Ros Deegan is an industry leader and the CEO of OMass Therapeutics, an Oxford-based biotechnology company discovering medicines against highly-validated target ecosystems, such as membrane proteins or intracellular complexes.  

OMass’s MC2 program targeting Congenital Adrenal Hyperplasia, or CAH, is set to enter the clinic this year and in our interview today she walks me through how the company is preparing for their trials, how their approach differs to existing treatment options, and the impact on patient lives they hope to have. A leader in the UK biopharma industry, she also explains the strengths of the UK industry and how it can maintain an edge in the face of competition from Europe and the US.

01:07   Meet Ros Deegan

02:36   Cambridge and INSEAD

04:24   Building industry experience

05:16   Biotech in the US vs Biotech in the UK

06:19   OMass: mission and ambition

07:16   Funding the mission

08:18   The importance of partnerships

09:17   Industry and government

10:37   OMass and CAH

13:11   The differentiator for patient outcomes

14:49   Into the clinic in 2025

16:31   CAH patients and patient groups

19:29   The importance of hiring the right people

20:55   The Oxford ‘brand’ in biotechnology

22:17   Preparing for the clinic

23:43   Regulation and manufacturing

26:17   Partnering with top pharma

27:35   The importance of building value

28:41   How the UK can compete on a global scale

30:39   What’s next for OMass

32:59   The future of targeting rare disease

Interested in being a sponsor of an episode of our podcast? Discover how you can get involved here! 

Stay updated by subscribing to our newsletter

To dive deeper into the topic: 

• 10 biotech companies making a difference in rare diseases
• Rare Disease Day: seven drugs awaiting approval in 2025

The World Health Organization reports that more than 600 million people suffer from lower back pain globally, making it the leading cause of disability worldwide. 

Chronic lower back pain – where the pain persists for more than 3 months – develops in between 5 and 10% of all lower back pain cases, with life-altering impacts for patients.

And that’s where today’s guest, Steve Ruston, of Persica Pharmaceuticals comes in. Persica is developing a groundbreaking and transformative treatment for chronic Low Back Pain. Persica is targeting the cause of chronic lower back pain: the underlying bacterial infection. Unlike conventional approaches that manage symptoms, Persica’s drug enables the infection to clear, reducing inflammation, pain and disability at the source.

1:20     Introducing Steve Ruston of Persica Pharmaceuticals

3:53     Lessons learnt from developing blockbuster drugs

6:35     Global experiences in the biopharma industry

8:32     Persica Pharmaceuticals and its mission

10:26   Collaborations with a network of partners

11:48   A non-opioid approach to addressing lower back pain

13:35   Treating the cause, not the symptoms

15:05   How Persica’s treatment work

18:59   Practical impacts of Persica’s treatment

21:07   Identifying patients for cLBP treatment

23:24   How Persica is changing the treatment landscape

28:10   Regulatory hurdles to overcome

34:37   Securing funding for Persica’s innovation

36:16   The future of treating pain

Interested in being a sponsor of an episode of our podcast? Discover how you can get involved here! 

Stay updated by subscribing to our newsletter

To dive deeper into the topic: 

• New non-opioid pain medication: How is the biotech industry fighting pain after the opioid crisis?
• Developing non-opioid pain drugs
• Redefining chronic pain treatment

Trauma surgeons in Ukraine operating theaters saved lives and limbs thanks to the innovative lab-grown blood vessels from US biotech, Humacyte.

Humacyte is pioneering a platform that enables the investigation, development, and manufacture of bioengineered human tissues and organs that are designed to be universally implantable, off-the-shelf, and regenerative, with the goal of treating a wide variety of diseases, injuries, and chronic conditions.

This week I had the chance to speak to Humacyte founder, President and Chief Executive Laura Niklason about the company she has built, the science she is driving forward, and the real-world applications for Humacyte’s lab-grown blood vessels in some of the most devastating and dangerous conflicts.

