Part 1 of 4. 

My guest for this week’s episode is David Li, CEO and co-founder of Meliora Therapeutics. Meliora's goal is to develop life-saving cancer therapies using cutting-edge science and machine learning. The company derives a comprehensive picture of how drugs interact with cancer biology by combining biofunctional readouts from numerous modalities using advanced machine learning and other computational techniques. 

Before Meliora, David served as Chief Business Officer at Everest Detection, an early detection liquid biopsy startup, and was head of commercial operations at Benchling, a life sciences software platform company which has achieved a $6 billion valuation and has attracted over $500 million in funding from firms such as Altimeter Capital, Tiger Global, Lone Pine Capital, Benchmark, Sequoia, Excel, Lux, and numerous others. David began his career in Goldman Sachs Healthcare Investment Banking Group and KKR's Private Equity Group, where he advised and invested in transactions worth over $10 billion in enterprise value. David's multifaceted experiences in the financial and life science sectors give him a wide range of experiences that founders can learn from.

Please enjoy my conversation with David Li.

00:28 Intro

2:39 Episode starts, early years in China and Kentucky, developing a passion for biology and chemistry

9:58 Decision to attend the University of Pennsylvania and study biology and finance through the Roy Vagelos Life Science and Management Program

13:41 Experience and opportunities at Goldman Sachs as an investment banker

15:47 The role of investment banking, the integration of career paths with life sciences and biotech, and the value of analysis across fields

21:08 Balancing capital formation vs. innovation while keeping patient impact as the North Star of a company’s purpose

24:27 Insights gained from exposure to Fortune 500 or Fortune 100 CEOs and the impact of mentorships while at Goldman

27:44 David’s experience as a mentor through the New York Needs You program

29:01 Outro

00:00 Intro

2:10 Episode starts, early years in China and Kentucky, developing a passion for biology and chemistry

11:34 Decision to attend the University of Pennsylvania and study biology and finance through the Roy Vagelos Life Science and Management Program

16:16 Experience and opportunities at Goldman Sachs as an investment banker

18:52 The role of investment banking, the integration of career paths with life sciences and biotech, and the value of analysis across fields

25:26 Balancing capital formation vs. innovation while keeping patient impact as the North Star of a company’s purpose

30:03 Insights gained from exposure to Fortune 500 or Fortune 100 CEOs and the impact of mentorships while at Goldman

34:18 David’s experience as a mentor through the New York Needs You program

35:53 Outro

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

Research in Biological Science at the University of Chicago Summer Program

University of Pennsylvania - Roy Vagelos Life Science and Management Program

Andrew Fire and Craig Mello - Nobel Prize Winners for RNA interference

https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/medicine/2006/illustrated-information/#:~:text=The%20Nobel%20Assembly%20at%20Karolinska,silencing%20by%20double%2Dstranded%20RNA.

Tide Pharma 

Goldman Sachs

https://www.goldmansachs.com/index.html 

New York Needs You Program

Lab Equipment for Biochemistry Research

Strategies for Better Cash Flow Management

How do Core Labs Support Life Science Research?

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.