06.06.25 -- Inside the Minds Transforming Medicine — Must-Hear Podcasts on RNAi, tRNA, AI & More

Check out the latest episodes from Cell & Gene: The Podcast and Business of Biotech. As a member of the Life Science Connect community, you have access to content beyond our weekly newsletters, including our podcast series.

Tolga Tanguler, EVP and Chief Commercial Officer at Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, talks about commercializing RNAi therapies, how they fit into health insurance reimbursement systems, the company's use of value-based contracts, and building therapeutic franchise "skyscrapers." Tanguler also shares his thoughts on commercializing RNAi therapies for larger patient populations, compared with rare disease populations.

Dr. Mark Eisner, EVP and Chief Medical Officer at Vir Biotechnology, talks about the company's post-COVID pivot into infectious diseases (Hepatitis Delta and Hepatitis B) and oncology (solid tumors), how he reprioritized the company's development candidates and assimilated Sanofi's acquired T cell engager platform, and his own transition from healthcare provider to clinical research.

Michelle Werner, CEO at Alltrna, talks transfer RNA (tRNA) therapy with host Ben Comer and guest co-host Anna Rose Welch, editorial and community director at Advancing RNA. Werner explains why a single engineered tRNA therapy has the potential to treat "hundreds, if not thousands," of rare genetic diseases, and how her own child's rare disease diagnosis shaped her career and approach to drug development. 

Yaniv Sneor, founder of the Mid Atlantic Bio Angels and CEO at Native State Therapeutics, explains how life science angel investors evaluate biotech startups, and offers tips for young drug developers in search of funding. The conversation covers how to create a successful pitch, red flags for potential investors, the importance of angel investing syndicates, and more.

Dr. Srinivas Rao, co-founder and CEO at atai Life Sciences, explains how his engineering background led him to the development of psychedelic compounds for treating depression, anxiety, and other mental health disorders. Internal drug development efforts at atai are focused on short-duration psychedelics that can work within existing healthcare infrastructure, with the potential to transform the treatment of mental health disorders.

Host Erin Harris sits down with Peter Altman, Ph.D., CEO of BioCardia, to discuss the company’s evolution from a cardiac biotherapeutic delivery firm to a developer of autologous and allogeneic cell therapies for cardiovascular and pulmonary diseases.

Host Erin Harris talks to Generate:Biomedicines' EVP of R&D, Dr. Alex Snyder about the convergence of AI, machine learning (ML), and synthetic biology in the development of next-generation therapies. They cover how AI is transforming drug discovery by enabling the rapid design and optimization of therapeutic candidates, particularly in complex fields like immuno-oncology and cell therapy.