1:00     Introducing Laura Niklason

4:50     Humacyte and its mission

6:27     Competitive landscape

7:45     Partnering for scale

9:49     How to grow blood vessels in the lab

11:47   Implanting the vessels

13:32   Human vessels vs synthetic vessels

15:10   The manufacturing process

16:23   Overcoming skepticism, demonstrating value

19:01   Navigating the regulatory approval process

21:17   The role of the Department of Defense in innovative biotech

22:30   Using Humacyte vessels in the field

23:20   Humacyte vessels in the Ukraine War

28:22   Lessons from the Ukraine War

30:09   Goals for the coming years

33:35   Scaling manufacturing

Interested in being a sponsor of an episode of our podcast? Discover how you can get involved here! 

Stay updated by subscribing to our newsletter

To dive deeper into the topic:

• Current trends & innovations in 3D organoids
• The future of organ transplants: Xenotransplantation, 3D bioprinting and stem cells

Much of the attention of the biotech industry has been focused on the city of Boston this week as the annual BIO International Convention hit town. 

BIO is the world’s largest partnering conference for the biopharma industry and thousands of innovators, out-licensors, venture capitalists, top pharma dealmakers, thought leaders and more than a few politicians gathered for three days of meetings, presentations, and networking.

In this week’s episode we meet three innovators on the floor in Boston and find out what their BIO experience has been like, how their partnering meetings have progressed, what’s surprised them, and how it feels to be in the middle of the biggest biopharma conference of the year.

---

This week’s episode is brought to you by Inpart.

If you're in life sciences, you know how complex partnering can be — whether you're searching for the right innovation, managing a portfolio of alliances, or navigating the path from first meeting to signed deal. That’s where Inpart comes in.

Inpart is a platform built specifically for partnering in pharma, biotech, and research. It brings together the tools, data, and workflows teams need to scout opportunities, manage submissions, and keep partnerships on track: from discovery through to alliance execution.

Whether you're on the lookout for external innovation or trying to simplify internal coordination, Inpart helps you partner more strategically and move faster.

To learn more, visit inpart.io.

---

0:00  The ‘Beyond Biotech’ BIO International Convention Special

01:58   Purespring Therapeutics CEO Haseeb Ahmad

14:10   Inpart Chief Business Officer Patrick Speedie

25:44  Newbiologix CEO Igor Fisch

Interested in being a sponsor of an episode of our podcast? Discover how you can get involved here! 

Stay updated by subscribing to our newsletter

---

To dive deeper into the topic: 

• The hottest biotech companies in the Boston area
• Nine tips to succeed in pharma-biotech partnerships
• The ABC of biotech partnerships

What are the most interesting questions in biotech, and is it even possible to find answers to those questions?

Alex Telford is the co-founder of Convoke and a biotech blogger from the San Francisco Bay Area. His blog post, 'Some questions about biotech that I find interesting' provoked conversations online as readers engaged with questions about topics as diverse as the impacts of regulation, the role of serendipity in drug discovery, clinical trial failure rates, and the best structure for governing large pharmaceutical companies companies.

In this episode Alex explains the work he is doing at Convoke before opening the door to his insatiable curiosity about the biotech industry.

01:17               Introducing Alex Telford

04:28              The business of biotech

09:02              Convoke and its mission

14:21               ‘Some questions about biotech that I find interesting’

16:57               Why founders should be writing and blogging

18:44               Generating good questions about biotech

20:50              AI and its role in drug discovery

26:21               Will AI mean the end of serendipitous drug discovery?

28:15               Regulatory challenges for biotech

34:17               Is the FDA a net positive or net negative for the industry?

36:56              The unanswerable questions in biotech

39:00              Digital twins in biotechnology

42:15               The next interesting questions in biotech

Interested in being a sponsor of an episode of our podcast? Discover how you can get involved here! 

