Biotech does not run on software timelines. You cannot sprint biology, you cannot “growth hack” regulation, and you definitely cannot ship a patch when the product is inside a human being.

In this episode, Neo breaks down the uncomfortable mismatch between traditional venture capital’s speed instincts and biotech’s hard constraints, using fresh analysis of nearly 6,000 biotech and health-tech companies (almost 7,000 rounds, roughly $267B in announced investment) across 50+ countries from 2020 to 2025. Through a real investment decision inside a Chinese bone-regeneration startup, she shows why the biggest cheque is often the wrong choice, and why capability, manufacturing readiness, clinical access, and regulatory competence matter more than valuation optics.

China becomes the case study for what happens when biotech is treated as industrial capability rather than a speculative side quest, and why corporate venture capital can be a load-bearing beam when the “long, uncomfortable middle” arrives. If you care about what gets to real patients, this episode is your reality check: in biotech, money is fuel, but infrastructure is the engine.