Business Of Biotech

We love to hear from our listeners. Send us a message. In many respects, bringing an established foreign biopharma company to the U.S. market is not unlike starting one up from scratch. In other respects, it's even harder; long-held cultural norms and management styles, region-specific market dynamics, payer system nuance, and political influence must all be re-navigated and re-negotiated without encumbrance. The job's not for the faint of heart, which might be why the Danish company LEO Pharma tapped veteran biopharma leader Brian Hilberdink to lead its U.S. operations. On this episode of the Business of Biotech, Hilberdink shares loads of biopharma-specific leadership intel and advice as we discuss the task he faces and the course he's charting. Access this and hundreds of episodes of the Business of Biotech videocast under the Business of Biotech tab at lifescienceleader.com. Subscribe to our monthly Business of Biotech newsletter. Get in touch with guest and topic suggestions: ben.comer@lifescienceleader.comFind Ben Comer on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bencomer/

We love to hear from our listeners. Send us a message. Since we last spoke in the Spring of 2021, Nevan Charles Elam, JD has managed to advance both of small-but-mighty Rezolute Bio's candidates onto the next phases of their journey. This year, on the back of a $130 million investment, Rezolute Bio is prepping its RZ358 candidate, a monoclonal antibody for congenital hyperinsulinism, for a pivotal phase 3 trial. On this week's epsiode of the Business of Biotech, we're settling in for an interrogation of Elam on the management principles of maintaining multi-candidate clinical momentum among highly disparate candidates and raising big dollars as a small biotech. Access this and hundreds of episodes of the Business of Biotech videocast under the Business of Biotech tab at lifescienceleader.com. Subscribe to our monthly Business of Biotech newsletter. Get in touch with guest and topic suggestions: ben.comer@lifescienceleader.comFind Ben Comer on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bencomer/

In this episode, Rohan Palekar, CEO of 89bio, discusses the challenges in the NASH therapeutics market, the importance of safety and convenience in patient recruitment, and the impact of good data on investment. The chapter also highlights how 89 Bio efficiently advanced their mission through strategic thinking, creative trial designs, and fiscal stewardship. The challenges of integrating people within a company and optimizing antibody development are also explored.

Allan Shaw, maven of biotech finance markets and management, discusses the importance of cash management in the biotech industry, the difficulties faced by emerging biotech firms, the value of collaboration, and the need for innovation in biotech organizations.

Dr. Robert Stoffel, an expert in biotech research, discusses the establishment of a research team at Horizon Therapeutics. He explains the process of setting goals, staffing, and integrating the department. Topics include R&D challenges, academic collaborations, understanding disease mechanisms, and exploring gout targets. The focus is on determination, curiosity, cohesive teams, and innovative research at Horizon Therapeutics.

We love to hear from our listeners. Send us a message. The microbiome therapeutics market has been taking a beating, with several clinical-stage companies failing or flailing at the hands of tough financial markets and regulatory scrutiny. MaaT Pharma Founder & CEO Hervé Affagard knows these perils well. Affagard recently navigated his company through a protracted FDA clinical hold, emerging on the other side with a promising Phase 3 candidate in Graft versus Host Disease. On this episode of the Business of Biotech, Affagard offers a transparent look at how MaaT is beating the odds with a redundant clinical strategy and scrupulous cash management.Access this and hundreds of episodes of the Business of Biotech videocast under the Business of Biotech tab at lifescienceleader.com. Subscribe to our monthly Business of Biotech newsletter. Get in touch with guest and topic suggestions: ben.comer@lifescienceleader.comFind Ben Comer on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bencomer/

We love to hear from our listeners. Send us a message. Chief Operating Officer is arguably the toughest job in the emerging biopharma C-suite. HR, CMC, regulatory affairs, legal, PR, you name it, the COO touches it, and practically everything rolls up to her. This week's episode of the Business of Biotech brings us to a president and COO who's also a mom, a volunteer, and an advocate for diversity and equality in biopharma. That advocacy isn't just lip service, by the way. Here, Rocket Pharmaceuticals' Kinnari Patel, PharmD, shares on the real, practical, replicable steps Rocket takes to build a diverse and equitable work environment, how the fruits of that effort have proven important to the company's success, and where Rocket is taking its high-flying gene therapy act next.Access this and hundreds of episodes of the Business of Biotech videocast under the Business of Biotech tab at lifescienceleader.com. Subscribe to our monthly Business of Biotech newsletter. Get in touch with guest and topic suggestions: ben.comer@lifescienceleader.comFind Ben Comer on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bencomer/

We love to hear from our listeners. Send us a message. Will machine learning revolutionize biopharma drug discovery? Has it already? This week on the Business of Biotech, we explore the intersection of tech and bio with Dr. James Field, founder and CEO of LabGenius. We'll get an insider's look at the formation of a company bridging the divide between computational and biological sciences, we'll learn why this ML-intensive leader applies a scientist's skepticism to the tech he's building, and we'll address fundamental data considerations along the way.  We'll also learn about the challenges and opportunities that come with balancing a company that's building both a high-tech drug discovery platform and drugs themselves. If you're concerned with what ML will do to —  or for —  your biopharma business, don't miss this episode. Access this and hundreds of episodes of the Business of Biotech videocast under the Business of Biotech tab at lifescienceleader.com. Subscribe to our monthly Business of Biotech newsletter. Get in touch with guest and topic suggestions: ben.comer@lifescienceleader.comFind Ben Comer on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bencomer/

We love to hear from our listeners. Send us a message. Ahmed Hamdy, MD didn’t ask to be the subject of Nathan Vardi's new book For Blood and Money: Billionaires, Biotech, and the Quest for a Blockbuster Drug. In fact, that particular chapter of Dr. Hamdy’s career is one he’d rather not relive. But, in display of the resilience required of biotech leadership, Hamdy made a raging comeback. On this week’s episode of the Business of Biotech, we dive into Hamdy’s resurrection; how he shepherded Acerta Pharma all the way to a multibillion dollar blockbuster exit with Astra Zeneca and his plans to recreate that success in his new post as CEO and Founder at cancer therapeutics-focused Vincerx Pharma.Access this and hundreds of episodes of the Business of Biotech videocast under the Business of Biotech tab at lifescienceleader.com. Subscribe to our monthly Business of Biotech newsletter. Get in touch with guest and topic suggestions: ben.comer@lifescienceleader.comFind Ben Comer on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bencomer/

We love to hear from our listeners. Send us a message. Last October, we dropped an episode dissecting the relationship between Ray Therapeutics and one of its lead funders, 4BIO, and it quickly rocketed to an all-time Business of Biotech fan favorite. This week, we’re doing it again with a candid, behind-the-scenes breakdown of how Vedanta Biosciences secured the support of K2 Health Ventures in its recent $100 million+ financing to fund a pivotal Phase 3 study. Join us as we dissect a story that started when Vedanta CEO Bernat Olle, Ph.D. met K2HV’s Founding Managing Director & CEO Parag Shah on a mountain during the Timmerman Traverse. Their story serves as a guide to ensuring the cultural and strategic alignment of science and finance.Access this and hundreds of episodes of the Business of Biotech videocast under the Business of Biotech tab at lifescienceleader.com. Subscribe to our monthly Business of Biotech newsletter. Get in touch with guest and topic suggestions: ben.comer@lifescienceleader.comFind Ben Comer on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bencomer/