Nothing Left Unsaid #60 - Craig Boyce & Dr. Melanie Leitner: Can Venture Capital Cure ALS?
When private-equity veteran Craig Boyce left nearly two decades at Bain Capital and neuroscientist Dr. Melanie Leitner stepped out of the lab, both carried a deeply personal mission: speed up the end of ALS. Together they helm the ALS Investment Fund, a for-profit venture vehicle that backs early-stage therapeutics aimed at turning the disease from terminal to chronically managed by filling the “capital void” between basic research and big-pharma buy-in.
In this conversation with Tim and Troy, Craig recounts losing his father to ALS and how that tragedy redirected his deal-making skills toward impact investing, while Melanie shares the “seventh-grade brain report” that launched her career and why today’s biomarker and platform-trial advances finally make true progress possible. They break down:
- Why capital markets—not philanthropy alone—must fund $10-$50 M clinical trials
- The business case that’s luring big pharma back to neuro (“the decade of neurodegeneration”)
- How a cystic-fibrosis-style royalty model could recycle billions into ALS research
- The audacious goal to “put ourselves out of business” by making effective therapies commonplace
If you’re curious how finance, science, and relentless human stories converge to accelerate cures, this episode delivers a front-row seat.
SPONSORS:
ElevenLabs: Thanks to ElevenLabs (https://elevenlabs.io) for supporting this episode and powering Tim’s voice.
ALS Investment Fund: Thanks to ALS Investment Fund (https://www.alsinvestmentfund.com) for supporting this episode.
SOCIAL:
Website: https://tgnlu.com
Twitter: https://twitter.com/nlutimgreen
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/NLUpod
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nlupod/
AUDIO ONLY:
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5fhcANt7CSnYvgBlgxpVVa
Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/nothing-left-unsaid/id1734094890
PERSONAL:
Tackle ALS: https://www.tackleals.com
Tim Green Books: https://authortimgreen.com
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