Business Of Biotech

We love to hear from our listeners. Send us a message. In a particularly candid conversation, 4BIO Managing Partner Dmitry ‘Dima’ Kuzmin and Ray Therapeutics Co-Founder & CEO Paul Bresge share the recipe for a successful relationship between biotech VC firm and startup. Bresge offers insight into VC engagement strategy and pitch, Kuzmin dishes on what investors look for in terms of "fundability" and what throws red flags, such as— perhaps ironically— a CEO like Bresge who has a deep and incredibly personal  connection to the indication he's pursuing.  The pair also discuss, in real and tangible terms, what constitutes a material, cultural match. 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. AbbVie  VP of Oncology Discovery Research Steve Davidsen, Ph.D.  is a living, breathing timeline of the company's cancer research and development efforts. He got his start with the company— Abbott at the time— way back in 1986. As such, he's charted the adoption of multiple advanced technologies that have contributed to the realization of dozens of molecular weapons in the fight against cancer.  On this episode of the Business of Biotech, Dr. Davidsen shares the latest on AbbVie's adoption of computational biology and how it's contributing to discovery and development efficiencies,  why he's an AbbVie "lifer," how he manages and motivates a large team of research scientists, and a whole lot more. 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. On this episode of The Business of Biotech, Obsidian Therapeutics CEO Paul Wotton, Ph.D. takes us behind the scenes to reveal what precipitated the FDA's clearance of its IND application for a novel, engineered tumor-infiltrating lymphocyte therapy called OBX-115.  Learn how the company navigated the regulatory path for a first-of-its-kind biologic therapy developed in partnership with the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center that Dr. Wotton says, should it succeed, will eliminate the patient risk associated with concomitant IL2 therapy and improve clinical outcomes for certain patients with metastatic melanoma. We also get an update on outcomes from Obsidian's unique approach to solving COVID-19 challenges covered on episode 9 of the Business of 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/

We love to hear from our listeners. Send us a message. Here's the story of BioStem, it's young founders, and how they reached commercial status in short order with a portfolio of proprietary regenerative wound care products developed from perinatal tissue.  Fueled by a personal story of resilience and inspiration, Jason Matuszewski (CEO) and Andrew VanVurst (COO) built a company that's developed a local microenvironment activation platform drawing on a combination of small molecules, cytokines, and growth factors to promote tissue repair and regrowth. The company's internal development and cGMP manufacturing facilities have already  yielded three approved products poised to change the paradigm for diabetic, traumatic, and other wound care. 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. Using computational biology to hasten the effort, Omega Therapeutics' plan  is to "coopt nature's universal biological operating system for gene control and cell differentiation."  On this episode of the Business of Biotech, we dig into exactly what that means. We also explore the company's preclinical ambitions, which are diverse, targeting regenerative, multigenic/immunologic, oncologic, and monogenic indications. Omega is leaning heavily into computational biology along the way, having mapped what CEO Mahesh Karande characterizes as 95% of the IGD landscape. Learn how Karande intends to maintain momentum on this episode of the Business of 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/

We love to hear from our listeners. Send us a message. Under the leadership of Mai-Britt Zocca, Ph.D., IO Biotech is advancing novel, immune-modulating cancer therapies targeting IDO (indoleamine 2,3-dioxygenase). Though promising, the target fell out of favor after some high-profile misses – most notably Merck's Phase 3 failure with pembrolizumab in 2018. But Immunome's dual mechanism of action is renewing interest in the target, and Dr. Zocca is gaining confidence as the company's data grows. On this episode of the Business of Biotech, she shares the approach, how it differs from previous attempts, and how her company is working to advance its programs in the wake of IDO's fall from grace.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. With a unique multi-target approach, what it considers the world's best adjuvant, and a host of learnings from the successes and failures of COVID-19 vaccine efforts, Longhorn Therapeutics is gaining steam in its pursuit of a universal influenza vaccine. On this episode of the Business of Biotech, Longhorn Vaccines & Diagnostics Co-Founder and President Jeff Fischer gives us a transparent look at the science and the partnerships that are giving him cause to believe his company will succeed where so many have failed.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. Lisa Deschamps' story is one of determination and fortitude. She got her start in the life sciences where it begins and ends for many— "carrying the bag" in big pharma sales—then proceeded to crush the odds on her way to the C-suite at Novartis. Today, she's CEO at AviadoBio, a disruptive gene therapy startup prepping an intra-thalamic Frontotemporal Dementia candidate for the clinic with a heavy Series A in its hip pocket. On this episode of the Business of Biotech we get to know Lisa, her company and its therapeutic approach, her advocacy for genetic testing, and how she's applying her determination and fortitude to enabling more women to become life science leaders. 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. While many clinical-stage biopharmas are contracting or holding the line through the current market slump, Portage Biotech leaders Ian Walters, Allan Shaw, and company are making moves. The company recently acquired  Tarus Therapeutics and iOx Therapeutics Ltd., extending its pipeline and positioning itself to meet some aggressive investor expectations. On this episode of the Business of Biotech, Shaw dissects the deals, digging into the M&A strategy at Portage and offering advice from the batter's box to leaders of early-stage biotechs.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. Raman Sehgal has made a career out of putting his energy— and he's got a lot of it— into building biotech outsourcing companies and the people who make them run. After years spent supporting several from within, he launched ramarketing, a firm dedicated to helping CROs, CDMOs,  CPOs, and other providers to the biotech ecosystem build their businesses, in 2009. He's also an international best-selling author (The Floundering Founder), co-founder of life sciences recruitment firm Lead Candidate,  and founder & host of the Molecule to Market podcast. On this week's episode of the Business of Biotech, Raman brings us his unique and multifaceted perspectives on the biopharma outsourcing space, the bear biotech markets, and how both are impacting the work of early- and clinical-stage biopharma leaders. 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/