Finance & Capital Markets

31. Fighting Blindness & Funding The Fight With Opus Genetics' Ben Yerxa, CEO 4/26/2022

    Opus Genetics is an early-stage gene therapy company launched just last year and in unique fashion on the back of the patient advocacy group the Retinal Degeneration Fund. Already, its pipeline has developed into three candidates, the lead among them addressing Leber congenital amaurosis. Opus CEO Ben Yerxa, Ph.D. serves in triplicate as CEO at the RD Fund, Foundation Fighting Blindness, and Opus Genetics. His plate is full, but he's a man on a mission. On this episode of the Business of Biotech, Dr. Yerxa shares his story, that of Opus Genetics' unique approach to addressing inherited retinal diseases, and how the company is addressing current funding, development, and capacity challenges in the cell & gene manufacturing space.

32. Fiscal Turnarounds With Protalix's Eyal Rubin 8/30/2023

    Within about five minutes of conversation with Protalix CFO Eyal Rubin, I learned that he doesn’t bite his tongue about the rigors of biotech business and finance management, which is precisely why I’m eager to talk with him on today’s episode of the podcast. From commercialization deals with big pharma to being about $50 million underwater to swatting away the day trading armchair quarterbacks on Stocktwits, Rubin’s seen a few things and he’s developed more than a few opinions.

33. CAR T Therapy Cost Control With Laurence Cooper, M.D., Ph.D. 10/26/2020

    Controlling the cost of personalized medicine: We go behind the scenes of the effort to build a system that simplifies production and reduces the cost of non-viral T cell therapies with Ziopharm Oncology CEO Laurence Cooper, M.D., Ph.D.

34. The Legend Steve Gorlin's Golden Rules 11/1/2023

    Shortly after Thalidomide became a household word—albeit a very, very bad one—a biotech investor bought it for a couple hundred grand. Who on earth would want a drug pulled from the market for causing birth defects? Steve Gorlin did.

35. Funding A Neurodegeneration Startup With Coya Therapeutics' Howard Berman 5/10/2023

    Like many of us, Howard Berman, Ph.D. has personal experience with the tragedy of cognitive decline. Neurodegenerative disorders are on the rise, and when one afflicted his father — a triple board-certified physician — he saw firsthand that they don't discriminate. Berman has dedicated his career to addressing neuro, autoimmune, and metabolic diseases, having founded Nicoya Health in 2020 and overseeing its merger with Coya Therapeutics the following year. The company came out of the gates this year fueled by an 11th-hour 2022 IPO, one of just a dozen on the year. Berman joined the Business of Biotech to share his strategy during a stingy stretch in biotech capital markets. 

36. Surviving The Microbiome Market with MaaT Pharma's Hervé Affagard 7/20/2023

    MaaT Pharma Founder & CEO Hervé Affagard recently navigated his company through a protracted FDA clinical hold, emerging with a promising Phase 3 candidate in GVHD. On this episode of the Business of Biotech, Affagard offers a transparent look at how MaaT is beating the odds with a redundant clinical strategy and scrupulous cash management.

37. Origins Of A Biopharma VC Deal With Bernat Olle, Ph.D. And Parag Shah 6/21/2023

    Here's a behind-the-scenes breakdown of how Vedanta Biosciences secured the support of K2 Health Ventures in its recent $100 million+ financing to fund a pivotal Phase 3 study.

38. Deal And Investment Trends With Investment Banker David Sans 4/2/2025

    Today we're talking life sciences investment trends and risks with David Sans, an investment banker with an academic background in chemical engineering and molecular modeling, and a professional background that began in Big Pharma and shifted to investing over 15 years ago.

39. Biotech Story Time With Tal Zaks, M.D. (Part 2) 1/5/2025

    Dr. Tal Zaks joins the Business of Biotech for the second part of "Story Time With Tal," discussing his transition from Moderna's CMO during the COVID-19 pandemic to co-founding Exsilio Therapeutics, an mRNA startup. The episode explores Exsilio's foundation, scientific focus, team recruitment, and its $82 million Series A funding led by Novartis Venture Fund and Delos Capital, with support from prominent investors like OrbiMed, CRISPR Therapeutics, and J.P. Morgan Life Sciences Private Capital.

40. BoB@JPM: Nima Farzan, Latigo Biotherapeutics 3/19/2025

    In this final installment of our episodes recorded and filmed on-site at the JP Morgan Healthcare Conference, Nima Farzan, CEO of Latigo Biotherapeutics, shares his company's mission to change the pain management paradigm by way of novel, non-opioid medications that target NAV 1.8 sodium channels involved in pain signal transmission.