Detlev Biniszkiewicz, Founder & CEO of NextPoint Therapeutics, discusses the challenges and opportunities in immuno-oncology, team building, and the current biotech environment. He shares the founding story of NextPoint and their focus on targeting the A to LA2 receptor for immune therapy. The chapter also explores the challenges of transitioning from preclinical to clinical stages, securing funding, and the speaker's rapid career growth.

Eric Dobmeier, President and CEO of Chinook Therapeutics, discusses the landscape of kidney disease, the current unmet need, opportunities in the space, and growing interest in kidney disease amongst big pharma. He also talks about Chinook's progress in developing precision medicines for rare chronic kidney diseases.

Synopsis: Faraz Ali is the CEO of Tenaya Therapeutics, a clinical-stage biotechnology company with a mission to discover, develop and deliver potentially curative therapies that address the underlying causes of heart disease. Faraz discusses his non-traditional background as an electrical engineer before he found his passion for applying science and technology to healthcare problems. He talks about his experience working at Genzyme and what aspects from his time there he still carries with him today. Faraz also discusses his perspective on the application of genetic modalities, and his team’s work pursuing treatment for both rare and prevalent forms of heart disease. Finally, he talks about what it’s like being a first time CEO and his thoughts on team building. Biography: Faraz Ali, MBA, is the CEO of Tenaya Therapeutics, a clinical-stage biotechnology company with a mission to discover, develop and deliver potentially curative therapies that address the underlying causes of heart disease. He was most recently Chief Business Officer at REGENXBIO, where he had accountability for corporate development, commercial planning, portfolio strategy, alliance management and corporate communications. Prior to that, Mr. Ali was a Vice President at bluebird bio, where he was responsible for new product planning, program management, patient advocacy and external affairs. He also held roles of increasing global commercial leadership at Genzyme Corporation, where he helped launch multiple first-in-class enzyme replacement therapies for rare diseases. He started his career at General Electric, including technical roles at GE Healthcare and business assignments at GE Corporate. Mr. Ali received his MBA from Harvard Business School and his B.S. from Stanford University. He was appointed to the Board of Directors for The Alliance for Regenerative Medicine (ARM), the leading international advocacy organization dedicated to realizing the promise of regenerative medicines and advanced therapies, in 2022.

Synopsis: Gregory Verdine, Ph.D., is the Co-Founder, President and CEO of LifeMine Therapeutics and FogPharma. LifeMine Therapeutics is reinventing drug discovery by mining genetically-encoded small molecules (GEMs) from the biosphere. FogPharma is developing a new class of drugs to address the limitations of today’s precision medicines and achieve universal druggability. In this episode, Greg discusses his unique journey from starting as an academic scientist to transitioning to an investor, and how that exposure to the venture world rounds out his approach to how he now runs biotechs. He talks about what it’s been like running two companies for six years and how he structures his time so he can successfully operate between the two. He also discusses fundraising in a challenging environment and the importance of being part of a team in biotech. Biography: Greg Verdine is a leader in the discovery, development and commercialization of new drug modalities. A passionate and accomplished inventor of novel approaches and drug classes to engage targets widely believed intractable, Greg coined the phrase “drugging the undruggable” to describe his life’s mission. Greg is the co-founder of FogPharma, which has its roots in the scientific work of Greg and his academic team at Harvard University and Harvard Medical School, a hotbed of innovation and invention in the new modality therapeutics space. Greg is also the co-founder and CEO of LifeMine Therapeutics, a biopharmaceutical company refashioning drug discovery by mining genetically-encoded small molecules from the biosphere. Together with co-founder WeiQing Zhou, he developed the scientific and business concept for FogPharma and LifeMine and co-led the companys’ initial capitalization and operationalization in mid-2016 and 2017, respectively. Greg is highly regarded for having moved seamlessly between roles as an academic scientist, biotech entrepreneur, investor and company executive. As Erving Professor at Harvard University and Harvard Medical School, he founded the burgeoning field of hyperstabilized alpha-helical peptides, starting with the first-generation all-hydrocarbon stapled peptide technology, and invented not only the modality but also the direct precursor to the Phase 2 stapled peptide ALRN 6924. The greatly improved second-generation Helicon technology was developed in the Verdine Lab at Harvard and licensed exclusively to FogPharma, and subsequently developed by FogPharma into the third-generation approach that is so impactful today. The Verdine Lab at Harvard also made seminal contributions to understanding fundamental mechanisms of DNA repair and epigenetic DNA methylation. As an entrepreneur, Dr. Verdine has founded multiple public biotech companies including Variagenics, Enanta Pharmaceuticals, Eleven Bio, Tokai Pharmaceuticals, Wave Life Sciences and Aileron Therapeutics, and a private company, Gloucester Pharmaceuticals, which was acquired by Celgene. These companies have succeeded in achieving FDA approval for three marketed drugs. Greg has served on the board of directors of Enanta Pharmaceuticals, Wave Life Sciences, Warp Drive Bio and LifeMine Therapeutics. Having led the formation and financing of Wave Life Sciences, Warp Drive Bio and LifeMine Therapeutics, Greg took a role in managing these companies as their president, chief executive officer and chief scientific officer. Greg also conceived of, co-founded and served as the founding president and chairman of the tandem non-profits Gloucester Biotechnology Academy, which trains high school graduates for technical careers in biotech, and Gloucester Marine Genomics Institute, which is supporting fisheries science and economic development on Cape Ann. Greg earned his Ph.D. in chemistry from Columbia University and served as an NIH postdoctoral fellow in molecular biology at MIT and Harvard Medical School. He also holds an honorary Ph.D. degree from Clarkson University.

