🧬Chris Moxham - Transcripta Bio - Part 2 | From Eli Lilly Recruit to NYC Lab Builder | Leading High-Stakes Drug Discovery | Pioneering Quantitative Biology | "Making the Trains Run on Time"

The Biotech Startups Podcast is brought to you by Excedr. Excedr provides life science startups with equipment leases on founder-friendly terms to accelerate R&D and commercialization.

Know anyone that needs lab equipment? Join Excedr’s referral program: Give Your Friends $1,000, and Earn $1,000 for Each Qualified Referral 💸.

Get your unique referral link by going to: refer.excedr.com/ZTHETY.

Part 2 of 4: Jon Chee hosts Chris Moxham, the Co-Founder, CEO, and CSO of Transcripta Bio, a pioneering biotech company charting a faster path in drug discovery to create better lives for people around the world.

Chris earned his PhD in Molecular and Cellular Pharmacology at Stony Brook University and is a seasoned veteran with over 25 years of drug discovery experience, having spent two decades at Eli Lilly where he was instrumental in advancing over 10 molecules into clinical trials across multiple therapeutic areas and both small and large molecule modalities. 

Chris has a wealth of knowledge, and his commitment to both scientific advancement and team growth makes his insights invaluable for aspiring leaders in biotech.

Please enjoy Jon’s conversation with Chris Moxham.

https://www.linkedin.com/in/christopher-moxham-b8867011/ 

https://www.transcriptabio.com/ 

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/excedr/ 

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@excedr 

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/excedr_inc 

Twitter: https://twitter.com/ExcedrInc 

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/excedr 

TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@excedr 

Podcast Website: https://www.thebiotechstartupspodcast.com/ 

Eli Lilly https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eli_Lilly_and_Company 

ImClone https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ImClone_Systems 

Merck https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Merck_%26_Co. 

Fulcrum Therapeutics https://www.fulcrumtx.com/

Marketing & Sales Tools for Biotechs: https://www.excedr.com/blog/marketing-sales-strategies-for-biotechs

Biotech Partnerships: How Partnering with Big Pharma Can Support R&D: https://www.excedr.com/blog/how-biotech-partnerships-support-research

How to Bootstrap a Biotech Tools Startup: https://www.excedr.com/resources/how-to-bootstrap-biotech-startup

Jose Caro https://www.linkedin.com/in/josefcaro/ 

00:49 Intro

02:31 "The Power of Persistence in Recruiting" - How Jose Caro's personal outreach convinced Chris to join Eli Lilly

05:31 Early days at Lilly: Transitioning from obesity research to high-throughput screening platforms

08:18 Leadership evolution: Key lessons in scaling from small teams to managing 45+ scientists

12:16 Cultural contrasts: Navigating the different environments between Merck and Eli Lilly

14:48 "Making Your Own Opportunities" - How Chris engineered his move to Lilly's NYC labs

17:31 Building from the ground up: Creating Quantitative Biology for antibody discovery despite initial resistance

20:20 The biotech leap: Transitioning to Fulcrum and experiencing the startup world

23:07 Leading a $20M lab buildout: Unexpected challenges in construction and coordination

27:23 "Making the trains run on time" - Critical lessons in project management and execution

28:50 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.