The Will Soliman Podcast

At 25, Dr. David Fajgenbaum was a healthy medical student when his organs began shutting down. Doctors told his family to say goodbye, and a priest read him his last rites. He nearly died five times from Castleman disease, a rare and often fatal disorder. Then he did what no one else had done: he searched his own blood for answers and found a life-saving treatment in a drug that had been on pharmacy shelves for decades. Today he’s in long-term remission, and he’s using artificial intelligence to do for millions of patients what he did for himself.

Listen to my conversation with David as we delve into his story and how AI is now reshaping drug discovery, clinical development, and medical affairs. 

• How Every Cure’s AI platform scores every FDA-approved drug against every human disease, about 75 million predictions, to find hidden treatments

• Why pharma companies leave life-saving indications on the table.

• Why the healthcare system is “perfectly engineered for the results we get”

• Why Medical Science Liaisons (MSLs) are “a critical function,” and the value of MSL certification and credentialing

• The three things that got him through the ICU, and how anyone can build resilience

• How patients and caregivers can advocate for themselves in a complicated healthcare system

• His direct call to pharma and biotech leaders to partner on drug repurposing

If you work in pharma, biotech, medical affairs or healthcare, or you’ve ever dealt with the healthcare system, this is a must-listen.

Dr. Fajgenbaum is co-founder and president of Every Cure, a Penn Medicine physician-scientist, and author of the national bestseller Chasing My Cure, which is being adapted into a film. He was named to the TIME100 Health list, gave a TED talk, won the John Scott Award, and has been featured by The New York Times, Good Morning America, Today and Forbes 30 Under 30. He holds degrees from Georgetown, Oxford, Penn Medicine, and Wharton.

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AI in Healthcare, AI in Drug Discovery, Machine Learning, Drug Development, Drug Trials

Prescription Drugs are Expensive. But Americans are paying more than they need to.

On The Will Soliman Podcast, I sit down with Jason Cicardo, Founder and CEO of Discount RX Savings, to break down a resource millions of patients use but many still don’t fully understand: prescription discount cards.

We discuss how these programs work, why the price of the same prescription can vary from pharmacy to pharmacy, the role PBMs play in drug pricing, where discount cards can make the biggest difference, and what patients should know when insurance doesn’t provide the lowest price.

We also get into GLP-1 access, prior authorization, manufacturer assistance programs, TrumpRx, and the broader debate over what can actually be done to make prescription drugs more affordable.

If you or someone in your family takes prescription medication, this is a conversation worth hearing. Go to here to get your DiscountRXSavings Card!

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To Learn More, Visit These Related Sites:

• Accreditation Council for Medical Affairs
• Medical Science Liaisons
• Prior Authorization and Field Reimbursement
• White Manna Capital Partners

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Prescription Drug Savings, Drug Pricing, Prescription Discount Cards, PBMs, Medication Affordability, Patient Access

What happens when you put a self-proclaimed former “PBM Crime Boss” behind the mic?

Jeremiah Shrack joins The Will Soliman Podcast for an insider conversation about one of the most powerful and least understood parts of American healthcare: Pharmacy Benefit Managers (PBMs).

How do PBMs actually make money on prescription drugs? What’s buried inside complex PBM contracts? And why can employers and CEOs spend millions on healthcare without fully understanding where the money goes?

Jeremiah breaks down PBM spread pricing, prescription drug costs, pharmacy reimbursement, prior authorization, employer healthcare spending, and the financial incentives operating behind the system.

Jeremiah explains how artificial intelligence can analyze complicated PBM contracts, uncover hidden economics, and give employers greater visibility into healthcare spending that historically required specialized expertise to understand.

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To Learn More, Visit These Related Sites:

Accreditation Council for Medical Affairs

Medical Science Liaisons

Prior Authorization and Field Reimbursement

White Manna Capital Partners

Jolunara Intelligence

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Pharmacy Benefit Managers, PBM, PBM Contracts, PBM Spread Pricing, Prescription Drug Pricing, How PBMs Make Money, Healthcare Costs, High Insurance Premiums

“This isn’t a lean-in situation. Women are leaning in. We did that already.”

So where does biotech go from here?

In this episode of The Will Soliman Podcast, William Soliman sits down with Dr. Joanne Kamens, CEO of Women in Bio, for a candid conversation about women, leadership, workplace culture, and why getting this right matters to biotech companies' performance.

Kamens draws on a remarkable career spanning molecular genetics, pharma, biotech, business development, and executive leadership. She shares the personal experiences that shaped her as a leader, the lessons she learned moving from scientist to CEO, and why she ultimately became what she calls a “radical delegator.”

They explore why mentorship alone may not be enough, why sponsorship matters, what companies can do to retain exceptional talent, and why workplace culture becomes a competitive issue when talented people have choices about where they work.

Kamens also challenges the difference between companies that genuinely invest in their people and those whose efforts are largely performative. Her argument is fundamentally a business one: stronger cultures can help companies retain talent, preserve institutional knowledge, and create environments where more people can contribute and lead.

This conversation is about more than breaking the glass ceiling. It is about what happens to the companies underneath it, and which ones will be positioned to thrive.

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• Accreditation Council for Medical Affairs
• Medical Science Liaisons
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women in biotech leadership, women in life sciences leadership, biotech workplace culture, women leaders in biotech, mentorship and sponsorship in biotech, talent retention in biotech, business case for women in leadership, advancing women in biotech, biotech executive leadership

When did drug developers become the bad guys?

