9/2/2025

   Current GLP-1 therapies have been highly successful, but significant unmet needs in obesity treatment remain, including a substantial number of patients who cannot tolerate the side effects. Additionally, the weight loss achieved with GLP-1s varies widely, so improving the efficacy of these drugs to achieve greater weight loss is still a major goal.

7. Ep. 262, Chapter 5: Courage Therapeutics' Development Pipeline With Roger Cone, Ph.D. 9/2/2025

   Courage Therapeutics is developing next-gen MC3 and MC4 agonists for obesity and anorexia nervosa. The company's goal is to create compounds with better potency and specificity than existing treatments like setmelanotide. They are currently conducting safety and efficacy studies and aim to begin clinical trials in 6-18 months.

8. Ep. 262, Chapter 4: The Founding And Operation Of Courage Therapeutics With Roger Cone, Ph.D. 9/2/2025

   Courage Therapeutics was born out of a collaboration between Dr. Roger Cone and entrepreneur Dan Hausman to develop next-generation melanocortin compounds. Hausman handles business aspects while Dr. Cone serves as the scientific founder. The company's strategy involved the University of Michigan granting Courage Therapeutics an option agreement for specific IP from Dr. Cone's lab.

9. Ep. 262, Chapter 3: Early Ventures In Biotech With Roger Cone, Ph.D. 9/2/2025

   Dr. Cone founded two biotech companies prior to Courage Therapeutics: Northwest Neurologic and Xenomics. He credits those companies’ successes to partners who handled the business and financial aspects, allowing him to focus on the scientific side.

10. Ep. 262, Chapter 2: Foundational Obesity Research Enables Therapeutic Breakthroughs With Roger Cone, Ph.D. 9/2/2025