Stay updated by subscribing to our newsletter

To dive deeper into the topic: 

• 12 AI drug discovery companies you should know about
• Does the FDA need to tighten its grip on drug trials in the U.S.?
• 2025 predictions: Which trends are set to shape the biotech industry this year?

When biotechs start fundraising they regularly turn to the venture capital market seeking investment. The pool of VC money can be large, and part of that pool is corporate venture capital. Backed by firms keen to identify the next big thing in biotechnology, corporate VC money can be an attractive way for biotechs to raise funds privately while benefiting from the support and expertise of corporate supporters.

This week I talked with Paolo Di Giorgio and Regina Hodits of Angelini Ventures, the corporate VC arm of Angelini Industries, itself the parent company of Angelini Pharma. Paolo and Regina lay out their perspective on the current fundraising landscape, identify the trends and opportunities for innovative biotechs in Europe, and walk me though the biggest threats to the biotech investment market they see on the near horizon.

01:15               Introducing Paolo Di Giorgio

04:00               Introducing Regine Hodits

05:31               The mission of Angelini Ventures

09:55               Focus areas and investments in early stage science

14:30               The state of venture capital investment in biotech in 2025

17:48               Why biotechs should favor corporate venture capital

20:43               Why networking and expertise matter in fundraising

26:05               The therapeutic areas and modalities that are hot right now

29:19               Geographic focus for corporate venture capital

33:28               Threats on the horizon

36:36               What keeps a corporate VC investor up at night?

40:13               Keep in touch with Angelini Ventures

Interested in being a sponsor of an episode of our podcast? Discover how you can get involved here! 

Stay updated by subscribing to our newsletter

Biotechnology has always been a dynamic domain, but the world of finance that provides the fuel for the fire is just as vibrant. Trying to predict where the market for biotech investment is heading is always risky but for experts like Baker McKenzie’s Roel Meers, understanding where the market is moving is where he eats.

I spoke to Roel this week to unpack just where biotech funding stands in Q2 2025, to get a feel for the sorts of M&As, IPOs, and licensing deals we should be looking for in the second half of the year. We also talk about some alternative financing options for innovators and early-stage firms.

01:09                      Introducing Roel Meers

02:18                     Corporate finance and the life sciences

04:53                      Brussels, Europe, and beyond: Baker McKenzie’s global footprint

06:21                      Navigating life science regulations and regulators

10:33                      De-risking biotech investments in uncertain times

11:57                      How investors are minimizing risk in 2025

13:35                      Funding trends for biotechs in emerging hubs, including Benelux

15:58                      The deal types that will dominate 2025

17:35                      The therapeutic areas where deals are being done

19:16                      Trends in biotech in Europe, in North America, and in the Asia-Pacific

20:36                      Macroeconomics and biotechnology finance

22:54                      De-risking deals by lowering upfronts, increasing milestones

26:38                      What to consider when choosing alternative financing options

30:35                      When should biotechs bring in outside finance experts

33:47                      Looking beyond 2025 – what’s coming, and why

36:38                      How European biotechs can position themselves for funding success

Interested in being a sponsor of an episode of our podcast? Discover how you can get involved here! 

Stay updated by subscribing to our newsletter

To dive deeper into the topic: 

• 2025 biotech funding tracker: recent highlights
• The ABC of biotech startup funding
• Top biotech grants and campaigns

Generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) is already changing how people research, communicate, and interact, but its biggest impacts on biotech are still to come.

Cradle is a Dutch-Swiss biotech startup founded in 2021 that has developed a web-based software platform leveraging GenAI to accelerate protein design and optimization, aiding scientists in biotechnology R&D. Cradle’s technology integrates AI with wet lab experimentation, doubling the speed of most projects compared to industry benchmarks.

In this episode I talk to Cradle co-founder Elise de Reus to discover how their software platform is putting the ‘tech’ into biotech, and learn how some of the biggest names in pharma R&D are coming to rely on Cradle to accelerate their experimentation and get therapies to patients faster. 

