Finding New Opportunities In Obesity With Moonwalk Bioscience's Alex Aravanis, M.D., Ph.D.

We love to hear from our listeners. Send us a message. On this week's episode of the Business of Biotech, Alex Aravanis, M.D., Ph.D., CEO of Moonwalk Biosciences, talks about the opportunity in obesity beyond GLP-1s. He describes Moonwalk’s adipose-targeted siRNA strategy, the genetics-driven logic behind its targets, and what it takes to fund and build a clinical-stage company. Alex also discusses Moonwalk's recent $70 million Series B raise, using AI to prioritize targets and improve siRNA design, and how weight loss without appetite suppression could preserve lean muscle mass and improve tolerability. Access this and hundreds of episodes of the Business of Biotech videocast under the Business of Biotech tab at lifescienceleader.com.  Subscribe to our monthly Business of Biotech newsletter. Get in touch with guest and topic suggestions: [email protected] Ben Comer on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bencomer/

We love to hear from our listeners. Send us a message. On this week's episode of the Business of Biotech, Independent Board Director and five-time public company CFO Alan Shaw returns to the show for an update on current biotech financing and the strategies needed to secure capital now. Allan explains how biotech investors price risk as the market opens back up, the importance of valuation discipline, and the financing choices that separate “available capital” from “accessible capital.” Allan also discusses the trade-offs inherent to different funding types.  Access this and hundreds of episodes of the Business of Biotech videocast under the Business of Biotech tab at lifescienceleader.com.  Subscribe to our monthly Business of Biotech newsletter. Get in touch with guest and topic suggestions: [email protected] Ben Comer on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bencomer/

We love to hear from our listeners. Send us a message. On this week's episode of the Business of Biotech, David Craig, Cofounder, President, and CEO at Sarcomatrix, explains why the old biotech playbook breaks down in today’s funding environment and what it takes to build a lean virtual drug development company without institutional financing. Craig describes practical financing paths, hard truths about costs, and the tradeoffs that make a rare disease program investable through alternative fundraising strategies. He also shares what can and cannot be outsourced, and how regulatory sequencing shapes financial planning and timelines. Access this and hundreds of episodes of the Business of Biotech videocast under the Business of Biotech tab at lifescienceleader.com.  Subscribe to our monthly Business of Biotech newsletter. Get in touch with guest and topic suggestions: [email protected] Ben Comer on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bencomer/

We love to hear from our listeners. Send us a message. On this week's episode of the Business of Biotech, Olivier Litzka, Partner at Andera Partners, talks about what it really takes for biotech companies to attract capital, stay focused, and survive the moments when biology and execution punch back. Olivia also discusses a collaborative effort in Europe to create a stronger public market and investor base, and what the emergence of AI and Chinese biotech means for building tomorrow's biotech companies. Access this and hundreds of episodes of the Business of Biotech videocast under the Business of Biotech tab at lifescienceleader.com.  Subscribe to our monthly Business of Biotech newsletter. Get in touch with guest and topic suggestions: [email protected] Ben Comer on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bencomer/

We love to hear from our listeners. Send us a message. On this week's episode of the Business of Biotech, Omar Khalil, Managing Director at Santé Ventures, describes forming and funding startups and  early-stage biotech companies with a focus on clinical data and differentiation as the key value drivers. Omar talks about his interest in 'undruggable targets,' what's happening with the IPO market, an investor shift from biology risk to commercial risk, and building companies through a venture creation process. Access this and hundreds of episodes of the Business of Biotech videocast under the Business of Biotech tab at lifescienceleader.com.  Subscribe to our monthly Business of Biotech newsletter. Get in touch with guest and topic suggestions: [email protected] Ben Comer on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bencomer/