Synopsis: Kate Haviland is the CEO of Blueprint Medicines, a global precision therapy company that creates life-changing medicines for people with cancer and blood disorders. Applying an approach that is both precise and agile, they create medicines that selectively target genetic drivers, with the goal of staying one step ahead across stages of disease. Kate discusses beginning her career at Genzyme before joining Blueprint Medicines, and what the transition to becoming CEO was like after having held various different roles at Blueprint. She also talks about how personalized medicine is transforming patient care, and the company’s focus on applying precision medicine to cancer and hematologic diseases. Finally, she dives into how the current environment informs how she approaches leading a publicly traded biotech and her perspective on partnerships. Interested in learning more? Check out their recent approval here: https://rb.gy/4126e Biography: Kate brings an impressive breadth of experience and leadership within the biopharmaceutical industry, as well as a substantial background in business development, commercial and strategic planning, and program management. Since April 2022, Kate has served as Chief Executive Officer of Blueprint Medicines. Kate joined Blueprint in 2016 as Chief Business Officer and later served as Chief Operating Officer, where she served as the founding chair of the portfolio management team, formed and executed business development strategy, drove global capital investment plans, and played a key role in capital market financings. In addition, she worked to drive the transformative growth of the company and support its evolution into a fully integrated business by developing and providing ongoing management of critical functions, including portfolio strategy, corporate development, commercial strategy, international, technical operations, corporate affairs, and information systems. Prior to joining Blueprint Medicines, Kate held leadership roles focused on building emerging, high-growth companies and advancing the development of innovative therapies in oncology and rare diseases as Vice President, Rare Diseases and Oncology Program Leadership at Idera Pharmaceuticals, Head of Commercial Development at Sarepta Therapeutics, Executive Director of Commercial Development at PTC Therapeutics, and roles in both corporate development and project management at Genzyme. She holds a B.A. from Wesleyan University with a double major in Biochemistry/Molecular Biology and Economics and an M.B.A. from Harvard Business School. Kate currently serves as chair of the board of directors at Fulcrum Therapeutics and is a member of the audit and compensation committees.

