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.
A Rescue Model For Shelved Drug Candidates With Annette Bakker, Ph.D. And Andrew Lo, Ph.D.
We love to hear from our listeners. Send us a message. On this week's episode of the Business of Biotech, Annette Bakker, Ph.D., CEO at the Children's Tumor Foundation, and Andrew Lo, Ph.D., Finance Professor at MIT's Sloan School of Management and Director of the Laboratory for Financial Engineering, talk about the methods and economics for turning abandoned drug candidates into new therapies for patients. Annette and Andrew share the story of Gomekli, a formerly shelved Pfizer drug candidate spun out into SpringWorks Therapeutics, and approved in 2025 for NF Type 1 tumors (Merck KGaA subsequently acquired SpringWorks for $3.9 billion). They also detail plans for bringing more shelved candidates back into development, using a shared data infrastructure and a matchmaking tool to pair interested drug developers with investors and funding. 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.com Find Ben Comer on LinkedIn : https://www.linkedin.com/in/bencomer/
Using Genetics To Discover New Treatments With Regeneron Genetics Center's Aris Baras, M.D.
We love to hear from our listeners. Send us a message. On this week's episode of the Business of Biotech, Aris Baras, M.D., SVP, Head of Regeneron Genetics Center (RGC) and Co-Head of Regeneron Genetic Medicines, talks about using large-scale human genetics to find better drug targets based on "superhuman" variants. Aris explains how multi-omics, linked health records, and AI are helping developers move faster in the clinic and reduce the odds of failure, while also pushing biotech toward earlier disease prediction and more preventive 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.com Find Ben Comer on LinkedIn : https://www.linkedin.com/in/bencomer/
Late-Stage Development And Commercial Planning With CervoMed's Matt Winton, Ph.D.
We love to hear from our listeners. Send us a message. On this week's episode of the Business of Biotech, Matt Winton, Ph.D., Chief Commercial and Business Officer at CervoMed, talks about preparing for the late-stage development of neflamapimod in dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB) and commercial planning for an anticipated launch. Winton talks about CMC and manufacturing scale-up, partnership, communicating with regulators and the benefits of global regulatory alignment on protocols for the Phase 3 trial. He also talks about building value through HEOR and payer engagement in parallel with clinical development, and pricing in the context of policy changes and shifting global launch dynamics. 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.com Find Ben Comer on LinkedIn : https://www.linkedin.com/in/bencomer/
BoB@BIO: Biotech In The Balance With Ovid Therapeutics' Dr. Jeremy Levin
We love to hear from our listeners. Send us a message. On the Business of Biotech this week, industry veteran Dr. Jeremy Levin, Founder, Chairman, and former CEO at Ovid Therapeutics, sits down alongside the 2026 BIO Convention to talk about why public distrust and politicized institutions are putting the scientific enterprise at risk. We dig into what biotech leaders owe patients and the public, how innovation and capital can migrate out of the U.S., and what it takes to build biotech companies that last. Dr. Levin talks about his recently published book, Biotech in the Balance: Saving a Strategic Industry in an Age of Distrust, what he learned during the writing process, and offers advice for first-time biotech CEOs. 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.com Find Ben Comer on LinkedIn : https://www.linkedin.com/in/bencomer/
BoB@BIO: Biotech Investing And Deals With Sofinnova's Maha Radhakrishnan, M.D.
We love to hear from our listeners. Send us a message. This week's episode of the Business of Biotech was recorded at the BIO Convention in San Diego, where guest Maha Radhakrishnan, M.D., Executive Partner, Private Equity, at Sofinnova, spoke about her move from big pharma and biotech to private equity investing, and what makes a late-stage asset deal work. Maha also talks about how China-originated programs are changing development timelines, and where the next wave of CNS and metabolic innovation could come from. 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.com Find Ben Comer on LinkedIn : https://www.linkedin.com/in/bencomer/
Targeting Tau in Alzheimer's Disease With Voyager Therapeutics' Al Sandrock, M.D., Ph.D.
We love to hear from our listeners. Send us a message. On this week's episode of the Business of Biotech, Al Sandrock, M.D., Ph.D., President and CEO at Voyager Therapeutics, talks about why tau is becoming a central target in Alzheimer’s drug development and how gene therapy delivery across the blood-brain barrier could change what treatment looks like at scale. Sandrock shares his current thinking on the amyloid vs. beta debate (it's likely both) in Alzheimer's disease treatment, the role of emerging tools like fluid biomarkers in diagnosis and prevention, and why small biotechs take bigger risks than big 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.com Find Ben Comer on LinkedIn : https://www.linkedin.com/in/bencomer/
Keeping An Early-Stage Cell Therapy Biotech In The Black With IN8bio's William Ho
We love to hear from our listeners. Send us a message. On this week's episode of the Business of Biotech, William Ho, CEO of IN8bio, explains why gamma delta T cells may have an edge against cancer, including solid tumors like glioblastoma. He also offers up a candid and step-by-step look at what it takes to finance an early clinical-stage cell therapy company through a punishing IPO market and a long cash crunch. 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.com Find Ben Comer on LinkedIn : https://www.linkedin.com/in/bencomer/
Drug Launch Success In A Changing Commercial Landscape With ACMA's William Soliman, Ph.D.
