Send us a text Theranos promised to revolutionize healthcare with a single drop of blood and became one of the most infamous failures in biotech history. In this episode, we trace the full rise and fall of Elizabeth Holmes and Theranos, from its founding in 2003 to its dramatic collapse and criminal convictions nearly two decades later. We explore how ambition, secrecy, and Silicon Valley mythology allowed unproven science to scale into a $9 billion company, how powerful board members a...

Send us a text Novo Nordisk’s rise is one of the most extraordinary stories in modern medicine. What began in 1920s Denmark as a response to a fatal disease evolved into a company that reshaped how the world treats diabetes, obesity, and metabolic illness. In this episode, we trace Novo Nordisk’s journey from the discovery of insulin and a decades-long rivalry between two Danish labs, to a landmark merger, global expansion, and steady leadership in diabetes care. We explore how the company ma...

Send us a text Welcome to your essential overview of the global biotech and pharmaceutical landscape for December 2025! This month was dominated by a surge in M&A activity and licensing deals. 🎧 Listen now, stay curious, and don’t forget to subscribe for new episodes! https://linktr.ee/maneadkhin #PetriDishPerspectives #BiotechNews #PharmaNews Support the show © 2025 Petri Dish Perspectives LLC. All rights reserved.

Send us a text Before there were blockbuster drugs, clinical trials, and biotech startups, there was… dye. In this episode of Petri Dish Perspectives, we explore one of the most overlooked origin stories in modern medicine: how 19th-century chemical dye companies laid the foundation for today’s pharmaceutical giants. From coal tar chemistry and synthetic pigments to the birth of industrial drug discovery, this episode unpacks why companies like Bayer, BASF, Ciba, and Hoechst evolved from colo...

Send us a text In this episode, we explore the evolution of Astellas Pharma, from the merger of two century-old Japanese firms into a global biopharmaceutical powerhouse. We trace how a culture of disciplined research led to breakthrough medicines like Prograf, transformed transplant medicine, and later to Xtandi, a prostate cancer therapy born from academic insight and refined through global collaboration. We unpack how Astellas quietly repositioned itself toward oncology, gene therapy, and ...

Send us a text In this episode of Petri Dish Perspectives, we dive deep into the remarkable evolution of Novartis, one of the world’s most influential and scientifically ambitious pharmaceutical companies. From its 18th-century dye-making origins to its modern dominance in gene therapy, oncology, and complex biologics, Novartis has become a case study in strategic reinvention. We explore the company’s defining breakthroughs from Gleevec, the drug that rewrote the playbook for targeted cancer ...

Send us a text Can a machine discover a cure faster than a scientist? Welcome to the revolutionary world of Recursion Pharmaceuticals, the pioneering TechBio company determined to solve biology using AI and industrial automation. In this deep-dive, we explore how Recursion replaced slow, human-biased research with the Recursion OS, a closed-loop platform that generates massive, proprietary biological data. Learn about the company's bold vision, from the crucial $50 million NVIDIA investment a...

Send us a text Welcome to your essential overview of the global biotech and pharmaceutical landscape for November 2025! This month was dominated by a surge in M&A activity, with high-profile bidding wars! 🎧 Listen now, stay curious, and don’t forget to subscribe for new episodes! https://linktr.ee/maneadkhin #PetriDishPerspectives #BiotechNews #PharmaNews Support the show © 2025 Petri Dish Perspectives LLC. All rights reserved.

Send us a text Unlock the future of immunotherapy. For decades, traditional antibody drugs were limited to tagging a single target. Now, meet the Bispecific Antibody (BsAb): a revolutionary molecule engineered to simultaneously grab two different targets, acting as a molecular "handcuff" to drag your immune system's most powerful killer, the T cell, directly to the cancer cell. In this episode, we trace the incredible scientific journey of BsAbs: from the manufacturing failure of the Quadroma...

Send us a text In this episode of Petri Dish Perspectives:, we dive into one of the most dramatic biotech stories of the decade: the rise of Metsera, the VC-backed obesity startup that triggered a rare billion-dollar bidding war between two pharma giants, Pfizer and Novo Nordisk. We explore how Metsera quietly emerged from Flagship’s venture creation engine, how its science positioned it as a next-generation competitor in the GLP-1 era, and why its pipeline, from injectable GLP-1s to amylin a...

