The BioWorld Insider Podcast

In one of the biggest financings of the year so far, former Prometheus Biosciences Inc. CEO Mark McKenna helped raise $400 million to launch a new company, Mirador Therapeutics Inc. He didn’t sit on the sidelines for long after Merck & Co. Inc. bought Prometheus for $10.8 billion in 2023. He recruited key Prometheus executives to focus on Mirador’s genetic approach to drug discovery and precision medicine. McKenna said there was too much left undone to just hang back. In this BioWorld Insider episode, he talks about the new company and the multi-billion-dollar drugs that he believes provide sub-optimal efficacy compared to the tailor-made therapies he wants to develop. He also has deep insights into drug pricing and why the investment market is so tough on companies that don’t have A-plus science and teams.

Because artificial intelligence is such a new technology it comes with a mountain of unknowns. Integrating it into a pharmaceutical company presents a unique series of challenges, as a new survey from Verix shows. The report is based on responses from directors, vice presidents and C-suite executives in sales, marketing and brand management at pharmaceutical companies in the U.S. that have more than $100 million in annual revenue. Doron Aspitz, the CEO of Verix, talked about the new findings with the BioWorld Insider podcast and the profound shift that executives face as the new technology takes over an entire industry.

One aspect of 2023 our group of executives completely agreed on: the past year was tough financially. And they all foresee a more vibrant year ahead for the market. Giving all of them hope were technological breakthroughs such as artificial intelligence, game changing weight loss drugs, the surging fascination with ADCs and hope for lower interest rates. But uncertainty looms about the upcoming general election in the U.S. and ground-shifting gene therapies. In a preview of the annual Biotech Showcase conference, an investor conference for private and micro- to mid-cap biotech companies Jan. 8-10 in San Francisco, BioWorld spoke with Dave Bearss, CEO of Halia Therapeutics Inc., Vimal Mehta, CEO of Bioxcel Therapeutics Inc., Paul Lammers, CEO at Triumvira Immunologics Inc., Chris Pirie, COO of HDT Bio Corp., Thijs Spoor, CEO of Perspective Therapeutics Inc. and Shelley Hartman, CEO of Aegle Therapeutics Corp. They offered insights brought about by years of hard-won experience.

Google’s Scott Penberthy joins the podcast for a visionary discussion that scans the horizon for startling changes artificial intelligence will bring to drug development in the relatively near future. Among the gems and eyebrow raisers is talk of dramatic reductions in the time it takes to identify the right molecule for development and how digital clinical trials in the not-too-distant future will substantially shrink study times. This episode also provides a preview of the annual Biofuture conference. Each year, a group of trailblazers, disruptors and forward-thinking executives converge to evaluate and forecast the future of health care. This year, BioWorld is a gold sponsor of the Oct. 4-6 event in New York. If you attend, you'll have the chance to hear panels and join workshops and fireside chats with key opinion leaders like Penberthy.

Guests Karen Carey, BioWorld’s managing editor, and Mike Ward, Clarivate’s global head of Life Sciences and Healthcare Thought Leadership, discuss the deals, financing and M&A landscape for the first half of 2023 and how U.K. biopharmas are faring post Brexit.

Guests BioWorld Regulatory Editor Mari Serebrov and Tom Newcomer, Samsung Bioepis vice president and head of U.S. market access, discuss the launch of biosimilars that are taking on a blockbuster.

Brad Holden, CEO of Resilient Lifescience, explains how the device works for overdoses as well as other potential applications for this new technology.

Karen Carey, BioWorld’s managing editor and senior data analyst, and Tim Shannon, a general partner at Canaan, break down the numbers from first quarter of 2023. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

BioWorld Staff Writer Tamra Sami talks about the science behind radiopharmaceuticals, the supply chain vulnerabilities, the regulatory landscape, the patient journey and therapies in the pipeline. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

James Peyer, the CEO of Cambrian Biopharma Inc., talks about anti-aging therapies, a business model that fits the new field of geroscience. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

BioWorld Science Managing Editor Anette Breindl discusses her new analysis of multiple studies related to weight loss, metabolic health and fitness that in many ways go against mainstream theories about obesity. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Guests Karen Zaderej, CEO of Axogen Inc., Sean Bohen, CEO of Olema Oncology Inc., Rob Ross, the CEO of Surface Oncology Inc., and Rob Etherington, the CEO of Clene Nanomedicine Inc., speak about adapting their companies to the market’s new realities. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

James Lanthier, the CEO of Mindset Pharma Inc., talks about developing next-generation psychedelic medicines to treat neurological and psychiatric disorders. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

BioWorld Senior Analyst Karen Carey chats about the collision of a volatile economic climate and big biopharma deals. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Extending the human lifespan, a BioWorld special report, examines the companies developing “Fountain of Youth” drugs. In this episode, the writers discuss this scientific holy grail. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Executives from Amylyx Pharmaceuticals Inc. and Clene Inc., along with a key Penn State ALS expert, discuss what the future of medicine holds for patients. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

BioWorld Senior Analyst Karen Carey explores the newest data and where it is leading. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Infection control expert William Schaffner of the Vanderbilt University School of Medicine joins to discuss the CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices and how COVID-19 put the committee’s schedule into overdrive.

Senior Science Editor Anette Breindl goes in depth about how long COVID-19 emerged and is being defined. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Guests Ryan Abbott, a professor of law and medicine, as well as the leader of the Artificial Inventor Project, and Jim Belfiore, senior vice president of innovation at Clarivate plc, have a discussion about the brave new world AI is creating. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.