Part 1 of 4.
My guest for this week’s episode is David Li, CEO and co-founder of Meliora Therapeutics. Meliora's goal is to develop life-saving cancer therapies using cutting-edge science and machine learning. The company derives a comprehensive picture of how drugs interact with cancer biology by combining biofunctional readouts from numerous modalities using advanced machine learning and other computational techniques.
Before Meliora, David served as Chief Business Officer at Everest Detection, an early detection liquid biopsy startup, and was head of commercial operations at Benchling, a life sciences software platform company which has achieved a $6 billion valuation and has attracted over $500 million in funding from firms such as Altimeter Capital, Tiger Global, Lone Pine Capital, Benchmark, Sequoia, Excel, Lux, and numerous others. David began his career in Goldman Sachs Healthcare Investment Banking Group and KKR's Private Equity Group, where he advised and invested in transactions worth over $10 billion in enterprise value. David's multifaceted experiences in the financial and life science sectors give him a wide range of experiences that founders can learn from.
Join us this week and hear about:
- David's childhood in China and Kentucky
- Developing a passion for biology and chemistry at a young age
- His experience in the University of Pennsylvania Life Sciences Management Program
- His experience at Goldman Sachs, insights he's gained from Fortune 500 CEOs, his mentorship through Need You in New York City
- His ongoing commitment to innovation and patient impact
- And much more!
Please enjoy my conversation with David Li.
Timestamps00:28 Intro2:39 Episode starts, early years in China and Kentucky, developing a passion for biology and chemistry9:58 Decision to attend the University of Pennsylvania and study biology and finance through the Roy Vagelos Life Science and Management Program13:41 Experience and opportunities at Goldman Sachs as an investment banker15:47 The role of investment banking, the integration of career paths with life sciences and biotech, and the value of analysis across fields21:08 Balancing capital formation vs. innovation while keeping patient impact as the North Star of a company’s purpose24:27 Insights gained from exposure to Fortune 500 or Fortune 100 CEOs and the impact of mentorships while at Goldman27:44 David’s experience as a mentor through the New York Needs You program29:01 Outro
Long-Form Video Timestamps:00:00 Intro2:10 Episode starts, early years in China and Kentucky, developing a passion for biology and chemistry11:34 Decision to attend the University of Pennsylvania and study biology and finance through the Roy Vagelos Life Science and Management Program16:16 Experience and opportunities at Goldman Sachs as an investment banker18:52 The role of investment banking, the integration of career paths with life sciences and biotech, and the value of analysis across fields25:26 Balancing capital formation vs. innovation while keeping patient impact as the North Star of a company’s purpose30:03 Insights gained from exposure to Fortune 500 or Fortune 100 CEOs and the impact of mentorships while at Goldman34:18 David’s experience as a mentor through the New York Needs You program35:53 Outro
Find Our Guest, David Li, at these links: https://www.linkedin.com/in/david-li-9aa210bhttps://www.melioratx.com/
Find Our Host, Jon Chee, at these links: https://www.linkedin.com/in/joncheehttps://www.excedr.com
Social & WebsiteLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/excedr/ Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@excedr Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/excedr_inc Twitter: https://twitter.com/ExcedrInc Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/excedr TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@excedr Podcast Website: https://www.thebiotechstartupspodcast.com/
Enriched Notes:
Topics Mentioned:Research in Biological Science at the University of Chicago Summer Programhttps://summer.uchicago.edu/programs/research-biological-sciences-ribsUniversity of Pennsylvania - Roy Vagelos Life Science and Management Programhttps://lsm.upenn.edu/Andrew Fire and Craig Mello - Nobel Prize Winners for RNA interferencehttps://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/medicine/2006/illustrated-information/#:~:text=The%20Nobel%20Assembly%20at%20Karolinska,silencing%20by%20double%2Dstranded%20RNA.Tide Pharma https://www.linkedin.com/company/beijing-tide-pharmaceutical-co-ltd-Goldman Sachshttps://www.goldmansachs.com/index.html New York Needs You Programhttps://www.linkedin.com/company/new-york-needs-you
Lab Equipment for Biochemistry Researchhttps://www.excedr.com/blog/lab-equipment-list-for-biochemistry-researchStrategies for Better Cash Flow Managementhttps://www.excedr.com/blog/cash-flow-management-strategiesHow do Core Labs Support Life Science Research?https://www.excedr.com/blog/core-labsThe Biotech Startups Podcast gives you a front-row seat to the business
and science of building a biotech. Hosted by Jon Chee, CEO of Excedr, the show features honest conversations with founders, execs, and investors about their work, their companies, and how they got there. From scientific breakthroughs to startup lessons, each episode explores what it really takes to grow a life science company—from pre-seed to IPO.
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