In this episode of Pharma Sessions, host Jonathan Kaskey is joined by Dr. David Shulkin, President of Shulkin Solutions, to discuss what it actually takes to lead through a healthcare crisis at scale. Dr. Shulkin shares insights about the current state of U.S. public health, the intersection of policy and care delivery, the role of innovation and technology, and what must change to better serve patients.

Pharma Sessions provides general insights into the pharmaceutical and life sciences industry through conversations with its guests. The content shared in this podcast is for informational purposes only and should not be considered medical, legal, regulatory, or financial advice.

The use of any information discussed in this episode or materials linked from the podcast is at the listener’s own risk. The views and opinions expressed by guests are their own and do not necessarily reflect the views of Jonathan Kaskey, Pharma Sessions, its sponsors, or affiliated organizations.

Any reference to specific products, companies, regulatory pathways, or commercial strategies is provided for discussion purposes only and does not constitute endorsement or validation by the podcast, host, or sponsors.

Pharma Sessions is hosted by Jonathan Kaskey

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In this episode of Pharma Sessions, host Jonathan Kaskey is joined by Punit Kumar, the Executive Director of Customer Engagement for the US Enterprise Portfolio at Novartis, to dive into why execution excellence matters more than hype, how AI agents are freeing up your team from manual work to focus on high-impact insights, and the counterintuitive skill that matters most in pharma today: getting comfortable being uncomfortable.

Pharma Sessions provides general insights into the pharmaceutical and life sciences industry through conversations with its guests. The content shared in this podcast is for informational purposes only and should not be considered medical, legal, regulatory, or financial advice.

The use of any information discussed in this episode or materials linked from the podcast is at the listener’s own risk. The views and opinions expressed by guests are their own and do not necessarily reflect the views of Jonathan Kaskey, Pharma Sessions, its sponsors, or affiliated organizations.

Any reference to specific products, companies, regulatory pathways, or commercial strategies is provided for discussion purposes only and does not constitute endorsement or validation by the podcast, host, or sponsors.

Pharma Sessions is hosted by Jonathan Kaskey

Follow along on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jonkaskey/

Or join the Pharma Sessions Substack:
www.pharmasessions.substack.com

In this episode of Pharma Sessions, host Jonathan Kaskey is joined by Farrell Simon, Chief Commercial Officer at Trevi Therapeutics, to discuss what commercial leadership looks like long before launch, sharing lessons from a career that spans Procter & Gamble, Pfizer, and biotech.

Pharma Sessions provides general insights into the pharmaceutical and life sciences industry through conversations with its guests. The content shared in this podcast is for informational purposes only and should not be considered medical, legal, regulatory, or financial advice.

The use of any information discussed in this episode or materials linked from the podcast is at the listener’s own risk. The views and opinions expressed by guests are their own and do not necessarily reflect the views of Jonathan Kaskey, Pharma Sessions, its sponsors, or affiliated organizations.

Any reference to specific products, companies, regulatory pathways, or commercial strategies is provided for discussion purposes only and does not constitute endorsement or validation by the podcast, host, or sponsors.

Pharma Sessions is hosted by Jonathan Kaskey

Follow along on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jonkaskey/

Or join the Pharma Sessions Substack:
www.pharmasessions.substack.com

Drug launches in oncology don’t succeed simply because the technology works; they succeed when the evidence is strong enough to change physician behavior. In this episode of Pharma Sessions, host Jonathan Kaskey is joined by Shaun Bagai, CEO of RenovoRx, to discuss the long and uncertain journey of building a medtech company grounded in clinical proof. From turning down medical school to leading a Nasdaq-listed oncology company, Shaun shares how physician feedback reshaped the company’s strategy, why investing in rigorous clinical trials can be a defining leadership decision, and why face-to-face relationships remain essential for market adoption in healthcare.

Pharma Sessions provides general insights into the pharmaceutical and life sciences industry through conversations with its guests. The content shared in this podcast is for informational purposes only and should not be considered medical, legal, regulatory, or financial advice.

The use of any information discussed in this episode or materials linked from the podcast is at the listener’s own risk. The views and opinions expressed by guests are their own and do not necessarily reflect the views of Jonathan Kaskey, Pharma Sessions, its sponsors, or affiliated organizations.

Pharma Sessions is hosted by Jonathan Kaskey

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In this solo episode of Pharma Sessions, host Jonathan Kaskey breaks down what actually determines whether a new technology implementation in pharma succeeds or quietly dies in a steering committee meeting. After helping pharma companies implement nearly $200 million in new software platforms over the course of his career, Jonathan shares the patterns he’s seen again and again.

