
Business Of Biotech
The Business of Biotech is the pod dedicated to leaders of emerging biopharma firms. SUBSCRIBE to our new newsletter at www.bioprocessonline.com/bob. We bring you insight into organizational, finance and funding, HR, clinical, manufacturing, regulatory, and commercial challenges you’ll face as you navigate your company from an idea to success in the clinic and beyond. Each episode features guest commentary and best practices from accomplished founders and biopharma industry luminaries. The Business of Biotech is produced by Life Science Connect.
Latest episodes

May 30, 2022 • 56min
Inflammation & Antibodies with Ampio Pharmaceuticals' Mike Martino, CEO
We love to hear from our listeners. Send us a message. Ampio Pharmaceuticals is currently weaving the gauntlet of a clinical hold triggered by COVID's disruption to clinical studies of its lead candidate Ampion, and recently launched an independent investigation into that trial and others. On this episode, Ampio Pharmaceuticals chairman and CEO Mike Martino joins the Business of Biotech for a candid discussion on the company, the candidate, the disruption, and the go-forward plan. 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/

May 23, 2022 • 1h 7min
What's Next For COVID Vaccines With Tonix Pharmaceuticals' Seth Lederman, M.D.
We love to hear from our listeners. Send us a message. As COVID-19 cases climb yet again, the Business of Biotech catches up with Tonix Pharmaceuticals CEO Seth Lederman, M.D. for a conversation on his company's multi-pronged strategy to advance vaccine and therapeutic candidates to address the disease and its variants. In addition to sharing on his journey from academia to industry, Dr. Lederman discusses his company's approach to grabbing its share of the highly competitive, and highly lucrative, vaccine market.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/

May 16, 2022 • 31min
Running Interference: RNAi with Silence Therapeutics' Craig Tooman
We love to hear from our listeners. Send us a message. Fresh on the heels of his appointment as President & CEO at Silence Therapeutics, Craig Tooman joins the Business of Biotech to share how he applies his finance-minded leadership to steward the advance of the company's deepening pipeline of gene silencing candidates. Tooman also shares insight into the IP and the people responsible for managing that deep pipeline, which spans indications from hematology to cardiovascular disease to rare diseases. 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/

May 9, 2022 • 51min
Live Biologics & The Microbiome With 4D pharma's Duncan Peyton
We love to hear from our listeners. Send us a message. 4D pharma's flagship early-stage clinical candidates are live biotherapeutics, a relatively new class of biologics that seek to impact disease state by modulating the microbiome. CEO Duncan Peyton is leading the effort to understand how the health of the microbiome relates to a wide range of diseases, including immuno-oncology, central nervous system disorders, respiratory disease, auto immune indications, and gastro intestinal disease. 4D pharma is even working on a live biotherapeutic vaccine platform. Join Duncan on this episode of the Business of Biotech as we discuss this new frontier of therapeutic exploration.Learn more about gut microbiome therapeutic up-and-comers at bioprocessonline.com. 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/

May 2, 2022 • 57min
Gene Tx For Renal Disease With Purespring CEO Richard Francis
We love to hear from our listeners. Send us a message. Purespring Therapeutics launched in 2020 on the back of IP developed by renowned kidney researcher Prof. Moin Saleem, who spent decades working on podocytes when podocytes weren’t cool. Just two years later, the company boasts three gene therapy assets and a platform developed expressly to identify new therapeutic targets to address kidney disease. These assets promise to change the "dialysis or transplant" ultimatums associated with kidney disease, where therapeutic innovation has been scarce. Under the leadership of CEO Richard Francis, the young company is operating with the audacious goal to take its therapeutics all the way to the commercial finish line. On this episode of the Business of Biotech, Francis offers a transparent look at the company’s growth strategy and the progress it’s achieved to date.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/

Apr 25, 2022 • 46min
Fighting Blindness & Funding The Fight With Opus Genetics' CEO Ben Yerxa, Ph.D.
We love to hear from our listeners. Send us a message. Opus Genetics is an early-stage gene therapy company launched just last year and in unique fashion on the back of the patient advocacy group the Retinal Degeneration Fund. Already, its pipeline has developed into three candidates, the lead among them addressing Leber congenital amaurosis. Opus CEO Ben Yerxa, Ph.D. serves in triplicate as CEO at the RD Fund, Foundation Fighting Blindness, and Opus Genetics. His plate is full, but he's a man on a mission. On this episode of the Business of Biotech, Dr. Yerxa shares his story, that of Opus Genetics' unique approach to addressing inherited retinal diseases, and how the company is addressing current development and capacity challenges in the cell & gene manufacturing space.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/

Apr 18, 2022 • 47min
Gynecological Cancer Therapies with Context Therapeutics' Martin Lehr
Martin Lehr, Co-Founder & CEO of Context Therapeutics, discusses his transition from venture capitalist to startup CEO in the field of gynecological cancer therapies. Topics covered include their clinical trial approach, manufacturing process, and the challenges of transitioning from small molecules to bi-specific antibodies. The chapter also explores the benefits of investigator sponsored trials and collaborations with academic institutions.

Apr 11, 2022 • 47min
Commensal Viral Vectors with Ring Therapeutics' Tuyen Ong, M.D.
We love to hear from our listeners. Send us a message. When Tuyen Ong was a child, he and his family escaped Vietnam by boat in the dead of the night, bound for an Indonesian refugee camp. They spent a year in that camp before emigrating to the U.K., where Ong’s underprivileged adolescence found him growing up in the projects of London. Against the odds, Ong worked his way to UCL for an education that culminated with an M.D. Today, he’s CEO of Ring Therapeutics, a promising emerging biotech backed by Flagship Pioneering, the kingmaker behind the rise of Moderna. On this episode of the Business of Biotech, Ong shares on his challenging formative years, the unspoken love between a father and son, facing down racism as a poor Chinese kid in Vietnam and London, and how those experiences shape his leadership at Ring. Oh, and we talk about some really great science, too.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/

Apr 4, 2022 • 39min
Antibodies For Severe Allergies With IgGenix's Jessica Grossman, M.D.
We love to hear from our listeners. Send us a message. In this wide-ranging discussion, IgGenix CEO Jessica Grossman, M.D. discusses the application of and market opportunity for antibody therapy for severe allergies, the gender gap in the biopharma c-suite, why women work harder than men, what it means to be a female biopharma leader, and IgGenix's approach at isolating and re-engineering allergen-specific IgE antibodies into IgG antibodies designed to alleviate — and possibly prevent — allergic cascade.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/

Mar 28, 2022 • 56min
Gene Therapies For Ocular Disease With Sparing Vision's Stéphane Boissel
We love to hear from our listeners. Send us a message. Since assuming the President and CEO role at Sparingvision in August, 2020, Stéphane Boissel has been making big moves in the arenas of talent acquisition and IP expansion. Those efforts are securing the company's development of a number of genomic medicines to address inherited retinal disease. On this episode of the Business of Biotech, Boissel shares the company's foundation story and the role venture philanthropy played in it, his strategy for attracting and retaining big-league talent, and the why behind his vigorous allegiance to internal development. 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/