Finance & Capital Markets
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Biotech Investing At The Earliest Stages With Santé Ventures' Omar Khalil
8/19/2026
On this week's episode of the Business of Biotech, Omar Khalil, Managing Director at Santé Ventures, describes forming and funding startups and early-stage biotech companies with a focus on clinical data and differentiation as the key value drivers.
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Keeping An Early-Stage Cell Therapy Biotech In The Black With IN8bio's William Ho
6/19/2026
On this week's episode of the Business of Biotech, William Ho, CEO of IN8bio, explains why gamma delta T cells may have an edge against cancer, including solid tumors like glioblastoma.
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Venture Philanthropy For Type 1 Diabetes With T1D Fund's Katie Ellias
1/19/2022
The JDRF's T1D Fund is exemplary of an indication-specific advocacy group's aggressive pursuit of a cure through venture philanthropy. Put simply, unlike traditional VC firms who entertain myriad and often diverse pitches from biotech startups, the T1D fund creates financial and advisory incentives for the biotechs in its portfolio to pursue candidates and formalize programs around Type 1 Diabetes therapies.
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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.
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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.
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Episode 2: The Business Of Biotech: Allan Shaw
8/13/2020
There are few better suited to advise the leaders of new and emerging biopharma companies on the building blocks of a biotech startup than Allan Shaw. That's why we chose Shaw to help us kick off our Business of Biotech podcast series with an overview of the episodes to come. In addition to his work on the financial front lines of several biotechs, Shaw holds multiple board of director roles with startup biopharma firms, and he advises dozens more in his role as special adviser. On this episode, we'll preview the series and absorb Shaw's to-the-point, practical advice on winning finances, building a pitch, assembling a biotech all-star team, leaving the incubator, navigating early regulatory considerations, and a whole lot more. The Business Of Biotech is produced by BioProcess Online and brought to you with the support of Cytiva.
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iNK T-Cell Immuno-oncology For Solid Tumors With Dr. Ian Walters
8/30/2021
Dr. Ian Walters' company, Portage Biotech, is focused on addressing the 75% of cancer patients who show no, or limited, response to existing therapies such as checkpoint inhibitors. Leading that charge are the company's invariant natural killer T cell agonists, designed to activate the innate and adaptive immune system, as well as a growing portfolio of proteins, antibodies, and small molecules. On this episode of the Business of Biotech, Dr. Walters shares what's fueling the company's progress, including its unique financing strategy and its approach to de-risking platform development for novel immuno-oncology therapies.
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Approvals & Mergers: Inside Enzyvant With Bill Symonds, Pharm.D.
4/5/2023
Today's episode of the Business of Biotech covers a lot of ground with Enzyvant CEO Bill Symonds, Pharm.D. Among other things, we discuss the career moves Dr. Symonds has made within the "vant" environment since his involvement in the launch of the original Roivant, the approval of Rethymic, the merger of Altavant and Enzyvant, and the company's intentions for a brand new regenerative medicine manufacturing facility in Research Triangle Park. From drug approvals to mergers, from internal manufacturing capacity to founders-turned-presidential candidates, this one's got it all.
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A $1B AI Bet With Foresite Labs' Vik Bajaj, Ph.D.
12/15/2024
This past spring, Xaira Therapeutics launched with $1 billion in backing, a who's-who mashup of Silicon Valley and biopharma stars led by Marc Tessier-Lavigne in the C-suite, and a mission to develop AI-generated drugs. On this week's episode of the Business of Biotech, we're digging into the company's origin story and its place on the greater techbio landscape with one of the men bearing responsibility for Xaira's launch.
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Building A Biotech Incubator And Accelerator With Swiss Rockets Founder And CEO Vladimir Cmiljanovic, Ph.D.
8/21/2025
On this week's episode, ex-handballer Vladimir Cmiljanovic, Ph.D., Founder and CEO at Swiss Rockets, talks about co-discovering bimiralisib with his sister Natasa Cmiljanovic, Ph.D. (and COO at Swiss Rockets), losing his company to a hostile takeover, buying the company back, and building out Swiss Rockets as an incubator with manufacturing capabilities and shared scientific expertise.