The Space: Life Sciences Podcast

For years, biopharma companies competed in what one analyst called a "sales-force arms race," believing more reps meant better results. That era is long gone, but today's commercial challenge is arguably even more difficult. 

Physician access has become increasingly scarce, while commercial organizations have grown more specialized. Sales, medical, market access, and other functions each play a critical role, but how do you ensure physicians get everything they need to make informed treatment decisions during the few minutes they have with your team? 

In this episode, veteran oncology commercialization exec Perry Monaco shares his perspective on the future of customer engagement, explaining why success depends less on creating more interactions than on making every interaction more valuable through smarter orchestration, better use of data and AI, and a commercial model designed around the needs of physicians and patients. 

Perry also reflects on the formative experience that first drew him to oncology, and how it shaped him as both a commercial leader and a person. 

As biotech navigates a mixed funding and dealmaking environment in 2026, one principle continues to guide the commercial playbook: capital efficiency. So says Jacob Lai, Vice President and Head of Commercial at Star Therapeutics, who sat down with Marc Iskowitz in the latest episode of The Space Life Sciences Podcast to discuss how that environment is shaping go-to-market strategy. Jacob explains why biotech’s modest resurgence, with capital markets becoming more selective, highlights the continued importance of being capital-efficient and how commercial teams can make smarter investments in data and analytics infrastructure. Of course, the conversation also explores the growing impact of AI, and Jacob shares his vision for commercial ops as a driver of organizational change for some of these new modalities.

"If the evidence is compelling, why isn't practice evolving?" That was Audrey Carnevale's “welcome to pharma” moment — the realization that strong data doesn't automatically translate into changes in clinical adoption. Now Associate Director of Medical Communications at Averitas Pharma (and an MSL before that), Audrey joins Marc Iskowitz in the second episode of The Space podcast. She talks about how the medical function can move clinical minds by: - Sharpening focus so that the data shared are hyper-relevant for each audience (HCPs, payers, and patients) - Working as a strategic contributor (not just a reviewer) to shape disease understanding before the product enters the conversation - Layering data and evidence to help clinicians move from simple awareness to true clinical confidence

(00:00) Intro: Why Strong Data Don't Always Drive Clinical Change(02:16) Audrey's Journey: From MSL to In-House Medical Communications(04:55) The Role of Medical Communications at Averitas Pharma(06:16) Aligning Medical & Commercial: A Recurring Industry Challenge(09:13) Medical's Strategic Advantage Before Launch(13:25) Mapping the HCP Journey & Plugging the Educational Gaps(17:06) AI in Medical Affairs: Real Use Cases(22:45) Misconceptions: What Medical Wants Commercial to Know

Operating model. Launch readiness. Data. Execution. Get these wrong, and even the most promising therapy can stall. Get them right, and you get product to patient — and that’s what drives Lori Nemyier every day. 

In this inaugural episode of the Space Life Sciences Podcast, Marc Iskowitz sits down with Lori to unpack a critical question for emerging biotechs: Why do so many companies struggle to execute at launch, and how can they get it right the first time? 

Drawing on more than two decades of experience across specialty pharma and startup environments, Lori shares what she’s learned from stepping into companies at pivotal inflection points — often tasked with building or rebuilding commercial operations from the ground up. 

(00:00) Introduction

(01:37) What draws Lori to early-stage biotech startups

(02:42) Lori's "Welcome to Biopharma" moment

(04:24) Challenges of launching in cell and gene therapy

(06:37) Data acquisition strategy before a drug launch

(08:39) The #1 tip for winning at launch

(10:38) Real example: Getting tech and data to work in sync

(12:38) Where AI is effective in life sciences

(14:49) The biggest AI opportunities in biopharma

(16:35) Final advice for commercial leaders