Characterising the behaviour of drugs in humans has historically required extensive clinical trials at considerable time and cost. So, any lab-derived early insight into how drugs will behave in human patients can make drug trials vastly more efficient.

In this episode, the pharmaphorum podcast welcomes Adityo Prakash, founder and CEO of Verseon, a clinical-stage pharmaceutical company based in Fremont, California that is developing several drug discovery programmes in cardiometabolic diseases and cancer using molecular physics and artificial intelligence.

Prakash discusses development of new AI technologies to handle the small, sparse datasets typical of real-world scenarios, and how testing drugs on organoids – artificially grown masses of cells that resemble the function of specific human organs – can deliver valuable information on the potential effects of drugs in real patients before any human is dosed.

You can also listen to episode 201a of the pharmaphorum podcast in the player below, download the episode to your computer, or find it - and subscribe to the rest of the series – on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Overcast, Pocket Casts, Podbean, and pretty much wherever else you download your other podcasts from.

Managed Access Programs (or MAPs) enable mechanisms for patients with unmet medical needs to get access to new medications outside of the clinical trial setting and well before marketing authorisation and reimbursement in a patient's country. Also referred to as Expanded Access Programs and Early Access Programs, these programs are not limited to the US.

In a new pharmaphorum podcast, web editor Nicole Raleigh speaks with Suzanne Aitken, SVP of managed access at Clinigen, discussing the role of managed access programmes in the current pharmaceutical landscape.

Aitken explores the challenges around regulations, guidelines, and terminology, which vary considerably from country to country, making it difficult to navigate and understand what is available and what is not.

You can also listen to episode 200a of the pharmaphorum podcast in the player below, download the episode to your computer, or find it - and subscribe to the rest of the series – on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Overcast, Pocket Casts, Podbean, and pretty much wherever else you download your other podcasts from.

When it comes to GLP-1 drugs like Ozempic, Wegovy, and Mounjaro there’s a lot to talk about, from the science behind the drugs and where it could go next to the cultural and societal implications of this highly effective treatment for diabetes, weight loss, and potentially much more.

On today’s podcast editor-in-chief Jonah Comstock and Deep Dive editor Eloise McLennan forego the usual interview format for an editor-to-editor discussion of a wide variety of topics around GLP-1s.

The conversation touches on the stigma surrounding obesity and the ways in which GLP-1s are and aren’t reshaping the age-old narratives around obesity and weight loss. The two also examine the challenges of patient adherence, the rise of the grey market, and the ethical considerations of off-label prescribing, as well as what oral formations and new treatment areas could mean for the evolutions of the space.

Tune in for a broad-ranging discussion of one of the most important breakthrough medicines of the decade.

Overall, the pharmaceutical industry is moving away from an approach where AI is task-driven, narrowly focused on a single, isolated problem. Instead, companies are embracing foundation models which, trained on very large and broad datasets, are versatile, and capable of tackling a range of complex challenges simultaneously.

In a new pharmaphorum podcast, web editor Nicole Raleigh speaks with Brendan Frey, founder and chief innovation officer of Deep Genomics, an AI-first TechBio organisation working on a genome biology foundation AI platform.

From Nobel Prizes connected to the company’s work in the field, to mining RNA biology data and Deep Genomics’ own foundation model for this – Frey explains why standard approaches are simply too slow and costly.

You can also listen to episode 199a of the pharmaphorum podcast in the player below, download the episode to your computer, or find it - and subscribe to the rest of the series – on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Overcast, Pocket Casts, Podbean, and pretty much wherever else you download your other podcasts from.

Caris Life Sciences was founded in 2008 with a simple but powerful purpose – to realise the potential of precision medicine and help improve the lives of as many people as possible.

In a post-ASCO pharmaphorum podcast, web editor Nicole Raleigh spoke with Eric Matthews, chief business officer at Caris Life Sciences, about advancing the frontier of cancer diagnostics and treatment with breakthroughs in AI-driven pathology, real-world clinico-genomic data, and more.

These other ASCO 2025 and post-ASCO conversations can be found here.

You can also listen to episode 198a of the pharmaphorum podcast in the player below, download the episode to your computer, or find it - and subscribe to the rest of the series – on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Overcast, Pocket Casts, Podbean, and pretty much wherever else you download your other podcasts from.

When it comes to artificial intelligence, the tables are turning and there is a shift in considering it a hype to understanding that AI is a real necessity. And 2025 is becoming a turning point wherein practical, embedded AI begins to scale.

In a new pharmaphorum podcast, web editor Nicole Raleigh speaks with Florian Schnappauf, VP, enterprise commercial strategy Europe, at Veeva Systems.

The conversation covers commercial model evolution, precision engagement, the importance of quality data in a personalisation strategy, and – of course – compliance.

You can also listen to episode 197a of the pharmaphorum podcast in the player below, download the episode to your computer, or find it - and subscribe to the rest of the series – on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Overcast, Pocket Casts, Podbean, and pretty much wherever else you download your other podcasts from.

At ASCO 2025, Eisai presented data from its oncology portfolio, including in hepatocellular carcinoma and endometrial cancer.

In a post-Congress conversation, web editor Nicole Raleigh spoke with Dr Corina Dutcus, senior vice president and oncology global clinical development lead at Eisai, who discussed the data and the company’s continued commitment to innovation in the oncological field.

Tune in to this and other ASCO 2025 conversations here.

You can also listen to episode 196a of the pharmaphorum podcast in the player below, download the episode to your computer, or find it - and subscribe to the rest of the series – on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Overcast, Pocket Casts, Podbean, and pretty much wherever else you download your other podcasts from.

Metastatic pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (mPDAC) is a highly aggressive, lethal form of pancreatic cancer that accounts for more than 90% of pancreatic cancer cases.

At ASCO 2025, Actuate gave an oral presentation on positive Phase 2 combination data for elraglusib, highlighting its potential to enhance anti-tumour activity by targeting key resistance pathways and immune mechanisms in previously untreated patients with mPDAC.

In a post-ASCO pharmaphorum podcast, Dan Schmitt, CEO of Actuate, discussed the data, as well as the Congress as a whole, and his hopes for the future of oncology more generally.

You can also listen to episode 195a of the pharmaphorum podcast in the player below, download the episode to your computer, or find it - and subscribe to the rest of the series – on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Overcast, Pocket Casts, Podbean, and pretty much wherever else you download your other podcasts from.

Melanoma is the fifth most common cancer in the UK, accounting for around 4% of all new cancer cases. While immunotherapy is a standard treatment for advanced melanoma patients, only about half of patients respond well, leaving the rest at risk of disease progression and metastases.

In a new pharmaphorum podcast, web editor Nicole Raleigh speaks with Phillip L’Huillier, CEO of Scancell, about how the company develops novel immunotherapy products for the treatment of multiple cancers, as well as its recently announced partnership with the NHS Cancer Vaccine Launch Pad, and latest data release from the Phase 2 clinical SCOPE study in melanoma.

L’Huillier discusses their melanoma-specific vaccine, and more broadly this pivotal time in immuno-oncology and possibilities on the near horizon.

You can also listen to episode 194a of the pharmaphorum podcast in the player below, download the episode to your computer, or find it - and subscribe to the rest of the series – on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Overcast, Pocket Casts, Podbean, and pretty much wherever else you download your other podcasts from.