01:30                      A passion for biotech from a young age

03:20                     First experiences in the industry

07:23                      Cradle and its mission

09:08                     Generative AI at Cradle

10:27                      Partnering and collaborations

13:37                      Taking generative AI into the wet lab

14:43                      A techbio company, not a biotech company

17:36                      “Photoshop for proteins”

18:29                      Use case: animal free food

20:17                      Use case: medicines

23:56                      Use case: sustainable materials

25:12                      The Cradle business model

28:17                      Technical challenges

29:48                      Regulatory challenges

31:44                      Where AI will have the greatest impact

33:29                      The most exciting things to come

Interested in being a sponsor of an episode of our podcast? Discover how you can get involved here! 

Stay updated by subscribing to our newsletter

To dive deeper into the topic: 

• 12 AI drug discovery companies you should know about
• How AI is shaping clinical research and trials

There are cell therapies, gene therapies, and biologics – and then there is Immusoft. 

Immusoft sits at the nexus point of some of the most innovative approaches in biopharma, and their Immune System Programming platform is unique in its capacity to address the rare disease, MPS I. 

This week we talk with Immusoft CEO Sean Ainsworth to learn more about his journey in biotechnology, the work that Immusoft is doing in B-cell reprogramming and unpack some of the positive results that the company recently shared at the WORLD Symposium.

01:08                      Early interests in biotechnology

03:21                      First experiences in biotech entrepreneurship

04:29                      Startup exits and liquidity events

07:32                      Influences and mentors

08:43                      Immusoft and its mission

09:28                      Programming B-cells

13:08                      Disease targets

14:55                      Encountering and overcoming technical challenges

15:53                      MPS I

17:38                      Differentiation for MPS I patients

19:42                      WORLD Symposium 2025

20:23                      What’s next in the clinic

21:25                      Urgency vs safety 

24:26                      At the nexus of cell therapy, gene therapy, and biologics

27:20                      Manufacturing, scaling, and funding

30:31                      Next on the horizon for Immusoft

Interested in being a sponsor of an episode of our podcast? Discover how you can get involved here! 

Stay updated by subscribing to our newsletter

To dive deeper into the topic: 

• Rare Disease Day: seven drugs awaiting approval in 2025
• 10 biotech companies making a difference in rare diseases

Flagship Pioneering doesn't go out to find the next big thing in biotech when investing their billions in fund capital - instead, they take a different route.

Flagship Pioneering has founded more than 100 companies in the life sciences worth in total an estimated $75 billion. With a proven model for biotech startup success and a culture designed to surface new and interesting ideas, Flagship offers a different approach to biotech funding that is paying off time and again.

In this episode I talk with Lovisa Afzelius, a General Partner at Flagship, uncover the ways in which Flagship is shaking up the biotech funding model, and come to understand the reasons why others will have a hard time imitating its success.

This episode is brought to you by Jubilant Biosys.

01:52                      Meet Lovisa Afzelius

03:37                      Learning lessons in big pharma

04:56                      From top pharma to startup biotech

07:23                      Two different worlds and ways of thinking

08:29                      Flagship Pioneering

13:39                      Finding the right people

18:13                      Deploying capital to create value

21:06                      Expanding into new markets

21:55                      How does the Flagship model identify disruptors so well?

24:20                      Why don’t others emulate the Flagship model?

25:36                      Building a culture of ‘yes, and…’

27:47                      Learning from the companies that don’t succeed

30:49                      Artificial intelligence and biology

35:19                      Lessons from business that never found market fit

37:29                      The future for Flagship

39:55                      The importance of diversity in biotech

Interested in being a sponsor of an episode of our podcast? Discover how you can get involved here! 

Stay updated by subscribing to our newsletter

To dive deeper into the topic:

• The ABC of biotech startup funding
• Meet the ‘biotech mafia’: how specialized biotech VC firms are dominating industry funding once again
• 2025 biotech funding tracker: recent highlights