Will Soliman sits down with Anna Rose Welch, Editor of Advancing RNA, for a candid discussion on what the public often gets wrong about biotechnology and the people developing tomorrow’s medicines.

From RNA therapeutics and mRNA to gene editing, AI, precision medicine, regulation, reimbursement, and the race to bring new therapies to patients, Anna shares what she is hearing from the scientists, executives, and innovators working at the leading edge of drug development. They also examine why breakthrough science can struggle to earn public trust, why communication matters as much as innovation, and where RNA-based medicines may have their greatest impact over the next decade.

A conversation about the science, the skepticism, and what biotech insiders are seeing before it reaches the headlines.

To Learn More, Visit These Related Sites:

• Accreditation Council for Medical Affairs
• Medical Science Liaisons
• Prior Authorization and Field Reimbursement
• White Manna Capital Partners

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RNA Therapeutics, mRNA, Drug Development, Biotechnology, Precision Medicine, AI in Healthcare, Biopharma, Life Sciences, Medical Innovation, William Soliman, Anna Rose Welch, Advancing RNA, ACMA, Accreditation Council for Medical Affairs

The FDA is gathering industry input on the future of AI in clinical trials. In this episode, Genentech's Nikheel Kolatkar, VP, Therapeutic Area Head, Medical Operations, US Medical, and William Soliman explored not only where AI is headed but also how organizations can implement it responsibly.

The winners won’t be the companies with the most powerful AI.

They’ll be the ones with the strongest people, the best governance, and the cleanest data.

That’s why this conversation is even more relevant today than ever before.

Go inside Genentech’s approach to AI with one of the most innovative Medical Affairs leaders and hear how the company is turning AI into practical impact while preserving scientific judgment.

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• Accreditation Council for Medical Affairs
• Medical Science Liaisons
• Prior Authorization and Field Reimbursement
• White Manna Capital Partners

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Biogen’s Chief Medical Officer and Head of Medical Affairs, Dr. Daniel Quirk, joins William Soliman to unpack how a leading biotech is reshaping neuroscience, rare disease, and immunology in the era of AI. Listen to the end, as Daniel shares some career advice for medical students and aspiring medical science liaisons he's learned after 20 years.

In this episode, they dive into:

• How Biogen is building the “new Biogen” around neuroscience, rare diseases, and immunology
• A practical framework for evaluating AI in pharma and medical affairs: what to solve, how to measure success, and when to scale
• The shift from “P-Value” to “PI value” (practice-informing value) in medical communications
• The impact of FDA guidance, including the move toward single phase 3 trials, on clinical development and medical affairs strategy
• Why standardized credentialing for MSLs and medical affairs professionals is gaining momentum
• How AI and advanced analytics can finally unlock the value of field medical insights

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• Accreditation Council for Medical Affairs
• Medical Science Liaisons
• Prior Authorization and Field Reimbursement
• White Manna Capital Partners

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Primary care is at a crossroads. In this episode, Will Soliman sits down with the American Academy of Family Physicians President, Dr. Sarah Nosal, to discuss the most urgent issues shaping the future of family medicine and patient care.

They examine the growing controversy surrounding non-science-based Hepatitis B vaccine recommendations, AI in prior authorizations, why evidence-based medicine must remain the foundation of clinical decision-making, and how medical misinformation is affecting healthcare professionals and patients alike.

Whether you are a physician, healthcare executive, policymaker, or patient, this episode peels back the challenges and opportunities transforming healthcare today.

Like, Follow, and Subscribe for more conversations with healthcare leaders, innovators, and policymakers exploring the future of medicine, life sciences, Healthcare, the pharma industry, and patient care.

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In this episode of The Will Soliman Podcast, William Soliman sits down with Dr. Cristian Massacesi, high-energy Chief Medical Officer & Head of Drug Development at Bristol Myers Squibb (BMS). They explore how AI is reshaping drug discovery and clinical development, from target validation to trial execution.

Topics include:

• How AI is already accelerating drug discovery and clinical trials

• Why neuroscience and neurodegenerative diseases have been so challenging—and why there’s new hope

• The coming $500B patent cliff and what it means for Big Pharma and investors

• The future of synthetic control arms, digital twins, and real-world evidence

• How AI can augment medical affairs and MSLs, not replace them

• Big changes in healthcare innovation

Perfect for listeners in pharma, biotech, healthcare investing, clinical research & development, and medical affairs who want an inside view of where drug development is headed next.

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• Accreditation Council for Medical Affairs
• Medical Science Liaisons
• Prior Authorization and Field Reimbursement
• White Manna Capital Partners

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In this episode, Dr. William Soliman sits down with Dr. Michael Ybarra, Chief Medical Officer of PhRMA, the pharmaceutical industry's largest trade organization, for a candid conversation on drug pricing, healthcare policy, pharmaceutical innovation, patient access, and the future of medicine.

Dr. Ybarra challenges some of the most common assumptions about prescription drug costs, explaining the role of PBMs, insurers, hospital markups, the 340B program, Medicare drug price negotiations, and the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA). The discussion also explores vaccine innovation, rare disease research, cancer breakthroughs, GLP-1 therapies, and the policies shaping the next generation of medical innovation.

Whether you’re a healthcare professional, policymaker, patient advocate, investor, or simply trying to understand why healthcare costs continue to rise, this episode offers an inside look at one of the most important debates in healthcare today.

Listen now to hear one of the leading physician voices from one of the largest trade organizations explain the forces shaping the future of medicine.

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