We love to hear from our listeners. Send us a message. On this week's episode of the Business of Biotech, William Soliman, Founder and CEO of the Accreditation Council for Medical Affairs (ACMA), and Founder and CIO of White Manna Capital Partners, talks about why biotech drug launches so often miss expectations, and how to build an integrated commercialization plan that holds up with physicians, patients, and payers. William also describes the evolution in medical affairs, why standards and certification matter, and how AI and new media channels are reshaping how drug information reaches patients and prescribers. 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.com Find Ben Comer on LinkedIn : https://www.linkedin.com/in/bencomer/
The Editors' Roundtable: A Midyear Look At The 2026 Life Sciences Industry
We love to hear from our listeners. Send us a message. On this week's episode of the Business of Biotech, Tyler Menichiello, chief editor at Bioprocess Online, host of the Better Biopharma podcast, and my Life Science Connect (LSC) colleague, convenes the broader LSC editorial team once again for a midyear discussion on what's happening now in the life sciences industry, and what's to come in the second half of the year. Topics include AI manufacturing regulations and navigating supply chain pressures, outsourcing trends and onshoring, biotech market signals and IPOs, clinical development's slow shift to digitization, the move toward organoids and non-animal models (NAMs) in discovery, RNA modality growing pains, and 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.com Find Ben Comer on LinkedIn : https://www.linkedin.com/in/bencomer/
Derisking CNS Drug Development With Tortugas Neuroscience's Jeff Jonas, M.D.
We love to hear from our listeners. Send us a message. On this week's episode of the Business of Biotech, Jeff Jonas, M.D., CEO of Tortugas Neuroscience, talks about the company's April 2026 launch and how in-licensed development assets were chosen. Jeff explains his strategy of chasing fast proof of safety and efficacy in humans, not animals, and talks about what product differentiation looks like in brain disorders, from adjusting indication targets to conducting head-to-head trials. He also reflects on the opportunity with psychedelics, RFK Jr.'s quest to curb SSRI prescriptions, the payer landscape in CNS disorders, and 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.com Find Ben Comer on LinkedIn : https://www.linkedin.com/in/bencomer/
Rare Disease Drug Commercialization With Zevra Therapeutics' Neil McFarlane
We love to hear from our listeners. Send us a message. On this week's episode of the Business of Biotech, Neil McFarlane, CEO at Zevra Therapeutics, talks about transitioning to a focused rare disease company through acquisitions, and building out a commercial organization. Neil explains the importance of working with rare disease patient advocacy groups, using AI to analyze electronic health records and claims data to identify and diagnose patients with Niemann-Pick disease type C, and adapting to regulatory inconsistencies around rare disease drug approval frameworks in the U.S. and Europe. 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.com Find Ben Comer on LinkedIn : https://www.linkedin.com/in/bencomer/
Scaling Manufacturing For Personalized Cell Therapies With Cellino's Marinna Madrid, Ph.D.
We love to hear from our listeners. Send us a message. On this week's episode of the Business of Biotech, Marinna Madrid, Ph.D., Cofounder, Board Member, Chief Product and Regulatory Officer at Cellino, talks about scaling up an automated manufacturing process she co-invented for personalized autologous induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC) therapies using laser-activated substrates and AI. Marinna describes her work with industry groups to improve regulatory guidelines, Cellino's partnership strategy, the implications of receiving FDA's Advanced Manufacturing Technologies designation, and the future of iPSC therapies. 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.com Find Ben Comer on LinkedIn : https://www.linkedin.com/in/bencomer/
Building A New Antibody Discovery Platform With Infinimmune's Wyatt McDonnell, Ph.D.
We love to hear from our listeners. Send us a message. On this week's episode of the Business of Biotech, Wyatt McDonnell, Ph.D., cofounder and CEO at Infinimmune, talks about how single-cell biology and computational rigor led to the formation of Infinimmune, and a new way to discover human-derived antibody drugs. Wyatt explains Infinimmune's 'discovered in humans' antibody discovery platform, how the company was launched and initially funded, and how Infinimmune landed a Merck collaboration worth up to $838 million. 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.com Find Ben Comer on LinkedIn : https://www.linkedin.com/in/bencomer/
From Partnered ASO Therapies To A Wholly-Owned Pipeline With Ionis's Brett Monia, Ph.D.
