The Business Of Biotech Podcast

  1. Biopharma Comebacks With Vincerx's Ahmed Hamdy, MD 6/28/2023

    Ahmed Hamdy, MD didn’t ask to be the subject of Nathan Vardi's new book​ For Blood and Money: Billionaires, Biotech, and the Quest for a Blockbuster Drug. In fact, he’d rather not relive that chapter.

  2. 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.

  3. Population-Level Health Impact With Vaxxinity's John Krayacich 6/14/2023

    Vaxxinity’s John Krayacich likes taking big swings and big indications. He’s played key roles on the teams that launched Lipitor, Lyrica, and Neurontin, which have had measurable impacts on global populations of people suffering from cardiovascular disease, CNS disorders, and pain. He found those opportunities at companies like LEO, Novartis, Parke Davis, and Pfizer. Now, Krayacich is taking big swings at a new set of incredibly challenging candidates—immunotherapeutic vaccines for neurodegenerative and chronic diseases like Alzheimer’s, Dementia with Lewy Bodies, Multiple System Atrophy, Parkinson’s, Migraine, and Hypercholesterolemia. On this episode of the Business of Biotech, the Chief Business Officer shares his inspiration and strategy for seeing therapeutics for big, global patient populations through the commercial finish line.

  4. 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.

  5. The Innovation Reduction Act With Allan Shaw 5/31/2023

    Allan Shaw posits that the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) will stifle momentum in the biopharma industry and suggests its impact will ultimately cost patients and payers more. Tune in to learn why.

  6. Propagating Peptides With Peptilogics' Jonathan Steckbeck, Ph.D. 5/24/2023

    Peptilogics CEO and founder Dr. Jonathan Steckbeck walks us through his transition from academic work into a clinical-stage company, how he's sustaining the company in a lean capital market, and more.

  7. Resilient Biopharma Leadership With Ambrx's Dan O'Connor 5/17/2023

    Since Dan O'Connor stepped in as CEO at Ambrx late last year, the company's stock has rallied on the revival of a previously-shelved anti-HER2 ADC. It also raised $78 million and completed its ATM (at-the-market) offering. O'Connor is no stranger to overcoming adversity, which we discussed at lenght on this episode of the Business of Biotech.

  8. 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. 

  9. A More NIIMBL Biotech Workforce With John Balchunas 5/4/2023

    What are biopharma's greatest skilled manufacturing labor needs, and what's the industry doing to fill them? John Balchunas is on the front lines in his position as Workforce Director at NIIMBL, the National Institute for Innovation in Manufacturing Biopharmaceuticals, and he says advanced degrees and pedigrees aren't the answer. The breadth and depth of NIIMBL's efforts to influence the next generation of the biopharma workforce — from high school vocational programs to community colleges and on-the-job development—might surprise you. Listen in as Balchunas brings the Business of Biotech up to speed on a training and development agenda that plants seeds early and often.

  10. Building Flagship Pioneering With Avak Kahvejian, Ph.D. 4/26/2023

    Flagship Pioneering is fertile ground for a bevy of blossoming biotechs, and one of its most prolific sowers is General Partner Avak Kahvejian, Ph.D. Dr. Kahvejian counts Seres Therapeutics, Rubius Therapeutics, Codiak BioSciences, Cygnal Therapeutics, Ring Therapeutics, Cellarity, Laronde, and Generate Biomedicines among the companies he's played a leading hand in launching. On this episode of the Business of Biotech, Kahvejian takes us under the hood of one of the most burgeoning businesses in biotech, sharing details on the people, processes, and technologies fueling its rapid growth.