Life Science Success

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his week on the Life Science Success Podcast, my guest is Surekha Karudapuram, VP Commercial Operations - Isolation Bio Inc.  Surekha is an innovative, technically-savvy and accomplished product & marketing executive with 15+ years of experience, including leading the development and execution of corporate product management and marketing programs to support long term strategic, commercial, and financial goals.

• Surekha Karudapuram is a product manager who leads marketing, product management, and commercial operations teams.
• Isolation Bio provides a high throughput microbial cultivation platform and services to accelerate the time to discovery for microbiome R&D and product development.
• Isolation Bio's platform is automated, scalable, and helps to generate microbes that could be used in therapeutics or bio fertilizers.
• Surekha is concerned about the ethical and regulatory guardrails in the fast-moving life sciences space and the communication of scientific discoveries to the general public.
• Surekha is excited about the possibilities in the microbiome space and believes that microbiome scientists in both academia and industry are going to make exciting discoveries that will translate into great benefits for humanity.

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In this episode of the Life Science Success podcast my guest is Jeremy Stackawitz.  Jeremy has over 25 years of healthcare industry experience and 15 years of diagnostics experience. Before joining Senzo as CEO, from 2009-2021 Mr. Stackawitz held roles of CCO, President, and CEO at Quotient (QTNT), helping lead the company from start-up to IPO. 

Jeremy Stackawitz, CEO of Senzo Biosciences, recently discussed the current state of the diagnostic industry. The industry faces several challenges and opportunities, including the need for accessibility and cost reduction. Stackawitz notes that the COVID-19 pandemic has had a significant impact on the industry, with many companies struggling to stay afloat.

One of the key topics Stackawitz discussed was the advantages and disadvantages of small versus large companies in the industry. While smaller companies may have more agility and flexibility, larger companies may have more resources and established relationships with key players in the industry.

When asked to share his favorite leadership advice, Stackawitz emphasized the importance of building a strong team and fostering a culture of collaboration and innovation. He also shared what inspires and concerns him in his work, including the potential to make a positive impact on people's lives through improved diagnostics, as well as the challenges of navigating a complex and constantly evolving industry.

Overall, Stackawitz's insights provide a valuable perspective on the diagnostic industry and the opportunities and challenges it faces. By addressing issues such as accessibility, cost reduction, and the advantages and disadvantages of different types of companies, the industry can continue to innovate and improve the lives of people around the world.

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In this episode of Life Science Success I interviewed Samantha Dale Strasser - CSO & Cofounder at Pepper Bio at #bio2023.  

• Samantha Dale Strasser is the Chief Science Officer and co-founder of PEPPER Bio.
• PEPPER Bio is the world's first trans omics analysis company.
• Trans omics involves analyzing a wealth of biological information from genomics all the way up to more functional data of phospho proteomics.
• PEPPER Bio is able to see more relevant disease insights about how to best treat disease and how to characterize potential drugs that can be used as therapeutics.
• PEPPER Bio has four contracts and is actively seeking partnerships with pharma.
• The Compass platform is PEPPER Bio's computational technology that provides the computational ability to analyze genomic, transcriptomic, proteomic, and phos proteomic data in a novel way through trans omics to best support partners' drug discovery questions as well as our own pipeline.
• PEPPER Bio can work with partners early on from characterizing the disease to answer what targets are best to go after for it to staying with them through the drug discovery process to bring the power of Ranomics all the way through to the clinic.
• PEPPER Bio sees potential for shortening the timelines for drug discovery, notably around the ability to very early on select drug candidates that are most likely to be successful in the clinic.
• Trans omics can have an impact on the massive failure rate at the very end of the drug discovery process by allowing for early identification of potential concerns of toxicity.

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Today on the Life Science Success podcast my guest is Oksana Bovt.  Oksana is the founder of Theoria Creative, an agency that develops unique fundraising materials enabling biotech and life sciences clients to clearly and succinctly articulate their unique message and value when raising funds, soliciting partnerships, pitching at roadshows, or presenting to prospective buyers.

• Oksana Bovt helps biotech companies communicate their scientific innovations to investors and potential partners.
• She emphasizes the importance of crafting an interesting story to grab investors' attention.
• Her company, Theoria Creative, is known for translating complex science and creating visual and illustrative materials, such as investor decks, scientific illustrations, and scientific animations.
• Theoria Creative works mostly on referral and helps companies that are ready to communicate effectively and have a clear direction.
• Oksana Bovt's background in science and advertising helps her to understand and communicate complex scientific concepts effectively.
• Theoria Creative helped a company with a broad oncology pipeline clarify their story and focus on approaching oncology and cancer holistically, resulting in a successful oversubscribed round and public offering.
• Oksana Bovt's best career advice is to understand oneself first and pursue what one is good at and passionate about.
• She is inspired by her clients and concerned about the global economy and the safety of her team in Ukraine.
• Her dog excites her and reminds her to take breaks and enjoy the outdoors.

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In this episode of Life Science Success my guest is Mason Ailstock the CEO of Rowen Foundation.  The mission of Rowen is to be a catalyst for education, research, innovation and transformation through the creation of a global destination which recognizes stewardship of the land as the cornerstone of an inspired community.

