Finance & Capital Markets

1. 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.

2. BoB@JPM: Owen Hughes & Brad Sitko, XOMA Royalty 2/26/2025

   On this episode of the Business of Biotech, recorded on-site at the 2025 JP Morgan Healthcare Conference, we explore a new approach to biotech financing with XOMA Royalty's Owen Hughes and Brad Sitko. The CEO and CIO, respectively, share an innovative royalty aggregation model that mitigates risk while enabling immediate capital access to biotech firms.

3. Clinical Leadership with Cue Biopharma's Anish Suri, Ph.D. & Dan Passeri, J.D. 10/20/2023

   On a road trip to Boston, the Business of Biotech caught up with podcast alum Dan Passeri, J.D., CEO at Cue Biopharma, and enjoyed a two-for-one with CSO and President Anish Suri, Ph.D. at Cue's headquarters just feet below the Auerbach Center. Among other things, we discussed the duo's complementary leadership approach as the company takes multiple candidates into the clinic, why Passeri leans into his biotech legal background almost every day he's at work, why Cue's discretely targeted IL-2 approach eliminates the absurdity of early IL-2 failures, and a whole lot more.

4. Athersys' Ivor Macleod On Bringing Big-League Financial Experience To An Emerging Biotech 8/13/2020

   The Business Of Biotech "Summer Executive Sessions" kick off with a candid conversation with Athersys CFO Ivor Macleod, who brings years of finance leadership at Roche, Merck, and other big pharmas to Athersys as the company readies its lead candidate for life beyond clinical trials. Join us for a discussion on how Macleod is applying big-league finance principles to an emerging biopharma company, and what he's learned about managing funds in a pre-commercial biotech environment.

5. Biotech C-Suite Construction With Allan Shaw 10/13/2024

   Allan Shaw is back with us this week to dig into the complexities of strategic hiring in biotech. If you're growing a biotech in these volatile times, this episode of the Business of Biotech offers veteran insight you won't want to miss.

6. Funding Tips And Moving From R&D To Commercial With Madrigal Pharmaceuticals' Mardi Dier 11/5/2025

   On this week's episode of the Business of Biotech, Mardi Dier, CFO at Madrigal Pharmaceuticals, talks about building relationships in investment banking and investor relations before moving into business development and becoming a chief financial officer. 

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. BoB@JPM: Nima Farzan, Latigo Biotherapeutics 3/19/2025

   In this final installment of our episodes recorded and filmed on-site at the JP Morgan Healthcare Conference, Nima Farzan, CEO of Latigo Biotherapeutics, shares his company's mission to change the pain management paradigm by way of novel, non-opioid medications that target NAV 1.8 sodium channels involved in pain signal transmission.

9. Episode 4: Building Your Pitch With Leslie Williams 8/13/2020

   Leslie Williams is a multi-time biotech founder and board member who's honed her pitch-building skills to a fine point. On this episode of The Business Of Biotech, Williams shares best practices for building your pitch deck, how to draw out the nuance that makes your story unique, what to expect in your initial pitch session and follow-on meetings, and why the human element trumps everything else in an otherwise formulaic pitch process.

10. Managing Mergers With Sail's Guillaume Pfefer, Ph.D 2/15/2024

    You might be aware that Sail Biomedicines was just formed up in Q4 of last year, the product of Flagship Pioneering’s decision to merge Senda Biosciences and Laronde, two of its programmable medicine platform companies. What you likely haven’t heard is the inside story on how the merger was executed, how the two companies are integrating their talent, IP, and resources, and what Sail Biomedicines CEO Dr. Guillaume Pfefer and team are currently doing to take the fruits of the company’s platform into the clinic.