Finance & Capital Markets

1. Building A Cancer Pipeline In A Molecule With Actuate Therapeutics' Dan Schmitt 11/26/2025

   On this week's episode of the Business of Biotech, Dan Schmitt, President and CEO at Actuate Therapeutics, talks about building a company around elraglusib, a GSK-3β inhibitor for cancer.

2. Approvals & Mergers: Inside Enzyvant With Bill Symonds, Pharm.D. 4/5/2023

   Today's episode of the Business of Biotech covers a lot of ground with Enzyvant CEO Bill Symonds, Pharm.D. Among other things, we discuss the career moves Dr. Symonds has made within the "vant" environment since his involvement in the launch of the original Roivant, the approval of Rethymic, the merger of Altavant and Enzyvant, and the company's intentions for a brand new regenerative medicine manufacturing facility in Research Triangle Park. From drug approvals to mergers, from internal manufacturing capacity to founders-turned-presidential candidates, this one's got it all.

3. Anatomy Of A VC Deal With 4BIO's Dima Kuzmin & Ray Therapeutics' Paul Bresge 10/25/2022

   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.

4. Biotech Angel Investing With Yaniv Sneor 5/21/2025

   On this week's Business of Biotech episode, Yaniv Sneor, founder of the Mid Atlantic Bio Angels and CEO at Native State Therapeutics, explains how life science angel investors evaluate biotech startups, and offers tips for young drug developers in search of funding. The conversation covers how to create a successful pitch, red flags for potential investors, the importance of angel investing syndicates, the sweet spots for exit timelines and funding amounts, and why it still makes sense to invest in biotech over other industry sectors.

5. Funding A Neurodegeneration Startup With Coya Therapeutics' Howard Berman 5/10/2023

   Like many of us, Howard Berman, Ph.D. has personal experience with the tragedy of cognitive decline. Neurodegenerative disorders are on the rise, and when one afflicted his father — a triple board-certified physician — he saw firsthand that they don't discriminate. Berman has dedicated his career to addressing neuro, autoimmune, and metabolic diseases, having founded Nicoya Health in 2020 and overseeing its merger with Coya Therapeutics the following year. The company came out of the gates this year fueled by an 11th-hour 2022 IPO, one of just a dozen on the year. Berman joined the Business of Biotech to share his strategy during a stingy stretch in biotech capital markets. 

6. Talking SPAC With Allan Shaw 7/27/2021

   Special-purpose acquisition companies, or SPACs, are all the rage as start-up financing vehicles go, and they're particularly well-suited for emerging biopharma companies. On this episode of the Business of Biotech, we dig deep into the advantages, limitations, and potential pitfalls of the SPAC with a man who was executing SPAC deals before SPAC deals were cool. Whether you're a biotech investor or a biopharma leader looking to acquire or be acquired, you'll want to tune in to this episode for insight into the special-purpose acquisition company strategy.

7. Fighting Blindness & Funding The Fight With Opus Genetics' Ben Yerxa, CEO 4/26/2022

   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 funding, development, and capacity challenges in the cell & gene manufacturing space.

8. Deal And Investment Trends With Investment Banker David Sans 4/2/2025

   Today we're talking life sciences investment trends and risks with David Sans, an investment banker with an academic background in chemical engineering and molecular modeling, and a professional background that began in Big Pharma and shifted to investing over 15 years ago.

9. Surviving The Microbiome Market with MaaT Pharma's Hervé Affagard 7/20/2023

   MaaT Pharma Founder & CEO Hervé Affagard recently navigated his company through a protracted FDA clinical hold, emerging with a promising Phase 3 candidate in GVHD. 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.

10. CAR T Therapy Cost Control With Laurence Cooper, M.D., Ph.D. 10/26/2020

    Controlling the cost of personalized medicine: We go behind the scenes of the effort to build a system that simplifies production and reduces the cost of non-viral T cell therapies with Ziopharm Oncology CEO Laurence Cooper, M.D., Ph.D.