We love to hear from our listeners. Send us a message. On this week's episode of the Business of Biotech, Brian Sullivan, CEO at Celcuity, talks about winning the company's first FDA approval for Revtorpyk, a kinase inhibitor for breast cancer patients, and why targeting an “untreated disease mechanism” can beat chasing a single mutation. Brian also discusses the process for licensing a shelved Pfizer asset for development, designing Phase 3 trials that challenge assumptions, the benefits of FDA's Real-Time Oncology Review, and managing downside risk while advancing new indications, all while building a launch-ready company without losing pipeline momentum. Access this and hundreds of episodes of the Business of Biotech videocast under the Business of Biotech tab at lifescienceleader.com.  Subscribe to our monthly Business of Biotech newsletter. Get in touch with guest and topic suggestions: [email protected] Ben Comer on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bencomer/

We love to hear from our listeners. Send us a message. On this week's episode of the Business of Biotech, Paul Hastings, Founding CEO and Board Member at Nkarta, an allogeneic cell therapy developer, talks about building off-the-shelf CAR NK cell therapies for autoimmune disease. Paul is candid about problems with clinical trial infrastructure in the U.S., what it will take to fix trial access (biotechs should actively facilitate patient access to trials and work with community health centers to establish new trial sites), and why biotech leaders have a responsibility to speak up about federal policies shaping the life sciences innovation ecosystem.    Access this and hundreds of episodes of the Business of Biotech videocast under the Business of Biotech tab at lifescienceleader.com.  Subscribe to our monthly Business of Biotech newsletter. Get in touch with guest and topic suggestions: [email protected] Ben Comer on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bencomer/

We love to hear from our listeners. Send us a message. On this week's episode of the Business of Biotech, Annette Bakker, Ph.D., CEO at the Children's Tumor Foundation, and Andrew Lo, Ph.D., Finance Professor at MIT's Sloan School of Management and Director of the Laboratory for Financial Engineering, talk about the methods and economics for turning abandoned drug candidates into new therapies for patients. Annette and Andrew share the story of Gomekli, a formerly shelved Pfizer drug candidate spun out into SpringWorks Therapeutics, and approved in 2025 for NF Type 1 tumors (Merck KGaA subsequently acquired SpringWorks for $3.9 billion). They also detail plans for bringing more shelved candidates back into development, using a shared data infrastructure and a matchmaking tool to pair interested drug developers with investors and funding. Access this and hundreds of episodes of the Business of Biotech videocast under the Business of Biotech tab at lifescienceleader.com.  Subscribe to our monthly Business of Biotech newsletter. Get in touch with guest and topic suggestions: [email protected] Ben Comer on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bencomer/

We love to hear from our listeners. Send us a message. On this week's episode of the Business of Biotech, Aris Baras, M.D., SVP, Head of Regeneron Genetics Center (RGC) and Co-Head of Regeneron Genetic Medicines, talks about using large-scale human genetics to find better drug targets based on "superhuman" variants. Aris explains how multi-omics, linked health records, and AI are helping developers move faster in the clinic and reduce the odds of failure, while also pushing biotech toward earlier disease prediction and more preventive care. Access this and hundreds of episodes of the Business of Biotech videocast under the Business of Biotech tab at lifescienceleader.com.  Subscribe to our monthly Business of Biotech newsletter. Get in touch with guest and topic suggestions: [email protected] Ben Comer on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bencomer/

We love to hear from our listeners. Send us a message. On this week's episode of the Business of Biotech, Matt Winton, Ph.D., Chief Commercial and Business Officer at CervoMed, talks about preparing for the late-stage development of neflamapimod in dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB) and commercial planning for an anticipated launch. Winton talks about CMC and manufacturing scale-up, partnership, communicating with regulators and the benefits of global regulatory alignment on protocols for the Phase 3 trial. He also talks about building value through HEOR and payer engagement in parallel with clinical development, and pricing in the context of policy changes and shifting global launch dynamics.           Access this and hundreds of episodes of the Business of Biotech videocast under the Business of Biotech tab at lifescienceleader.com.  Subscribe to our monthly Business of Biotech newsletter. Get in touch with guest and topic suggestions: [email protected] Ben Comer on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bencomer/