Bryan Kobel decided to pursue a career in biotech after seeing its massive opportunities to change the world. He sits down with Ammon Rivera to share how he translated his background as an investment banker into his role as the CEO of TC BioPharm, a company that develops cancer therapy. He opens up about finding his purpose in this space that allows him to save lives and molds him into a compassionate leader. Bryan also talks about their allogenic Gamma Delta T Cell therapy platform, which involves injecting isolated Gamma Delta T Cells to treat cancer-stricken patients. He explains how they are continuously evolving this method to make it cost-effective and easily accessible to underserved and economically disadvantaged individuals.

Science will only get you so far in biotech. No matter how ingenious your products are, you will never succeed as a company if you don’t have all the pieces if business development in place. And there is no greater piece than the people piece. As the Chief People Officer of Biomea Fusion, Naomi Cretcher knows that company culture is what is going to make or break her company’s success. Despite everything that went on with COVID and with a recession looming, Naomi is confident that investing on their talent pool with pay off in terms of company success. She joins Ammon Rivera in this episode to tell us what it takes exactly to build an excellent company culture in a biotech company and why the act of building one will give any business its biggest ROI. Tune in!

There isn’t a cure for cancer yet, but if everyone can come together, we may find that cure sooner rather than later. One biotech company that is trying to solve cancer is Qualigen Therapeutics. With their oncology therapeutics pipeline, they could be onto something with their leading asset QN-302.  Join Ammon Rivera as he talks to the Chief Medical Officer of Qualigen Therapeutics, Tariq Arshad, MD, about where they are right now in their therapeutics pipeline. Learn why cancer is the greatest injustice and how Tariq is fighting to stop it. Find out more about their research in Qualigen Therapeutics when it comes to killing these cancer cells. Let's all come together and stop cancer.

Qualigen Therapeutics is a biotechnology company that develops novel therapeutic products to treat adult and pediatric patients with rare cancers. A leading name in the industry, they have decided to build a therapeutics pipeline within the last few years. In this first episode of a three-part series featuring top executives of Qualigen Therapeutics, Ammon interviews Amy Broidrick, the firm’s President and Chief Strategy Officer. She shares what she brings to the table in the company’s transition from a preclinical stage company to a brand new business venture. She also talks about her deep love for market research, her career’s pivotal and most fulfilling moments, and how she deals with negativity.

AI has gone so far as to potentially change drug development, and these developments have the potential to make a difference in people’s lives. On this episode of BioTech IQ, Ammon interviews Noam Solomon, the CEO of Immunai. Immunai is developing an AI platform that leverages big data, single cell multiomics, and machine learning to bridge the gap between casual immunology and translational disease biology. Their platform is mapping the human immune system at an unprecedented level of granularity, allowing them to identify the right targets to go after. In this interview, Noam shares his knowledge on reprogramming the immune system for better diagnosis and treatment. He shares his amazing team and how they make patient’s lives easier and meaningful. Tune in to learn more about immunotherapies!

Social anxiety disorder is the third most common mental health disorder. Over 23 million Americans alone are affected by it. This disorder can continue to grow into depression and drug abuse, so it's very important to catch it early so it can be stopped. But how can it be stopped? Shawn Singh, the CEO and Director of VistaGen Therapeutics, and his team are creating a nasal spray to help people with social anxiety disorder. Just like an inhaler for asthma, this nasal spray can do for social anxiety. Join Ammon Rivera as he talks to Shawn Singh about the PH94B nasal spray. Find out how it works and how far along they are in the process. If they get approved, VistaGen has the opportunity to be the first FDA-approved acute treatment for adults with social anxiety disorder. Discover how VistaGen is going beyond the current standard of care for anxiety, depression, and CNS disorders. 

Companies in the biotech space are making contributions to help find a cure for cancer. Today’s guest is no exception. In today’s episode, Ammon Rivera sits down with Daniel Teper, Co-Founder and CEO of Cytovia Therapeutics, to talk about the unique technology they’re using to develop a treatment for cancer. Daniel discusses how they’ve developed three types of iPSC-Derived Natural Killer Cells and are now targeting unmet needs in treating hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). There is a lot of disruptive innovation coming from the biotech industry. Daniel also discusses how the field is dealing with worsening market conditions amidst recent news of a special purpose acquisition with Isleworth Healthcare Corporation. There’s much to learn from this episode, both in medicine and economics.

Cell cycle biology is key to understanding cancer. You have to hit the cancer cells early before they become smart and adapt. There is a stage in the cell cycle called mitosis. This is where, if done right, can cause cancer cells to suicide. This is where the biotech company, Cyclacel comes in with all their research into the cell cycle of cancer. Join Ammon Rivera as he talks to Spiro Rombotis about some of Cyclacel's cell cycle therapies. Spiro is the CEO of Cyclacel. His mission is to use cell cycle biology to treat cancer and other serious diseases. Ammon and Spiro go over the use of Cyclin-dependent Kinase and its role in the cell cycle. Spiro also talks about Cyclacel's pipeline and drug candidates. They also go through discussion strategy, the drug approval process, and what it means to fail fast.

Have you ever thought about having replacement parts for your body? It sounds like science fiction, but it’s now as real as the eyes you’re using to read this, thanks to cell-based therapy. Brian Culley is one of the leaders in this field. He is the CEO of Lineage Cell Therapeutics, a company developing treatments for multiple indications based on their proprietary cell-based therapy platform. Leveraging in-house manufacturing, they are attacking multiple indications from ophthalmology to immuno-oncology. In this episode, Brian joins Ammon Rivera to explain what their strategy is, where they are currently in the development process, and where they’re going from there.