• Mason Ailstock is part of a foundation that oversees the covenants, the programming, the partnerships, attracting investors, and more.
• They want to create a place for companies and people to grow, and for startups to have access to opportunities.
• Rowan is a 50+ year project that aims to create a platform for other people to step up and have greater access to opportunities and the vision that they have.
• They are working on infrastructure and doing things that are very different from what the Department of Transportation typically does.
• They are hoping to create a place where implementation is a primary objective of doing as part of the culture, and where implementation is a primary objective of doing.
• The initial infrastructure will be finished in the second quarter of 2024, which will include the first two miles of complete streets designed in construction, ribbon cutting, opening of the roadway.
• They are working towards a sustainable and environmentally friendly development.
• They have been meeting with companies that have existing relationships or an interest in Georgia, and most of the companies they're talking to are internationally based.
• They have sites that could be 2 acres to 50+ acres, and most of the companies they're talking to are looking for a North America, either headquarters or R&D innovation, foothold.
• They are looking to connect startups to Georgia, locate, grow, attract investments, scale up.
• They are hoping to have multi-tenant buildings, multi-tenant lab space, and mixed-use components in the future.

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In this episode of Life Science Success my guest is Kent Wakeford.  Kent is the co-founder and Co-CEO of Form Bio an organization that focuses on providing computational life sciences and AI solutions to biotech and biopharma companies.

• Form Bio was spun out of Colossal Bioscience, and focuses on providing computational life sciences and AI solutions to biotech and biopharma companies
• Form Bio announced a partnership with Google as part of the Google multi omic suite of products
• Form Bio's computational platform focuses specifically on cell and gene therapy, and is designed to optimize the manufacturability of these therapies
• Kent Wakeford is inspired by the potential of AI to transform the industry, and is concerned about the need to change the infrastructure to make drug development more efficient
• Kent Wakeford believes that collaboration is key to solving industry-wide problems, and that the speed of innovation is transformative

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In this episode of Life Science Success my Guest is Alex Zhavoronkov.  Alex is the CEO Insilico Medicine an AI-powered drug discovery company.

• Insilico Medicine has progressed three internally-derived assets into human clinical trials.

• Insilico Medicine has discovered over 30 other programs in different stages.
• Insilico Medicine incorporates three engines in their platform: biology, chemistry, and clinical.
• They generate normal molecules with desired properties using 42 generative engines.
• They have a system that predicts clinical trials outcomes.
• Insilico Medicine’s main strategy is partnering with pharma companies at the preclinical candidate stage.
• They value patient first, relentless innovation, and transparency and integrity.
• Alex's biggest concern is human tendency to prioritize unimportant things over important ones.
• Alex is excited about large language models, multimodal generative AI, robotics, and quantum computing.

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In this episode of Life Science Success my guest is Alex Chen.  Alex is the President of Overseas Operations at uBriGene Biosciences Inc.

• He has diversified experience, having worked in various industries such as mining, real estate, and investment banking before joining uBriGene Biosciences Inc.
• uBriGene Biosciences Inc. is a biotech company that provides services ranging from upstream to downstream, including QC testing
• The company is focused on innovation and utilizes the most up-to-date technologies to provide cost-effective and quality products
• uBriGene Biosciences Inc. has sites in the US and China, and its core competency is research and development
• The company aims to be a partner with its clients and grow with them
• uBriGene Biosciences Inc. has over 500 employees globally and has raised $100 million to date

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In this episode my guest is Jason Bock PhD.  Jason is the CEO of CTMC / A joint venture between Resilience and MD Anderson Cancer Center.

• Jason Bock has been in biotech and biopharma for over 20 years, mostly in Biologics development.
• He founded Ctmc, a technology platform to industrialize cell therapies and bring them into the MD Anderson Clinic.
• Ctmc is a joint venture between MD Anderson and National Resilience.
• Ctmc partners with preclinical biotech, MD Anderson faculty, and Factus to provide a capital-efficient model to bring impactful single dose curative treatments to patients.
• Ctmc has filed three INDs in the first six months since it spun off on novel cell therapies brought into the clinic.
• Ctmc has progressed on the seven clinical studies that it supports.
• Ctmc recently announced that it was the recipient of a $9.1 million grant to help develop cell therapy platforms and improved ways of making these cell therapies.
• Jason is inspired by the patients and patient-centricity. He is concerned about the challenges, logistical and manufacturing challenges with autologous cell therapy. What excites him is the potential to transform healthcare and be single-dose curative treatments.

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In this episode of Life Science Success my guest is Benedicta Durcan, CEO of Afrobodies. Her work experience has been in complex industries and environments spanning 12 years in Private Sector globally and 8 years in Public Sector in South Africa. I am an Upstream Oil & Gas and Maritime industry Specialist. I am an innovator and contributor in the field of STEM.

• Benedicta Durcan is the co-founder and CEO of Afro Body, a biotechnology company in South Africa that produces biological products for global consumption, including novel antibodies.
• Benedicta's background is in chemical engineering, and she has worked in the oil and gas and energy sectors before starting Afro Body with co-founder Dr. Peter Durkin.
• Afro Body's antibodies are recombinant alpaca antibodies used in life science research, diagnostics, and therapeutics for various diseases.
• Benedicta's role involves stakeholder management and engagement, raising initial grant funding, building a team, finding collaborators and partnerships, and expanding the company's global reach.
• Companies and researchers come to Afro Body for custom antibodies to study specific proteins, detect or test for the presence of molecules or bacteria, or develop treatments for diseases.
• Benedicta is inspired by the passing it on philosophy and believes in leaving a legacy for her children.
• Benedicta is concerned about the geo policies, global economics, and competing priorities that exacerbate inequalities, particularly in access to lifesaving medicine.
• Benedicta is excited about traveling and continually expanding her world and perspective.