Raising Health

John Crowley, President and CEO of Biotechnology Innovation Organization (BIO), joined Jorge Conde, general partner at a16z Bio + Health.

Together, they talk about John’s entry into biotech and his time as a founder, all motivated by his determination to discover and develop a treatment for his children, who have Pompe disease.

They also talk about John’s priorities as head of BIO and how that could translate into policy.

Lawrence Ingrassia, author and journalist, joins Vineeta Agarwala, general partner, and Kris Tatiossian, editorial lead at a16z Bio + Health. 

Together, they discuss Larry's recently published book, A Fatal Inheritance: How A Family Misfortune Revealed A Deadly Medical Mystery. In the book, Larry recounts the story of the p53 cancer suppressor gene, also known as the “guardian of the genome.” Mutations in this gene, which can be inherited, remove a natural tumor defense, making it more likely for an individual to get cancer during their lifetime.

He tells the story of the search for this gene and the scientists who unlocked the mystery of high familial incidences of cancer, Drs. Li and Fraumeni. He also shares a more personal aspect of the story: many members of his family inherited Li-Fraumeni Syndrome and suffered from multiple cancers themselves.

Jonathan Swerdlin, cofounder and CEO, and Mark Hyman, MD, cofounder and Chief Medical Officer of Function Health join Vijay Pande, general partner, and Daisy Wolf, investment partner of a16z Bio + Health.

Together, they discuss their personal health journeys that led to founding Function, how they’re planning to scale Function, and what the future could look like.

Jonathan Bush, founder and CEO of Zus Health, and Chris Severn, cofounder and CEO of Turquoise Health, join Julie Yoo, general partner, and Colin Rom, head of public policy for a16z Bio + Health.

We’ve long believed that regulatory change can be a catalyst for company creation. In this episode, Jonathan and Chris detail how that was true for them. They also outline a few key takeaways for founders hoping to leverage regulatory change themselves.

In this episode, originally recorded for the a16z Podcast, host Steph Smith interviews Pushmeet Kohli, DeepMind's VP of Research focused on AI for science. They are joined by a16z Bio + Health founding partner Vijay Pande.

Together, they discuss AI at scale, and its power to transform science.

Chronis Manolis, SVP and Chief Pharmacy Officer of UPMC Health Plan, joins Julie Yoo, general partner, Daisy Wolf, investment partner, and Will Shrank, venture partner, of a16z Bio + Health.

Together, they discuss how payors and providers are thinking about anti-obesity medications, as well as pricing and prior authorization considerations. 

This is the third episode in our series on the science and supply of GLP-1s. Listen to last week’s episode to hear from Brooke Boyarsky Pratt, founder and CEO of knownwell, about the importance of patient-centric medical homes. The week before, we spoke with Carolyn Jasik, Chief Medical Officer at Omada Health, on GLP-1s from a clinical perspective.

Brooke Boyarsky Pratt, founder and CEO of knownwell, joins Vineeta Agarwala, general partner at a16z Bio + Health.

Together, they talk about the value of obesity medicine practitioners, patient-centric medical homes, and how Brooke believes the metabolic health space will evolve over time.

This is the second episode in our series on the science and supply of GLP-1s. Listen to last week's episode to hear from Carolyn Jasik, Chief Medical Officer at Omada Health, on GLP-1s from a clinical perspective.

Carolyn Jasik, MD, Chief Medical Officer of Omada Health, joins Vijay Pande, founding partner of a16z Bio + Health.

As Ozempic, Wegovy, Mounjaro, and Zepbound capture the healthcare spotlight, we’ve developed a series of episodes that go beyond the headlines and take you into conversations with the specialists. 

Our first guest is Carolyn Jasik, Chief Medical Officer at Omada Health. She gives us an overview of the science of satiety, the perspective from obesity-focused physicians, and the sometimes surprising lifestyle implications for patients on these medicines.

This series provides insight into what anti-obesity medicines are, where they’re going, and the challenges that have to be overcome along the way.

Vineeta Agarwala, MD, PhD, joins Luke Timmerman's The Long Run podcast on stage at the Life Science Innovation Northwest Conference. They discuss everything from AI for drug discovery to Vineeta's ongoing clinical work as a physician and how that influences her perspective.

Kim Branson, PhD, SVP and Global Head of AI and Machine Learning for GSK, joins Vijay Pande, founding partner at a16z Bio + Health.

Together, they talk about how AI has improved drug discovery and development, as Kim walks through all the ways AI can be deployed in the lab. They also get into detail about what an ideal partner looks like and what kind of solution is attractive to a big biopharma, making this a particularly relevant episode for builders in biotech AI.