The biotech industry has been bombarded with disruptions in recent years, from a global pandemic to rising global tensions. How are they dealing with the supply chain issues and how else has it impacted the industry? In this episode, Ammon Rivera sits down with two-peat guest, Guillermo Morales, PhD, CEO of Innoventyx. Guillermo makes us privy to the issues brought on by COVID-19 and the geopolitical tensions such as the Russia-Ukraine conflict. He also discusses intellectual property in greater depth and why it’s important to act fast when patenting your product. Moving from Latin America to the United States, Guillermo also shares his experience learning and re-learning the science in both languages and how it impacts communication. Don’t miss out on their enlightening conversation by tuning in!

On this episode of BioTech IQ, Ammon Rivera interviews Robert Foster Pharm D, PhD, CEO of Hepion Pharmaceuticals. Robert brings 30 years of experience to this discussion and shares with us details of his background that led him to where he is today. We also discuss Hepion Pharmacetuicals current clinical trials to development treatments targeting chronic liver diseases including NASH, cancer, and chronic hepatitis virus infection. A quarter of the people in the US have fatty livers and of those, about a fifth will likely develop NASH. It’s a big problem that affects a lot of people. The company’s lead drug candidate, Rencofilstat, reduces liver fibrosis and hepatocellular carcinoma tumor burden in experimental models of NASH. Tune in to learn more about their pharmaceutical development process and other possibilities with the drug in terms of treatment.

Some of the main problems with sequencing in identifying mutations are its cost and the time it takes. Fortunately, with the rapid growth of technology, revolutionary products that simplify processes are being made. One of those is from DiaCarta, a diagnostics company using translational genomics and molecular precision technology to develop ways of detecting disease. In this episode of BioTech IQ, Ammon Rivera interviews its CEO, Adam Zhang. Their patented technology reduces the "background noise" in testing, allowing for the detection of the "bad actor." Join in to learn the processes behind their work, what this means to the future of testing and treating diseases, and where the company is headed. Don't miss out!

TNF is a protein that contributes to inflammation. Anti-TNFs can be used to stabilize this and stop the inflammation. It’s used for diseases like arthritis and psoriasis. Discover how clinical trials are done so these medicines and anti-TNFs can be utilized. Join Ammon Rivera as he talks to M.D., Ph.D. and CEO of 180 Life Sciences, Jim Woody about anti-TNFs and the trial process behind them. Jim’s goal is to address one of the biggest drivers of disease – inflammation. Learn more about Jim’s career as a venture capitalist. Find out why trials need to be uniform and randomized. And, discover what it takes to run a biotech company today.

Tom shares with us some of his journey and how that led him to co-found Biomea Fusion. We discuss some of the science behind irreversible drugs and covalent bonding. Using their fusion system there is greater potential for high selectivity, deep inactivation of target, and a greater therapeutic window.https://biomeafusion.com/https://thebiotechiqpodcast.com/podcast/

CliniStart launched to provide innovative tech-enabled solutions focused on global investigator contracts, budgets, and payments. And they did all of this just as the COVID-19 pandemic was hitting. This gave them an opportunity to shift and adapt. In this episode we address the challenges causing friction at during clinical trial start-up and what it takes to launch a start-up company.https://clinistart.com/

On this episode we have Brenda Sousa, previously the Chief Human Resources Officer with Constellation Pharmaceuticals. Brenda shares with us part of her backstory and entry into the world of Biotech. We discuss people, culture, the function of HR, and how the industry requires a unique yet similar approach. Ammon also shares past experiences with Brenda and gets her take on them.#BiotechIQ #Biotech #Drugdevelopment #Recruiting #Staffing

In this episode of BioTech IQ Ammon interviews Stewart Hallet the COO of SFJ Pharmaceuticals, a specialty pharmaceutical company with a unique business model. The discussion touches on a number of things in clinical operations including working with CROs, leadership, and resourcing. #BioTechIQ #ClinicalOperations #DrugDevelopment #Podcasts

Co-founders Shawn Carbonell and Brent Witgen discuss the progress of the 1st cohort (BRZN1) as they are well into the Brazen Bio program. We also get the chance to interview one of the founders currently in the program. We discuss what he is working on and what his experience has been in the program. Do you have a project that needs acceleration? Then don't hesitate, go to brazen.bio and get your application in for the next cohort.

Kathleen shares fantastic insights on understanding behavioral psychology and how it applies to successful clinical trials. We had a great conversation that touched on increasing diversity in trials to understanding our own behavior and how we can potentially understand patients better. This can be applied in a way to close the gap between intention and action. Kathleen co-authored a Book called "Why We Resist: The Surprising Truths about Behavior Change: A Guidebook for Healthcare Communicators, Advocates and Change Agents" You can check it out at the link below. PSA: I have no sponsorships or financial agreements to promote the book. I figured since I read it and talked about it on the show people might want to check it out.https://www.amazon.com/Why-Resist-Surprising-Healthcare-Communicators/dp/057854766X

Seth Lederman is the CEO of Tonix Pharmaceuticals and a physician scientist with a two decades of research experience. Prior to becoming an entrepreneur, he was an Associate Professor at Columbia University. Dr. Lederman’s groundbreaking research led to the discovery of the CD-40 ligand and its role in T cell helper function. Currently, Dr. Lederman oversees Tonix Pharmaceuticals and its diverse programs that are aimed to develop therapeutics for chronic CNS and immunologic conditions, that include indications like fibromyalgia, Covid-19 and Long Covid, amongst others. Dr. Lederman earned an AB from Princeton University in Chemistry and an MD from Columbia University's College of Physicians and Surgeons. Dr. Lederman trained in internal medicine and rheumatology at Columbia's Presbyterian Hospital.https://www.tonixpharma.com/