Synopsis: Asit Parikh, M.D., Ph.D., is the President and CEO of MOMA Therapeutics, a biotech company discovering the next generation of precision medicines by targeting highly dynamic proteins that underlie human disease. Asit discusses his experience and learnings being the CEO of a biotech for the first time and his approach to recruiting high quality talent. He also talks about the inherent risks in drug development, how he manages the emotional ups and downs, and provides his perspective on how drug development has changed and evolved over the last couple decades. Biography: Asit Parikh, M.D., Ph.D., joined MOMA in 2021 as President, Chief Executive Officer and member of the board of directors. Asit brings to MOMA more than 20 years of academic and industry experience. Prior to MOMA, Asit served as senior vice president and head of Takeda’s gastroenterology unit from 2014 to 2020. Under his leadership, Takeda achieved global approvals for Entyvio® for ulcerative colitis and Crohn’s disease; European adult and U.S. pediatric approvals for Gattex®/Revestive® for short bowel syndrome; Japan and China approvals for Takecab®/Vocinti® for acid-related disorders; a European approval for Alofisel® for perianal fistulizing Crohn’s disease; and a U.S. approval for Motegrity® for chronic constipation. During this time, to ensure a sustainable pipeline, Asit oversaw the creation of a drug discovery unit focused on gastroenterology and liver diseases and identified and executed over 25 business development deals. These diverse transactions included regional and global licensing (eg Arrowhead A1AT), M&A (eg Tigenix SA) and company creation (eg Ambys Medicines). Previously, Asit served as the general internal medicine franchise head at Takeda. Earlier, he held leadership roles in inflammation and oncology clinical development at Millennium Pharmaceuticals (acquired by Takeda in 2008). During his tenure at Millennium/Takeda, Asit was regularly recognized at the enterprise level for his inspirational leadership style, and as an identifier and developer of talent. Asit remains actively engaged in the practice of medicine as a consulting gastroenterologist at Newton-Wellesley Hospital in Newton, Massachusetts, and serves as a board member of Ambys Medicines, Phathom Pharmaceuticals and Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, Basic Sciences. Asit earned his Ph.D. in biochemistry and M.D. from Vanderbilt University, completed his internal medicine residency at the University of Pennsylvania and subspecialty training in gastroenterology at Massachusetts General Hospital. He performed postdoctoral research in cancer biology at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Synopsis: Samir Ounzain is the CEO and Co-Founder of HAYA Therapeutics, a precision medicines company developing RNA-guided programmable therapeutics targeting the regulatory genome for serious health conditions including fibrosis. Samir discusses the current landscape as it relates to precision medicine and genomic medicine and what his team is hoping to achieve over the next year. He also talks about the evolution of his approach to fundraising and shares his thoughts on applying machine learning and AI at the intersection of biology. Finally, with a distributed team in both the US and Switzerland, he discusses the challenges that come with that, and how he approaches team building. Biography: Samir Ounzain is a molecular biologist with over 15 years of experience exploring the dark matter of the genome and its roles in development and disease. Prior to founding HAYA Therapeutics, Samir was a Project Leader and Research Fellow at the Lausanne University Hospital (CHUV), where his research efforts directly led to the discovery of hundreds of novel heart-enriched lncRNAs, most notably the lncRNAs CARMEN, Meteor and Wisper.

Synopsis: Sekar Kathiresan is the Co-Founder, CEO and Board Member of Verve Therapeutics, a clinical-stage biotechnology company developing gene editing medicines to treat patients with cardiovascular disease. Sekar discusses Verve’s work developing single-course, in vivo liver-directed gene editing medicines for patients with and at risk of cardiovascular disease and what the company pipeline looks like. He talks about the evolution of his pitch after years of experience with fundraising, how he approaches team building, and his perspective on why people are leaving academia for biotech. He also discusses what he’s learned about being a board member and what a good board for a pre-revenue biotech looks like. Biography: Dr. Sekar Kathiresan is co-founder and CEO of Verve Therapeutics, a biotechnology company pioneering a new approach to the care of cardiovascular disease, transforming treatment from chronic management to single-course gene editing medicines. Dr. Kathiresan is a cardiologist and scientist who has focused his career on understanding the inherited basis for heart attack and leveraging those insights to improve the care of cardiovascular disease. Based on his groundbreaking discoveries in human genetic mutations that confer resistance to cardiovascular disease, Dr. Kathiresan co-founded Verve Therapeutics with a vision to create a pipeline of single-course, gene editing therapies focused on addressing the root causes of this highly prevalent and life-threatening disease. Today, Verve is advancing two initial programs that target PCSK9 and ANGPTL3, respectively – genes that have been extensively validated by Dr. Kathiresan and others as targets for lowering blood lipids, such as low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, which is a major driver of cardiovascular disease. Prior to joining Verve, Dr. Kathiresan’s roles included director of the Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) Center for Genomic Medicine, director of the Cardiovascular Disease Initiative at the Broad Institute and professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School. There, Dr. Kathiresan’s research laboratory focused on understanding the inherited basis for blood lipids and myocardial infarction. For his research contributions, he has been recognized by the American Heart Association with its highest scientific honor – a Distinguished Scientist Award and by the American Society of Human Genetics with the 2018 Curt Stern Award. Dr. Kathiresan graduated summa cum laude with a B.A. in history from the University of Pennsylvania and received his M.D. from Harvard Medical School. He completed his clinical training in internal medicine and cardiology at MGH and his postdoctoral research training in human genetics at the Framingham Heart Study and the Broad Institute.