Pharma Sessions is hosted by Jonathan Kaskey

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Drug launches don’t succeed at the finish line. They succeed or fail years earlier, when teams decide what evidence they’ll generate, how they’ll publish it, and which assumptions they’ll pressure-test before it’s too late. In this episode of Pharma Sessions, host Jonathan Kaskey is joined by Ana Bozas, Director of Clinical Evidence Strategy and Scientific Communications at Vera Therapeutics, to dive into what launch readiness really means from the medical side.

Pharma Sessions provides general insights into the pharmaceutical and life sciences industry through conversations with its guests. The content shared in this podcast is for informational purposes only and should not be considered medical, legal, regulatory, or financial advice.

The use of any information discussed in this episode or materials linked from the podcast is at the listener’s own risk. The views and opinions expressed by guests are their own and do not necessarily reflect the views of Jonathan Kaskey, Pharma Sessions, its sponsors, or affiliated organizations.

Pharma Sessions is hosted by Jonathan Kaskey

Follow along on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jonkaskey/

Or join the Pharma Sessions Substack:
www.pharmasessions.substack.com

Drug launches don’t succeed at the finish line. They succeed or fail years earlier, when teams decide what evidence they’ll generate, how they’ll publish it, and which assumptions they’ll pressure-test before it’s too late. In this episode of Pharma Sessions, host Jonathan Kaskey is joined by Ana Bozas, Director of Clinical Evidence Strategy and Scientific Communications at Vera Therapeutics, to dive into what launch readiness really means from the medical side.

Pharma Sessions is hosted by Jonathan Kaskey

Follow along on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jonkaskey/

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www.pharmasessions.substack.com

Generative AI is changing analytics in pharma, but not in the way most people fear. In this episode of Pharma Sessions, host Jonathan Kaskey is joined by Adam Mico, Principal Data and Analytics Strategist at Moderna, to dive into what future-proofing really looks like when AI lowers the barrier to building dashboards, writing code, and generating insights.

Pharma Sessions is hosted by Jonathan Kaskey

Follow along on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jonkaskey/

Or join the Pharma Sessions Substack:
www.pharmasessions.substack.com

Drug launches don’t succeed at the finish line. They succeed or fail years earlier, when teams decide what evidence they’ll generate, how they’ll publish it, and which assumptions they’ll pressure-test before it’s too late. In this episode of Pharma Sessions, host Jonathan Kaskey is joined by Ana Bozas, Director of Clinical Evidence Strategy and Scientific  Communications at Vera Therapeutics, to dive into what launch readiness really means from the medical side.

What You’ll Learn:

• What medical affairs and scientific communications must do years before launch
• How publication planning determines whether launch data actually exists in the market
• What changes and what doesn’t across different diseases, patient populations, and audiences
• How to map all stakeholders involved in a patient’s journey
• Why payers evaluate drugs based on population impact and proven outcomes
  
  

Ana Bozas is a Medical Affairs and Scientific Communications leader with vast experience across rare diseases and biopharma. She currently serves as Director of Clinical Evidence Strategy and Scientific  Communications at Vera Therapeutics, supporting clinical strategy in kidney disease as the organization prepares for a pivotal regulatory moment. Previously, Ana led scientific publications and medical communications at Ipsen, with roles at Pear Therapeutics, Ionis, Sanofi, and Akebia, giving her a unique perspective across startups and established organizations during high-stakes launch periods.

Episode Highlights

• [00:00] Introduction
• [03:20] Why Are Careers in Pharma Rarely Linear?
• [04:26] How Ana Adapts Launch Strategy From Company to Company
• [06:45] What Changes and What Never Does in Healthcare Communication
• [10:18] How Payers Decide What Gets Funded
• [11:38] Why Is Unpublished Data Invisible to the Market?
• [12:53] The Productive Tension Between Marketing and Medicine
• [14:09] How Meeting Forecasts Defines Successful Launches
• [18:13] Medical Planning Starts 5+ Years Before Launch
• [21:54] Why Publication Timelines Must Be Built Into Launch Plans
• [23:39] What Medical Can and Cannot Fix at the Eleventh Hour
• [26:32] Engaging Clinicians and Patients Early
• [31:04] One Practical Launch Action You Can Take Tomorrow

Episode Resources:

• Ana Bozas on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/abozas/ 
• Vera Therapeutics Website: https://veratx.com/ 
• Jonathan Kaskey on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jonkaskey/ 
• XSUNT Corporation Website: http://www.xsunt.com/ 

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www.pharmasessions.substack.comPharma Sessions is handcrafted by our friends over at: fame.so

In this episode of Pharma Sessions, host Jonathan Kaskey is joined by Jeremy Zhang, Senior Director and Head of Data Science Solutions at Otsuka, to discuss why AI initiatives succeed or fail in pharma and why it has almost nothing to do with the technology itself.

Pharma Sessions is hosted by Jonathan Kaskey

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