The path to new medicines is complex enough - policy doesn’t need to make it more difficult. But it does. 

In this episode, Thomas Kaiser, Co-Founder and Chief Scientific Officer Avicenna Biosciences joins the show to share how the Inflation Reduction Act is unintentionally discouraging investment in small-molecule drugs, creating the pill penalty. He explains why this matters not just to biotech founders, but to millions of patients waiting for treatments for conditions like Parkinson’s, MS, and diabetes. 

We also discuss:

• What’s at risk when chronic disease treatments are deprioritized due to poor incentives
• Why policymakers often misunderstand biotech timelines and how that disconnect can block life-saving innovation.
• How North Carolina’s foresight turned it into a biotech innovation hub.

Read Tom’s Op-ed in BioSpace.