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Part 3 of 4: Jon Chee hosts Barry Ticho, Founder of Verve Therapeutics and Chief Medical Officer at Stoke Therapeutics, a biotech company addressing the underlying cause of severe diseases by upregulating protein expression with RNA-based medicines.
With an MD PhD from the University of Chicago and extensive experience across academia and industry, Barry brings over two decades of expertise in clinical development. His journey includes roles as Head of Development at Moderna, Head of External R&D Innovation at Pfizer, and VP of Clinical Development at Biogen, where he's been instrumental in advancing numerous therapeutic programs across multiple disease areas.
Barry's unique perspective spanning academic medicine and biotechnology innovation makes his insights invaluable for aspiring leaders in the field.
Join us this week to hear about:
- Barry’s switch from academia to industry, and the challenges of his role at Merck
- Navigating drug development and the rigorous standards of pharmaceutical research
- Leading patient-centered clinical development at Biogen to create impactful therapies
- Exploring the potential of RNA medicine at Pfizer and Moderna
- Working on Moderna’s lipid nanoparticle technology, the basis for the COVID-19 vaccine
Please enjoy Jon’s conversation with Barry Ticho.
Find Our Guest, Barry Ticho, at these links:
Find Our Host, Jon Chee, at these links:
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Topics Mentioned:
People Mentioned:
Timestamps:
00:00 Intro
02:06 Transitioning from academia to Merck
03:41 Rigorous drug development processes at Merck
06:00 Industry vs. academia: reproducibility and research quality in pharma
08:35 Patient-centered clinical trials at Biogen
09:45 Phases of clinical trials and ensuring patient access
14:06 Challenges in drug approval: biology, regulations, and precision medicine
18:24 Biogen’s focus on impactful therapies for severe diseases
23:14 Joining Pfizer for cardiovascular research and RNA exploration
27:04 Exploring RNA therapeutics at Pfizer and transitioning to Moderna
30:21 Driving lipid nanoparticle breakthroughs at Moderna
36:23 Outro
The Biotech Startups Podcast gives you a front-row seat to the business and science of building a biotech. Hosted by Jon Chee, CEO of Excedr, the show features honest conversations with founders, execs, and investors about their work, their companies, and how they got there. From scientific breakthroughs to startup lessons, each episode explores what it really takes to grow a life science company—from pre-seed to IPO.
