Finance & Capital Markets

51. 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. 

52. 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.

53. 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.

54. iNK T-Cell Immuno-oncology For Solid Tumors With Dr. Ian Walters 8/30/2021

    Dr. Ian Walters' company, Portage Biotech, is focused on addressing the 75% of cancer patients who show no, or limited, response to existing therapies such as checkpoint inhibitors. Leading that charge are the company's invariant natural killer T cell agonists, designed to activate the innate and adaptive immune system, as well as a growing portfolio of proteins, antibodies, and small molecules. On this episode of the Business of Biotech, Dr. Walters shares what's fueling the company's progress, including its unique financing strategy and its approach to de-risking platform development for novel immuno-oncology therapies.

55. Art Of The Pivot With Elevation Oncology's Joe Ferra 1/3/2024

    Relatively new CEO Joseph Ferra has orchestrated some pretty significant change at Elevation Oncology in the two(ish) years since the Business of Biotech last hosted the company. In that short time, Ferra advanced from CFO to CEO, a move that aligned very closely with the company's difficult decision to shelve the late phase 2 anti-HER3 monoclonal antibody candidate it was founded on.

56. Biotech Course Correction With Treehill Partners' Ali Pashazadeh 9/29/2024

    It wouldn't be accurate to say that surgeon-turned-healthcare investment banker and consultant Dr. Ali Pashazadeh traded his scalpels for spreadsheets. In fact, he still wields a scalpel quite frequently, and on this episode of the Business of Biotech podcast, he offers a fantastic reason why.

57. Pivoting To RNA With Circio's Dr. Erik Digman Wiklund 9/1/2024

    This week, it’s another “Business of Biotech-meets-Business-of-RNA” takeover with Circio CEO Erik Digman Wiklund, Ph.D. and guest co-host Anna Rose Welch of Advancing RNA. While Circio’s legacy is in cancer immunology (it still boasts a cancer vaccine candidate targeting KRAS driver mutations), the company made a bold pivot, of sorts, when it committed headlong to the circular RNA future. Now, it’s in the throes of fine-tuning a platform for the development of novel circRNA medicines for rare disease, vaccines, and cancer.

58. A Look Behind, A Look Ahead With Allan Shaw 1/4/2021

    The Business Of Biotech kicks off the new year with an up-close-and-personal talk with biotech investor and CFO extraordinaire Allan Shaw. We talk through last year's ups and downs and do a little prognosticating on what we're feeling bullish about--from unprecedented regulatory action to exciting progress on the cell and gene front--as we head into the new year.

59. A CFO's Prescription For Biopharma Success 3/22/2021

    Friend of the show and life sciences CFO extraordinaire Allan Shaw joins us for a discussion on the steps to biopharma success from an insider's perspective. We discuss the incremental steps that are necessary and common to success in the biologic therapy space, and the mistakes Shaw has seen in his many engagements with new and emerging biotech firms. From capital resource allocation to personnel decision making to preparing for the bubble to burst, listen in as Shaw shares his unfiltered advice.

60. Episode 2: The Business Of Biotech: Allan Shaw 8/13/2020

    There are few better suited to advise the leaders of new and emerging biopharma companies on the building blocks of a biotech startup than Allan Shaw. That's why we chose Shaw to help us kick off our Business of Biotech podcast series with an overview of the episodes to come. In addition to his work on the financial front lines of several biotechs, Shaw holds multiple board of director roles with startup biopharma firms, and he advises dozens more in his role as special adviser. On this episode, we'll preview the series and absorb Shaw's to-the-point, practical advice on winning finances, building a pitch, assembling a biotech all-star team, leaving the incubator, navigating early regulatory considerations, and a whole lot more. The Business Of Biotech is produced by BioProcess Online and brought to you with the support of Cytiva.