Bio Eats World

Today’s episode is a cross-post with the a16z podcast. It features founders—Chris Severn, Florian Otto, Andrew Adams, Jade Chan, Jimmy Chen, and Fay Rotenberg—chatting with a16z podcast host Steph Smith, about how they're trying to reinvent the healthcare system, using fintech. Additional reading:

Today’s episode is with Greg Meyers, EVP and Chief Digital and Technology Officer at Bristol Myers Squibb (or BMS). He is joined by a16z Bio + Health general partner Jorge Conde. Together, they talk about how AI could transform drug discovery and development at a large biopharma company—and how a company might have to adapt to harness AI; modalities they’re excited about; and Greg’s do’s and don’ts for startups looking to partner with a company like BMS.

Healthcare payments are difficult, confusing, and opaque. But Julie and David discuss the ways that technology could change that for the better, and where they see the greatest opportunity for founders to solve big challenges. Additional reading:

In this episode, a16z Bio + Health investment partner Becky Pferdehirt chats with Robbie Majzner, an Assistant Professor of Pediatrics in the Division of Hematology and Oncology at Stanford, and co-founder of Link Cell Therapies. Together, they discuss Robbie's recent paper published in Nature. The paper outlines a new approach to develop logic gated intracellular network, or LINK CAR T cells, as a means to simultaneously enhance both the safety and efficacy of these novel cell therapies. Additional reading: Co-opting signalling molecules enables logic-gated control of CAR T cellsNature

Today’s episode is with Magi Richani, founder and CEO of Nobell Foods. She is joined by a16z Bio + Health general partner Vijay Pande. Together, they talk about the details of engineering plants to create the future of food, why Nobell started with soybeans to produce their cheese, and her dream of finding a cheese pizza—with Nobell cheese—at any pizza shop across the country.

This is a crossover episode with The Bioverge Podcast, hosted by Neil Littman. Neil is joined by Vineeta Agarwala, general partner at a16z Bio + Health. Together, they chat about Vineeta's dual role as a clinician and investor, the adoption curve of digital therapeutics, how Vineeta thinks about platforms and a modular, engineering-driven approach to biotech, and much more.

Today’s episode is with a16z’s American Dynamism team: Katherine Boyle and David Ulevitch. Katherine is a general partner focused on national security, aerospace and defense, public safety, housing, education, and industrials. David is a general partner focused on companies promoting American dynamism, as well as enterprise and SaaS companies. They are joined by a16z Bio + Health general partner Vijay Pande, and editorial lead Olivia Webb. Together, we talk about the idea behind American Dynamism, how the American Dynamism team thinks about building within highly regulated industries, how trust is key to the procurement process, and how the team thinks about the regulation of AI.

Today’s episode is with Sean Duffy, cofounder and CEO of Omada Health. He is joined by a16z Bio + Health general partner Julie Yoo and investment partner Jay Rughani. Together, they talk about Sean’s three rules of partnerships, how Omada plans for large-scale implementation, and how Sean thinks about structuring the economic model of the partnership. This episode was recorded as part of our research into our forthcoming Go to Market Playbook, focused on channel partnerships. Stay tuned for that, which we’ll be releasing in the coming days at a16z.com/digital-health-builders.

This week, we’re releasing two episodes about all things channel partnerships. Today’s episode is with Florian Otto, cofounder and CEO of Cedar. He is joined by a16z Bio + Health general partner Julie Yoo. In today’s episode, Florian and Julie talk about how Cedar began engaging with channel partners, what happens when things go wrong, and how the Cedar team is structured to implement and nurture these partnerships. This episode was recorded as part of our research into our forthcoming Go to Market Playbook, focused on these partnerships. Stay tuned for that, which we’ll be releasing in the coming days at a16z.com/digital-health-builders.

In this episode, Daphne Koller, founder and CEO of insitro—as well as the co-founder of Coursera, a MacArthur Award winner, and a former professor in the department of computer science at Stanford University—chats with a16z Bio + Health founding partner Vijay Pande. Together, they talk about Daphne’s career journey, how Daphne thinks about the last few decades of progress in AI, and how insitro leverages artificial intelligence and machine learning to explore biology through new models of discovery.

