AI in Pharmaceutical R&D with Kim Branson

In this episode, originally recorded for the a16z Podcast, host Steph Smith interviews Pushmeet Kohli, DeepMind's VP of Research focused on AI for science. They are joined by a16z Bio + Health founding partner Vijay Pande.Together, they discuss AI at scale, and its power to transform science.

Chronis Manolis, SVP and Chief Pharmacy Officer of UPMC Health Plan, joins Julie Yoo, general partner, Daisy Wolf, investment partner, and Will Shrank, venture partner, of a16z Bio + Health.Together, they discuss how payors and providers are thinking about anti-obesity medications, as well as pricing and prior authorization considerations. This is the third episode in our series on the science and supply of GLP-1s. Listen to last week’s episode to hear from Brooke Boyarsky Pratt, founder and CEO of knownwell, about the importance of patient-centric medical homes. The week before, we spoke with Carolyn Jasik, Chief Medical Officer at Omada Health, on GLP-1s from a clinical perspective. 

Brooke Boyarsky Pratt, founder and CEO of knownwell, joins Vineeta Agarwala, general partner at a16z Bio + Health.Together, they talk about the value of obesity medicine practitioners, patient-centric medical homes, and how Brooke believes the metabolic health space will evolve over time.This is the second episode in our series on the science and supply of GLP-1s. Listen to last week's episode to hear from Carolyn Jasik, Chief Medical Officer at Omada Health, on GLP-1s from a clinical perspective.

Carolyn Jasik, MD, Chief Medical Officer of Omada Health, joins Vijay Pande, founding partner of a16z Bio + Health.As Ozempic, Wegovy, Mounjaro, and Zepbound capture the healthcare spotlight, we’ve developed a series of episodes that go beyond the headlines and take you into conversations with the specialists. Our first guest is Carolyn Jasik, Chief Medical Officer at Omada Health. She gives us an overview of the science of satiety, the perspective from obesity-focused physicians, and the sometimes surprising lifestyle implications for patients on these medicines.This series provides insight into what anti-obesity medicines are, where they’re going, and the challenges that have to be overcome along the way.

Vineeta Agarwala, MD, PhD, joins Luke Timmerman's The Long Run podcast on stage at the Life Science Innovation Northwest Conference. They discuss everything from AI for drug discovery to Vineeta's ongoing clinical work as a physician and how that influences her perspective.

Kim Branson, PhD, SVP and Global Head of AI and Machine Learning for GSK, joins Vijay Pande, founding partner at a16z Bio + Health.Together, they talk about how AI has improved drug discovery and development, as Kim walks through all the ways AI can be deployed in the lab. They also get into detail about what an ideal partner looks like and what kind of solution is attractive to a big biopharma, making this a particularly relevant episode for builders in biotech AI.

In this episode, Carl June, MD, pioneering immunologist and oncologist at the University of Pennsylvania, joins Jorge Conde, general partner at a16z Bio + Health.Together, they discuss Carl's work on CAR T, a remarkable story of the first use of CAR T in a pediatric patient, and Carl's take on where oncology treatments are headed next.Though this episode was originally published in September 2023, back when we were called Bio Eats World, we’re republishing it  during this year’s ASGCT conference, where the latest advances in cell and gene therapy—like what Carl describes—are shared and discussed.

Tom Hale, CEO of ŌURA, joins Vijay Pande, founding partner, and Daisy Wolf, investment partner at a16z Bio + Health.Together, they talk about the potential of wearables to change behavior, and how that can affect health. They also discuss how AI could maximize the usefulness of wearables and power the insights provided to wearers.

Philip Tagari, Chief Scientific Officer of insitro, joins Vijay Pande, founding general partner at a16z Bio + Health.Together, they discuss the transformative power of drugs in changing human health—and history. They also reflect on the evolution of the drug discovery process as it shifts from serendipitous discovery to AI-enabled engineering. Finally, they chat about where the industry is headed, and how AI might change the competition landscape.

Vijay Pande, founding general partner of a16z Bio + Health, chats with the builders (and siblings) behind Devoted Health, Ed and Todd Park. The Park brothers, with decades of expertise in healthcare and policy, including as EVP and COO at athenahealth (Ed) and Chief Technology Officer of the United States (Todd),  started Devoted with the idea of building a healthcare model from scratch. Together, their discussion underscores the sector's urgent need for technological innovation and the game-changing role of AI.This episode was recorded live at a16z's LP Summit.