Synopsis: Harlan Robins, Ph.D., is the CSO and Co-Founder of Adaptive Biotechnologies, a pioneer and leader in immune-driven medicine that aims to improve people’s lives by learning from the wisdom of their adaptive immune systems. Adaptive’s proprietary immune profiling platform reveals and translates insights from our adaptive immune systems with unprecedented scale and precision. Harlan discusses how he navigated the ups and downs of co-founding a company. He talks about the adaptive immune system, why it’s important, and what Adaptive is currently working on from a development perspective. He also discusses Adaptive’s partnership with Genentech to create personalized cancer therapies. Biography: Dr. Harlan Robins is the Chief Scientific Officer and Co-Founder of Adaptive Biotechnologies, a commercial-stage biotech company that aims to translate the genetics of the adaptive immune system into clinical products to diagnose and treat disease. Prior to co-founding Adaptive, Harlan served in various roles at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center (FHCRC) in the Computational Biology Program, including Assistant Faculty Member, Associate, and Full Member and Head of the program. Harlan holds a BS in Physics from Harvard University and a master’s degree and PhD in Physics from the University of California, Berkeley, with a visiting appointment to the California Institute of Technology. Harlan received postdoctoral appointments in the particle theory group at the Weizmann Institute of Science in Israel. Interested in the mathematics behind genetics and observing the potential utility of high-level mathematics to study problems in the biological sciences, Harlan took another postdoctoral appointment at the Institute for Advance Study in Princeton under famed biologist Dr. Arnold Levine. With Dr. Levine, he concentrated on developing bioinformatic algorithms for micro RNA targets and bacterial genome analysis, a precursor to his faculty appointment at FHCRC in the Computational Biology Group, Public Health Sciences and Human Biology Divisions.

Synopsis: Dr. Paul Bolno is the President and CEO of Wave Life Sciences, a clinical-stage RNA medicines company committed to delivering life-changing treatments for people battling devastating diseases including Duchenne muscular dystrophy and Alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency. Paul discusses his early years at GSK and the events that led him to join Wave as CEO, and some of his early learnings during that transition from big pharma to a biotech. He also talks about the role and opportunity that RNA presents in medicine, where he sees RNA therapeutics going next, and what excites him about the emerging field of RNA editing. Biography: Dr. Bolno has served as President and CEO of Wave Life Sciences since 2013 and oversaw the company’s initial public offering in 2015. During his tenure as President and CEO, Dr. Bolno has grown Wave into a fully integrated clinical-stage genetic medicines company, overseen the development of the company’s proprietary stereopure oligonucleotide discovery and drug development platform, and built a broad pipeline of preclinical and clinical programs supported by scalable, in-house manufacturing capabilities. In addition to Dr. Bolno’s current role at Wave, he is on the Board of Directors for SQZ Biotech and serves as Chairman of the Scientific Advisory Group for the Nucleic Acid Therapy Accelerator (NATA) in the United Kingdom. Prior to joining Wave, he was Vice President, Worldwide Business Development—Head of Asia BD and Investments, as well as Head of Global Neuroscience BD, at GlaxoSmithKline (GSK). He also served as a Director of Glaxo Wellcome Manufacturing, Pte Ltd. in Singapore. Dr. Bolno joined GSK as Vice President, Business Development for the Oncology Business Unit, where he helped establish GSK’s global oncology business and served as a member of the Oncology Executive Team, Oncology Commercial Board and Cancer Research Executive Team. Prior to GSK, he served as Director of Research at Two River LLC, a healthcare private equity firm. Dr. Bolno earned a medical degree from MCP-Hahnemann School of Medicine and an MBA from Drexel University. He was a general surgery resident and cardiothoracic surgery postdoctoral research fellow at Drexel University College of Medicine.