Today marks the reboot of our journal club series, so you can look forward to seeing these episodes as part of our regular feed. This episode is a scientific deep dive on recent research published by Ben Cravatt, Professor in the Department of Chemistry at the Scripps Research Institute and co-founder of a diverse suite of chemoproteomic companies such as Vividion and Belharra Therapeutics, and Gene Yeo, Professor of Cellular and Molecular Medicine at the University of California, San Diego and co-founder of Locana Bio, Eclipse Bio, and Trotana Therapeutics. Ben and Gene are joined by Vineeta Agarwala, general partner at a16z Bio + Health, and bio deal team member Bryan Faust. Together, they’ll discuss some unexpected mechanistic results of finding covalent binders to a class of proteins that we are just starting to understand — RNA binding proteins — and the subsequent translational implications that they described in a recent paper published by the Cravatt and Yeo labs in Nature Chemical Biology. The paper outlines a potentially new therapeutic approach that uses small molecules to fundamentally rewire transcriptional networks in cancer cells. Additional reading: Remodeling oncogenic transcriptomes by small molecules targeting NONO

In this episode, a16z Bio + Health general partner Julie Yoo chats with Bassett Healthcare Network president and CEO Tommy Ibrahim. Together, they talk about Tommy's journey from practicing physician to health system leader, the challenges facing rural healthcare today, and how Tommy thinks about partnering and integrating with digital health entrepreneurs as a hospital executive.

In this episode from the archives, originally published in February 2021, Jennifer Doudna, who won the 2020 Nobel Prize for the co-discovery of CRISPR-Cas9 with Emmanuelle Charpentier, chats with Vijay Pande, general partner at a16z Bio + Health. Together, they discuss the future of biology, whether discovery itself can be engineered and industrialized, and how biology can shape our future.

In this episode, Jorge Conde, general partner at a16z Bio + Health, talks with Josh Mandel-Brehm, founding CEO of CAMP4. Together, they talk about how CAMP4 focuses on regulatory RNA (and what that means), how Josh thinks about platform companies, and what he’s learned as the founding CEO of the company.

In today's episode, Sam Corcos, CEO and cofounder of Levels Health, chats with Vijay Pande, general partner at a16z Bio + Health, about how Sam cofounded Levels, how to decide who becomes CEO if you have multiple cofounders, Levels’ approach to company culture and meetings, and how Sam thinks about the complicated world of healthcare regulations. Additional reading: Levels' public investor updates

In this episode, Kurt Adams, CEO of Optum Financial, chats with Daisy Wolf, investment partner for a16z Bio + Health, and Marc Andrusko, investment partner for a16z focused on fintech, about Optum Financial, how consumers might interact with fintech while seeking care or participating in healthy behaviors, and what a fintech-integrated version of the healthcare experience could look like. Additional reading from us: Payvidors, Unbundled: Opportunities in Healthcare FintechHealthtech x Fintech’s Biggest Prize: The Financial Operating System for Healthcare

In this episode, Joe Lonsdale, founder and managing partner at 8VC, joins Vijay Pande, founding partner of a16z Bio + Health, and Olivia Webb, editorial lead. Together, we talk about what factors lead to innovation vs stagnation, monopoly power in healthcare, and policy ideas to incentivize change, growth, and dynamism.

In this episode, Julie Yoo, general partner, and Jay Rughani, investment partner at a16z Bio + Health, talk to Kate Ryder, founder and CEO of Maven; Amanda Rees, cofounder and CEO of Bold Health; and Bill Porter, VP and GM, International, of Butterfly Network, about their B2C2B go-to-market motion. This episode was originally recorded in late 2021, but it's still really relevant to builders, especially those exploring the B2C2B go-to-market motion. We talked about B2C2B in-depth in the second chapter of our Digital Health Builders Founder's Playbooks, also available at: https://a16z.com/digital-health-builders/ And finally, our last chapter of the Founder's Playbooks is coming soon, so hit subscribe and stay tuned!

In this episode, Kevin Parker, cofounder and CEO of Cartography Biosciences, joins Jorge Conde, general partner at a16z Bio + Health, and Olivia Webb, editorial lead, to discuss immuno-oncology, current challenges in drug targeting, and the mechanisms Cartography and others are using to advance the field of immunotherapeutics. This episode dives deep into the science behind immuno-oncology — but you don't necessarily have to be a scientist to follow along. You'll never look at a smoothie the same way again.

In this episode, recorded live at an a16z event, Bio + Health general partner Vineeta Agarwala moderates a panel of UCSF faculty founders, including Michelle Arkin, Jimmie Ye, and Natalia Jura (full bios below). Together, they discuss fundraising, the decision to stay in or leave academia after founding a company, and their tips for managing the IP process. You can also find a transcript of the episode—and the top 5 takeaways from this conversation—on our website, a16z.com. Michelle Arkin...