Discovery/R&D

81. Topical Ocular Biologics with Claris Bio's Clarke Atwell 6/30/2024

    Built on the back of hepatocyte growth factor discoveries by Harvard Drs. Reza Dana and Sunil Chauhan, Claris Bio is rewriting the ophthalmology rulebook. CEO Clarke Atwell acknowledges that it's not the first to bring topically-administered biologic therapies to the front of the eye, but if successful in the clinic, its Neurotrophic Keratitis candidate will vastly improve the patient experience. Atwell joins this episode of the Business of Biotech. Listen now!

82. The Face Of African Biotech with Adrienne Leussa, Ph.D. 6/7/2023

    Dr. Adrienne Leussa is one of our favorite follows. If the booming biotech scene on an incredibly diverse continent of 1.2 billion people interests you, she should be one of your faves, too.

83. RNA-Engineered Cell Therapy With Cartesian's Dr. Murat Kalayoglu 6/10/2021

    Cartesian President & CEO Murat Kalayoglu, M.D., Ph.D. has led three of his company's six autoimmune, oncology, and respiratory candidates through Phase I/II clinical trials and two more of them are on the cusp of entering Phase I this year. With so many programs in and entering the clinic, he's a great choice for a conversation on GMP expectations for phase I first-in-human trials. Glean insight from Cartesian's experiences and learn about the company's novel approach to RNA-engineered cell therapies for oncology and beyond on this episode of The Business of Biotech.

84. mRNA Upstarts With Radar Therapeutics' Sophia Lugo and Eerik Kaseniit, Ph.D. 8/25/2024

    Guest co-host Anna Rose Welch of Advancing RNA fame joins us on this week’s Business of Biotech podcast for a conversation with the leaders of RNA upstart Radar Therapeutics. The company’s co-founders, Eerik Kaseniit, Ph.D. (CSO & President) and Sophia Lugo (CEO), are making waves in the mRNA therapeutics space on the heels of the invention of a precision-expressed mRNA technology that laid bare the path to Radar’s inception.

85. Genetic Testing & Neurodegenerative Disorders With AviadoBio's Lisa Deschamps 8/29/2022

    Lisa Deschamps' story is one of determination and fortitude. She got her start in the life sciences where it begins and ends for many — "carrying the bag" in big pharma sales — then proceeded to crush the odds on her way to the C-suite at Novartis. Today, she's CEO at AviadoBio, a disruptive gene therapy startup prepping an intra-thalamic Frontotemporal Dementia candidate for the clinic with a heavy Series A in its hip pocket. On this episode of the Business of Biotech we get to know Lisa, her company and its therapeutic approach, her advocacy for genetic testing, and how she's applying her determination and fortitude to enabling more women to become life science leaders.

86. Building A DNA Delivery System With Poseida Tx CEO Eric Ostertag, M.D., Ph.D. 9/27/2021

    Eric Ostertag, M.D., Ph.D., wanted to launch a biotech. When University of Pennsylvania department heads said no to a licensing deal for lack of a CEO, Dr. Ostertag convinced them he could run the company. Many bold moves later, Dr. Ostertag is founder and CEO at Poseida Therapeutics, a company that's doing things never seen before in the field of CAR T-cell and gene therapies for multiple myeloma and prostate cancer. On this week's episode of The Business of Biotech, Dr. Ostertag gives us a tour of the architecture supporting Poseida's unique 3-tiered development and manufacturing platform.

87. Dye Drug Conjugates For Cancer With Lahjavida's Lyle Small 9/11/2025

    On this week's Business Of Biotech episode, Lyle Small, Founder and CEO at Lahjavida, a dye drug conjugate start-up, talks about creating the famous color-changing technology that turned the mountains blue on cold Coors Light beer cans, to launching a dye-drug conjugate startup developing targeted cancer therapies.

88. Gynecological Cancer Therapies With Context Therapeutics' Martin Lehr 4/18/2022

    Context Therapeutics Co-Founder & CEO Martin Lehr shares stories from his self-described "recovery from venture capital," the work his company is doing in gynecological cancers, and how his small company manages a modality-agnostic approach and investigator-sponsored trials across multiple clinical candidates, four of which are in phase 2 clinical trials. We also discuss his "extracurricular" work with BioBreak, Life Science Leader, and Life Science Cares, and why those organizations are important to him personally and professionally.

89. The Generalist Biotech CEO With Seekyo's Oury Chetboun 7/30/2025

    On this week's Business Of Biotech episode, Oury Chetboun, co-founder and CEO of Seekyo, a French biotech, talks about the range of experiences that prepared him to lead a company focused on developing innovative solid tumor treatments that target functional proteins in the tumor micro-environment.

90. Antibody Cocktails With Immunome's Dr. Purnanand Sarma 7/6/2022

    Immunome CEO Purnanand Sarma, Ph.D. joins the Business of Biotech for a discussion on precision antibodies and his company's discovery platform, which identifies novel therapeutic antibodies and their antigen targets by leveraging highly educated memory B cells from patients who have learned to fight off their disease. It’s kind of like picking an all-star team of players who have been in the game, and who are well-trained to win. On today's episode we'll learn how they’re discovered, how they’re developed, and how they’re applied in cancer and coronavirus.