EXECUTIVE INTERVIEWS

• Driving Diversity And Inclusion In Life Sciences

  Five experts weigh in on the status of diversity and inclusion in the life sciences industry and detail actions you can take now to drive awareness and change.

• From Food To Pharma — Andrea Pfeifer’s Trek To Cure Alzheimer’s

  CEO Andrea Pfeifer talks about why, years ago, she was convinced it was time to leave her career in the food industry and cofound AC Immune, a biopharma focused on one of the most difficult areas — Alzheimer’s disease.

• Aligos Therapeutics — The Next Step Of Lawrence Blatt’s Entrepreneurial Expedition

  Lawrence Blatt, Ph.D., cofounder and CEO of Aligos Therapeutics, discusses the entrepreneurial journey that took him from startup, to Big Pharma, back to startup.

• Building A Digital Therapeutics Company

  Brent Vaughan talks about the differences between building a biotech and building a digital therapeutics company.

• The Benefits & Challenges Of Head-To-Head Trials

  In Lilly’s immunology portfolio, eight different H₂H clinical trials have been conducted thus far. Four of those trials were conducted in parallel with a Phase 3 trial and four were conducted after it. Although the benefits are attractive to a sponsor company, H₂H trials can present some unique risks.

• How One Professor Built Two Billion-Dollar Biotechs

  Professor Ugur Sahin, M.D., Ph.D. never wanted to be an entrepreneur. Yet, today he’s the cofounder and CEO of BioNTech, a publicly traded German biotech aspiring to develop individualized cancer medicines. It was a surprising career path switch.

• A Chat On Biosimilars With Sandoz’s U.S. President Carol Lynch

  Carol Lynch, president of Sandoz U.S. and head of North America, fields biosimilars-related questions from the audience at the 2020 BIO CEO & Investor Conference. 

• BioEclipse Therapeutics — More Than Just A Story Of Rebranding

  In 2006, Pamela Contag, Ph.D. cofounded ConcentRx, but the biopharma rebranded in 2016 to become BioEclipse Therapeutics. The CEO talks about what she learned in those 10 years on that difficult business journey

• Former Biopharma CEO Develops Novel Solution For The “Valley Of Death”

  I recently met a scientist who had experienced the valley of death firsthand. And rather than have her valley experience be her demise, she instead opted to develop a novel solution. This is her story.

   

• 5 Biopharma Execs Reveal Corporate Culture Best Practices

  “Corporate culture will soon be the number one reason why an employee stays or leaves a company.” It’s a comment made to start off a roundtable discussion at the 2020 JPM conference, and we have the details of the discussion here.

• Building GSK Oncology R&D

  Axel Hoos, M.D., Ph.D., SVP oncology and R&D governance chair, provides an update and the context of GSK’s R&D strategy.

• The Story Of Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals’ Adversity Odyssey

  Chris Anzalone, Ph.D., CEO of Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals, discusses taking over a biopharmaceutical company shortly before the Great Recession along with other avenues of adversity faced (e.g., FDA hold on a Phase 2 trial) toward bringing this RNAi company to the brink of success.

• Why You Need People Like Jana Spes At Your Company

  Industry veteran Jana Spes provides some uniquely qualified analysis and guidance on the outsourcing industry and working with CDMOs. Don’t be surprised if you come away thinking for your next outsourcing operations hire, specialization is out, and the Spes model is in.

• Jeff Albers’ Blueprint For Blueprint Medicines

  Jeff Albers, president and CEO of Blueprint Medicines, discusses his approach to ensuring the biopharma is commercial ready should it garner some pivotal FDA approvals.