Finance & Capital Markets

1. 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.

2. CDMO + Emerging Bio Partnership With Forge's John Maslowski And Ray's Jenny Holt 10/25/2023

   What constitutes a healthy, productive, and successful relationship between an emerging biopharma company and its contract development and manufacturing outsourcer (CDMO)? Jenny Holt, Chief Development Officer at the biopharma company Ray Therapeutics has some opinions. So does John Maslowski, Chief Commercial Officer at the CDMO Forge Biologics. Think they align?

3. Risk Mitigation With MeiraGTx's Zandy Forbes, Ph.D. 12/30/2024

   Zandy Forbes, Ph.D., combines science and finance expertise to manage biotech risk. With a Ph.D. from Oxford, a postdoc fellowship, and over a decade as a Wall Street healthcare investor, she now leads Meira GTx as President & CEO. On Business of Biotech, she discusses how her investment experience informs her approach to biotech leadership.

4. Financing Biopharma Innovation With Allan Shaw 12/19/2022

   Friend and frequent guest Allan Shaw rejoins the Business of Biotech to reflect on his recent presentation on innovative biotech financing at the BioFuture event in NYC. We also dig into Bruce Booth's "Atlas Venture Year In Review," revisiting and unpacking some quoteworthy material and metrics from both sources. Allan offers up plenty of prognostication and professional insight in a preview of what's to come in 2023, complete with his signature "Allanisms" and colorful analogies. A can't-miss episode as we round the turn to a new year!

5. Funding Alzheimer's Tx Dev with ADDF's Karen Harris 3/31/2024

   We've really been looking forward to dropping this episode with Karen Harris, Chief Financial Officer and Head of Mission-Related Investing at the Alzheimer's Drug Discovery Foundation. While the markets have warmed a bit since we recorded this episode, Karen's thoughtful perspective on the sometimes tumultuous Alzheimer's therapeutics space is valuable to any drug developer working in the cognitive medicines arena.

6. The Biotech Beatdown With Allan Shaw 6/6/2022

   On this, the 100th episode of the Business of Biotech podcast, our dear friend, frequent guest, and business of biotech brainiac Allan Shaw joins us to dissect the beleaguered biotech capital markets. We pick apart what's driving sentiment and how we got here, whether the industry is over-inventoried, what's getting funded , what's not, and why, and what biotech leaders should be doing in an investment landscape marked by hyper-discernment. We also reflect on the podcast journey and celebrate the 100-episode milestone!

7. BoB@JPM: Rick Modi, Affinia Therapeutics 3/5/2025

   The latest in our series of Business of Biotech podcasts recorded in-person at JPM in San Francisco features an inspiring conversation with Affinia Therapeutics CEO Rick Modi. Modi shares on how his upbringing in Kenya shaped his adversity-embracing worldview, and how that worldview contributes to his biotech leadership

8. Embracing Biotech Chaos With Memo's Erik van den Berg 9/8/2024

   Erik van den Berg is CEO and board member at Memo Therapeutics, and he's a student of biotech chaos. In fact, he's been embracing it with intention for the past 30 years. On this episode of the Business of Biotech, he walks us through the management of that chaos in specific detail.

9. 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.

10. BoB@JPM: Tom Chalberg, Ph.D., Genascence 2/23/2025

    This episode of the Business of Biotech finds Matt Pillar and Ben Comer exploring the evolution of gene therapy with Dr. Tom Chalberg, Founder, Chairman, & CEO at Genascence. Listen in as they discuss ATMPS' transition from treating rare diseases to addressing common conditions like osteoarthritis, share insights on the delivery mechanism and regulatory challenges in the space, and get into the nuts and bolts of the Genascence partnership strategy.