Recorded on 4/11/25

TD Cowen's Machine Medicine: AI & Health Care podcast series takes on the cross-sector artificial intelligence revolution and breaks it down one piece at a time. We highlight some of the biggest misconceptions about how AI is and can be used in different health care settings and aim to contextualize the latest and most impactful developments in a field defined by rapid innovation.

In this episode, TD Cowen Health Care Analyst Brendan Smith hosts Najat Khan, Ph.D., the Chief R&D Officer and Chief Commercial Officer of Recursion, to pull back the curtain on one of the largest datasets in AI drug discovery and help us define what "quality data" actually looks like. We discuss how the data you gather, the data you generate, and the data you ultimately use to train your AI model play such a critical role in its differentiation and future success.

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Recorded 04/23/25

TD Cowen analyst Yaron Werber speaks with John Crowley to discuss his inspirational path to becoming a biotech CEO, taking the helm at BIO, the implications of potential biopharma tariffs and his conversations with the White House on finding common ground, and maintaining optimism despite the headwinds facing biotech. He shares his views on why he does not think the proposed tariffs will end up as the final rule, why the Biosecure Act failed to pass Congress, and why he is optimistic that current changes at FDA provide a window of opportunity to expediting drug approvals. John also notes the importance of being "fundamentally optimistic" and "unbelievably resilient" to weather the ever-challenging environment of biotech.

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Recorded on 04/14/25

Today, GLP-1s are talked about in regard to obesity and weight loss, but GLP-1s aren’t new. They have been used for nearly 20 years for the treatment of type 2 diabetes. Still, the costs associated with treating diabetes and obesity today are staggering. It's estimated that the total cost of diagnosed diabetes in the U.S. in 2022 was $412.9 billion, including $306.6 billion in direct medical costs and $106.3 billion in indirect costs. Likewise, the figures for obesity are discouraging. The CDC estimates that 1 in 5 children and 2 in 5 adults have obesity, and the NIH estimated in 2016 that the aggregate medical cost due to adult obesity in the United States was $260.6 billion, which has only increased since. It is clear that the current treatment paradigm for obesity and diabetes isn't working.

In this episode, we talk about the obesity crisis, and in particular, the rise of GLP-1s to address not only diabetes and obesity, but also an increasing number of other co-morbidities. We'll also talk about the broader issue of health and how we should treat chronic conditions, which today is largely focused on pharmaceutical treatment. Increasingly, we've seen movement towards other approaches that focus on areas like behavioral change and nutrition that can, in fact, have just as much, if not more, lasting impact on overall health.

To help us discuss these topics and more, we're joined by Sami Inkinen, Co-Founder and CEO of Virta Health, whose mission is to reverse diabetes and obesity in one billion people. Virta today works with over 500 large employers, health plans, and government organizations across the country, and already has helped over 100,000 members reverse their diabetes and obesity. He holds a MS in engineering physics from the Helsinki University of Technology and an MBA from Stanford University. Sami, thanks for joining me today.

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Recorded on 04/04/25

In this episode, Roman Schweizer, TD Cowen Washington Research Group's geopolitics & defense analyst, discusses the three defense spending packages (past – FY25, present – reconciliation, and future – FY26) with retired Maj. Gen. Arnold Punaro, CEO of The Punaro Group and long-time staff director of the Senate Armed Services Committee. We'll cover the reality of the FY25 Continuing Resolution, the possibility of $150B in the Senate's reconciliation plan, and the outlook for FY26, which could be released sometime later this month.

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Recorded on 04/03/25

In this episode, Roman Schweizer, TD Cowen’s WRG geopolitics & defense analyst, discusses the unrelenting torrent of security & defense issues from Trump Administration and GOP Congress with a special extended version of our reporter roundtable. We cover the latest of the potential impact of Liberation Day tariffs on defense to the congressional budget process & outlook to events around the world and DoD's awards of is next-gen fighter programs.

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Recorded on 03/03/25

TD Cowen senior biotech analyst Ritu Baral speaks with SION's CEO Mike Cloonan at TD Cowen's 45th Annual Health Care Conference to discuss his journey becoming a start-up biotech CEO and leading SION through a successful IPO in turbulent markets. Cloonan's path to CEO started with early career roles and skill development throughout all functions of a company – commercial, R&D, and SG&A. Joining Sionna with prior experience at large and mid-cap companies, Cloonan emphasizes how his nimbleness and ability to prioritize goals has helped him successfully lead a small start-up through a smooth IPO. Cloonan discusses SION's ability to "drug the undruggable" through targeting NBD1 as a main reason he decided to lead SION, while also highlighting the importance of leading with intention to identify the unmet need of patients.

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Recorded on 03/27/25

In this episode, TD Cowen Washington Research Group’s Chris Krueger discusses three key tariff deadlines to watch next month – and what they could mean for the next four years in trade & markets.

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Recorded on 03/05/25

TD Cowen analyst Phil Nadeau speaks with BioMarin's CEO Alexander Hardy and CFO Brian Mueller from TD Cowen's 45th Annual Health Care Conference about their vision for one of the biotech industry's fastest-growing mid-cap companies. Alexander and Brian describe how BioMarin will harness innovation to bring transformational therapies to patients while remaining commercially competitive and focused on creating value for shareholders. BioMarin has a well-defined long-term strategy, and has been uniquely transparent about its long-term financial guidance. Alexander and Brian talk about how the company is executing toward its long-term goals while working to convince skeptical investors of its opportunities and under-appreciated strengths. They provide insights into how one of biotech's next bellwethers is being built.

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Recorded on 02/27/25

We chat with Hershey’s VP of Marketing & Media Technology Vinny Rinaldi to learn how Hershey is utilizing the latest technological advancements in media to defend and grow their brands in an increasingly dynamic competitive environment.  

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Recorded on 03/04/25

We spoke with AMWL Chairman and CEO Ido Schoenberg at TD Cowen's 45th Annual Health Care Conference, where digital health is at a crossroads. Consumers are increasingly willing to engage with their health online and the number of effective digital clinical programs continues to increase, but effectively matching them is the next challenge. We discuss AMWL's role in bridging the two together.

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