Finance & Capital Markets

  1. 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.

  2. 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.

  3. Biotech M&A Trends With Allan Shaw 3/21/2022

    On this episode of the Business of Biotech, Allan Shaw waxes on his expectations for mergers, acquisitions, and collaborative partnership opportunities for new and emerging biotechs in 2022 and beyond. We tackle questions biotech leaders should be asking about intentionality, what's attractive to potential suitors, and why startups that aren't prepared to take a candidate to the finish line have already conceded a major factor in partnership or buyout negotiations. Don't miss Shaw's advice for startup success in a suddenly tumultuous market.

  4. Fiscal Turnarounds With Protalix's Eyal Rubin 8/30/2023

    Within about five minutes of conversation with Protalix CFO Eyal Rubin, I learned that he doesn’t bite his tongue about the rigors of biotech business and finance management, which is precisely why I’m eager to talk with him on today’s episode of the podcast. From commercialization deals with big pharma to being about $50 million underwater to swatting away the day trading armchair quarterbacks on Stocktwits, Rubin’s seen a few things and he’s developed more than a few opinions.

  5. Investing In The Biostack With Modi Ventures' Sahir Ali, Ph.D. 9/4/2025

    On the Business of Biotech this week, Sahir Ali, Ph.D., founder and general partner at Modi Ventures, a family office investing at the intersection of technology and biology, talks about adapting the Markowitz model to improve returns and balance risk, his concept of the "biostack" for making direct investments into life sciences companies, and the revolutionary potential of scientific super intelligence.

  6. 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.

  7. Foundations Of Biopharma Finance With Smital Shah, MBA 11/9/2020

    Smital Shah brings a trifecta of chemical engineering, consulting, and finance experience earned at heavyweight companies like JP Morgan, Leerink, and Gilead to her role at clinical-stage RNA therapy biotech ProQR Therapeutics. We sat down for a deep conversation on the recipe for successful business and finance operations in an emerging biopharma organization.

  8. 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.

  9. Episode 5: Finding Funding In Volatile Times With Ben Zeskind 8/13/2020

    Ben Zeskind launched his biotech, Immuneering, in the throes of the Great Recession. The company earned a $20 million series A round to fund the development of its pipeline at the outset of the COVID-19 pandemic. Along the way, it bootstrapped its way from bioinformatics company to fledgling biopharma. On this episode of The Business Of Biotech, Zeskind shares his experience-based wisdom on finding funding in volatile times.

  10. Creating Competitive Differentiation With Allan Shaw 9/13/2021

    The biologic therapy market is crowded, and judging by the recent parade of IPOs, competition for investment, mindshare, talent, and ultimately share of market is only getting stiffer. On this week's episode of the Business of Biotech, our friend and biotech business guru Allan Shaw joins us for a foundational conversation on creating competitive differentiation at every stage of biopharma growth. We cover the connections between developmental strategy and the competitive commercial landscape, the moral obligation to differentiate between promise and plausibility, the commoditization of brilliant science, and the necessity to align balanced plans with wild dreams.