Send us a text In this episode of Petri Dish Perspectives, we dive into the untold story of Charles River Laboratories, the quiet giant behind nearly every major drug you’ve ever heard of. From its origins on the banks of Massachusetts’ Charles River, where Dr. Henry Foster began breeding lab rats to support post-war research, to its evolution into a global scientific infrastructure company, Charles River has shaped the very foundation of modern drug development. We’ll explore how a small ani...

Send us a text In this episode of Petri Dish Perspectives: Biotech Unleashed, host Manead dives into the remarkable story of Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, from its humble beginnings in Tarrytown to becoming one of the world’s leading biotech innovators. Discover how founders Leonard Schleifer and George Yancopoulos turned early failure into scientific triumph with breakthrough drugs like Eylea, Dupixent, and the COVID-19 antibody cocktail that changed the global response. We explore how Regenero...

Send us a text What if the cure for cancer or the key to mental health, wasn’t hidden in a new drug, but in data itself? In this episode of Petri Dish Perspectives, we uncover the story of Tempus AI, the company turning raw medical information into lifesaving insight. Founded by Eric Lefkofsky, the entrepreneur behind Groupon, Tempus began as a deeply personal mission to bring clarity to cancer care. Today, it’s one of the most advanced AI-driven healthcare platforms in the world, combining g...

Send us a text What if the secret engine driving modern drug discovery wasn’t in Boston or Basel, but in Shanghai? In this episode of Petri Dish Perspectives: Biotech Unleashed, host Manead dives deep into the rise of WuXi AppTec, a company that redefined how the world develops medicine. We explore its fascinating journey, from a humble chemistry startup founded by Dr. Ge Li to a global R&D and manufacturing giant that helps nearly every top pharma and biotech company bring therapies to l...

Send us a text From a small pharmacy in Massachusetts to a $100 billion healthcare empire, CVS Health has redefined what it means to be a pharmacy. In this episode of Petri Dish Perspectives: Biotech Unleashed, host Manead dives into CVS’s fascinating evolution, from its early days as Consumer Value Store to its bold moves acquiring Aetna and transforming into a fully integrated healthcare provider. We explore how CVS blended retail, insurance, and clinical services to build one of the most p...

Send us a text From a lizard’s venom to Hollywood’s favorite weight-loss trend, this episode of Petri Dish Perspectives: Biotech Unleashed dives deep into the fascinating journey of GLP-1 agonists. Discover how scientists uncovered a gut hormone that revolutionized diabetes care, led to the creation of Ozempic and Mounjaro, and sparked a cultural movement around body image and health. We’ll trace the science, the breakthroughs, and the billion-dollar race shaping the future of metabolic...

Send us a text What if you could silence disease at its genetic root? That was the bold promise behind RNA interference (RNAi), one of the most groundbreaking scientific discoveries of the 21st century. In this episode, we dive into the story of Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, from its founding by a powerhouse team of Nobel laureates, pioneering scientists, and biotech visionaries, to its transformation into the world’s first RNAi therapeutics company. We explore the challenges of turning a fragile ...

Send us a text From its humble beginnings in 1781 as a family-run herbal medicine shop in Osaka to becoming one of the world’s top 10 pharmaceutical companies, Takeda’s story is one of resilience, reinvention, and bold transformation. In this episode of Petri Dish Perspectives: Biotech Unleashed, host Manead unpacks Takeda’s 240-year journey, from the vision of founder Chobei Takeda, through the blockbuster eras of Prevacid and Actos, to the game-changing acquisition of Shire under CEO Christ...

Send us a text From secrecy and skepticism to one of the fastest vaccine rollouts in history, this episode of Petri Dish Perspectives: Biotech Unleashed dives into the remarkable journey of Moderna. We trace the company’s early hype, billion-dollar partnerships, and criticism for overpromising, through to its historic COVID-19 vaccine that changed global medicine. What’s next for Moderna beyond the pandemic? Tune in to explore how one biotech bet on mRNA and won. Whether you’re a biotech enth...

Send us a text Baxter may not always grab the biotech headlines, but its impact on modern healthcare is impossible to ignore. From the first commercially prepared IV solutions in the 1930s to pioneering dialysis fluids, blood systems, recombinant hemophilia therapies, and parenteral nutrition, Baxter has consistently solved medicine’s “unsexy but essential” problems. In this episode, we dive into the company’s origins, explore the backstories of its most important innovations, and trace how i...