We love to hear from our listeners. Send us a message. On this week's episode of the Business of Biotech, Brett Monia, Ph.D., CEO at Ionis Pharmaceuticals, talks about how antisense oligonucleotides (ASO) graduated from a late-1980s lab concept to real RNA-targeting medicines, and why Ionis stuck with a difficult modality despite multiple setbacks. Brett describes the company's shift from a partner-first model to building a wholly-owned pipeline, commercial function, and an expanded manufacturing operation, and how he as a founding scientist-turned-CEO bridged a skills gap in finance and investor relations. 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.com Find Ben Comer on LinkedIn : https://www.linkedin.com/in/bencomer/
Implementing A New CEO Strategy With NervGen's Adam Rogers, M.D. And Rich Macary
We love to hear from our listeners. Send us a message. On this week's episode of the Business of Biotech, we talk with NervGen leaders Adam Rogers, M.D., and Rich Macary about NVG-291, a daily neuroreparative peptide designed to restore function in patients with spinal cord injuries. Adam talks about his strategy for the company after becoming CEO last July, including moving company trading from Canada's TSX Venture Exchange to the NASDAQ for better visibility, and making key hires for growth. Rich talks about his early work in RNA therapeutics as an advisor at Sarepta, cofounding Synaptica Therapeutics, and bringing Adam to NervGen. They also talk about engaging with the FDA on endpoints for NVG-291's Phase 3 trial, and the broader opportunity in neurotrauma. 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.com Find Ben Comer on LinkedIn : https://www.linkedin.com/in/bencomer/
The Impact Of FDA Risk On Biotech Rewards With CFO And Board Director Allan Shaw
We love to hear from our listeners. Send us a message. On this week's episode of the Business of Biotech, five-time public company CFO and seven-time public company board member Allan Shaw talks about why FDA decision-making feels less predictable, and how that uncertainty is reshaping clinical trial strategy, investor behavior, and the innovation ecosystem. We talk about FDA politicization concerns, modernization efforts like AI initiatives, and what biotech leaders can do to manage risk instead of being managed by it. 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.com Find Ben Comer on LinkedIn : https://www.linkedin.com/in/bencomer/
Biosimilars And Complex Medicines For All With RNA Therapeutics' Sarfaraz Niazi, Ph.D.
We love to hear from our listeners. Send us a message. On this week's episode of the Business of Biotech, we speak with Dr. Sarfaraz Niazi, Ph.D., about how biosimilar regulations have taken shape, from early FDA uncertainty to citizen petitions, lawsuits, and guideline changes. Dr. Niazi offers a behind the scene look at the way FDA policy gets made, and unmade, and his own role in key regulatory changes, and legislation such as the Biologics Price Competition and Innovations Act (BPCIA), and the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA). We also discuss Dr. Niazi's current company, RNA Therapeutics, and his quest to make new drug modalities accessible to patients around the world. This episode of the Business of Biotech is brought to you by Cytiva. 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.com Find Ben Comer on LinkedIn : https://www.linkedin.com/in/bencomer/
Radiotherapeutics For Neuroendocrine Tumors With Perspective Therapeutics' Thijs Spoor
We love to hear from our listeners. Send us a message. On this week's episode of the Business of Biotech, Thijs Spoor, CEO at Perspective Therapeutics, a company developing Pb 212 (lead)-based therapeutics, talks about why radiopharmaceuticals are surging again and why biodistribution is the make-or-break variable when your payload is a radioactive isotope. Thijs discusses the reasons behind Perspective's investment in a proprietary generator for therapeutic production, manufacturing and delivery strategy, workforce constraints, and building a clinical strategy around receptor positivity across tumor types. 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.com Find Ben Comer on LinkedIn : https://www.linkedin.com/in/bencomer/
Investing In Early-Stage Oncology With Yosemite's Dan McHugh
We love to hear from our listeners. Send us a message. On this week's episode of the Business of Biotech, Dan McHugh, head of the investment team at Yosemite, explains the San Francisco VC group's approach to investing in early-stage cancer therapeutics and funding academic research through unrestricted grants. Founded by Reed Jobs, son of Steve Jobs and Laurene Powell Jobs, Yosemite invests across drug modalities and supporting technologies in the oncology space. Dan talks about his path from bioengineering to biotech venture capital, meeting Reed Jobs on Stanford's fencing team, his CEO turn at Tune Therapeutics, and the current fundraising environment for innovative science. 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.com Find Ben Comer on LinkedIn : https://www.linkedin.com/in/bencomer/
Commercializing CAR T Cell Therapy With Legend Biotech's Alan Bash
We love to hear from our listeners. Send us a message. On this week's episode of the Business of Biotech we're speaking with Alan Bash, President, Carvykti, at Legend Biotech, about how Carvykti became a blockbuster, category-leading CAR T therapy for multiple myeloma. Alan talks about manufacturing and delivering an autologous cell therapy at commercial scale, Legend Biotech's partnership with Johnson & Johnson, lessons he learned at Bristol Myers Squibb, Checkmate Pharmaceuticals, and ZielBio, and his strategy for growing Carvykti's patient footprint and facing new competitors in the 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.com Find Ben Comer on LinkedIn : https://www.linkedin.com/in/bencomer/
