Biotech2050 Podcast is a think tank chronicling the disruptions changing the biotech industry over the next 50 years.

Synopsis: 
Keith Gottesdiener, MD, and Jeremy Duffield, MD, PhD, FRCP, are the President & CEO and CSO, respectively, of Prime Medicine. Prime Medicine was founded to bring the promise of gene editing to patients. They use Prime Editing, a next-generation technology that can “search and replace” to restore normal genetic function almost anywhere in the genome. Keith and Jeremy discuss the arc of their careers and how they go to where they are today. They talk about the differences working in big pharma vs. a smaller biotech like Prime. They discuss the importance of companies investing in safety and what they’ve learned in terms of indication selection frameworks within the context of gene editing. Finally, they talk about their goal of engaging in partnerships down the road, and the importance of having transparency within their organization.

Biography:
Keith Gottesdiener, MD is President and Chief Executive Officer of Prime Medicine and has served as a member of our Board of Directors since July 2020. From October 2011 until March 2020, Dr. Gottesdiener served as the Chief Executive Officer and a director of Rhythm Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a biopharmaceutical company that develops therapeutics in rare genetic obesity. During that time, Rhythm submitted a New Drug Application for setmelanotide in two indications, for which setmelanotide was subsequently approved.

Dr. Gottesdiener received his B.A. from Harvard College and his M.D. from the University of Pennsylvania. He completed his residency and fellowship at the Brigham and Women’s Hospital-Beth Israel Medical Center-Dana Farber Cancer Institute Children’s Hospital programs. After his fellowship, Dr. Gottesdiener did postdoctoral research in the laboratory of Dr. Jack Strominger at the Dana Farber Cancer Institute. He then joined the faculty as an assistant professor at Columbia University, where he started an independent research laboratory with NIH RO-1 funding, ending his academic career as Associate Clinical Professor of Medicine at the time he left to join Merck in 1995.

Jeremy Duffield, MD, PhD, FRCP, is the Chief Scientific Officer of Prime Medicine. He has many years of drug discovery experience at Vertex Pharmaceuticals and Biogen Inc. preceded by a distinguished career in academic medicine.

Dr. Duffield has held several leadership roles, with focus in the fields of human genetics, innate immunity and regenerative medicine. He served as Global Head of Human Biology at Vertex Pharmaceuticals and as Vice President of Business Development where he and his team played important roles in discovering and advancing candidates to clinical studies in rare diseases including cystic fibrosis, a1-antitrypsin deficiency, sickle cell disease, FSGS and muscular dystrophies. Several candidates are now approved therapies. He was instrumental in building Vertex Cell and Genetic Therapies.

At Biogen, Dr. Duffield served as Senior Research Fellow and Vice President with responsibilities in early research programs, as joint Head of Innate Immunity and Regenerative Medicine therapeutic area, and as Head of the Biogen Post-Doctoral program. There he contributed to advancing integrin inhibitors, TNF superfamily inhibitors and IRAK inhibitors to clinical evaluation for pulmonary fibrosis and autoimmune diseases.

Dr. Duffield received his B.A. and M.D. (B.M., B.Ch.) from Oxford University and a Ph.D. in Immunology from the University of Edinburgh in the laboratory of Sir John Savill.

Biotech 2050 Podcast

Next-gen gene editing, Keith Gottesdiener, President & CEO, Jeremy Duffield, CSO, Prime Medicine

Synopsis: 
Brett Hall, Ph.D., is the CSO of Immuneering, a public, clinical-stage oncology company dedicated to developing medicines for broad populations of cancer patients by applying its deep knowledge of translational bioinformatics to every stage of the drug development process. Brett talks about his background in the military targeting nuclear missiles prior to becoming a scientist and some of the commonalities between working in the military and pharma/biotech. He shares his thoughts on AI and machine learning in drug development. He talks about Immuneering’s disease-agnostic platform that enables the company to utilize human data, novel biology and chemistry, and translational planning to create and advance its pipeline. Finally, he discusses their focus on oncology and providing potential treatments for patients with advanced solid tumors.

Biography:
Brett Hall, Ph.D. has served as Chief Scientific Officer of Immuneering since November 2019. He also served as the Founder and Chairman of the board of directors of BioArkive, Inc., or BioArkive, a privately held biotechnology services company from January 2019 until December 2021. Prior to joining Imuneering, Dr. Hall served as the Chief Executive Officer of Asellus Therapeutics, LLC from July 2015 until May 2018. Dr. Hall served in roles of increasing responsibility with Johnson & Johnson from November 2008 until July 2014, culminating in his role as the Head of Biomarkers of the Hematologic Disease Area Stronghold, where he led translational efforts for Sylvant® and Imbruvica® through clinical development. Subsequently, he served as the Head of Translational Medicine of Oncology at Medimmune, LLC, the biologics division of AstraZeneca Pharmaceuticals LP, from July 2014 until July 2015, before transitioning to executive discovery roles in biotechnology. He has extensive drug development and leadership experience ranging from early drug discovery through translational clinical sciences, including multiple drug registrations. Dr. Hall has extensively published in the areas of tumor microenvironment (TME) and translational sciences, and holds multiple patents for drug pharmacology and discovery. He was also a tenure-track Assistant Professor at Ohio State University where his laboratory focused on the development of human TME-aligned models to better translate preclinical data into the clinic and discover novel biomarkers. Prior to Dr. Hall’s career in life sciences, he served in the United States Air Force and worked as an investment banker. Dr. Hall received his B.S. in biochemistry from Ohio State University, his Ph.D. in immunology and cancer biology from West Virginia University, and completed his post-doctoral fellowship in cancer cell epigenetics at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.

Developing medicines for broad populations of cancer patients, Brett Hall, CSO, Immuneering

Synopsis: 
Ivana Magovčević-Liebisch, PhD, JD, is the President and CEO of Vigil Neuroscience, a microglia-focused company dedicated to improving the lives of patients, caregivers, and families affected by rare and common neurodegenerative diseases by restoring the vigilance of microglia, the sentinel cells of the brain’s immune system. Ivana shares how sitting on boards of other companies has informed how she operates as CEO at Vigil. She talks about how she’s seen her role evolve as the company has grown over the last three years. She discusses the importance of having diversity and diversity of thought on the leadership team. She provides her perspective on neurology as a therapeutic area, where unmet needs still exist, and the challenges and opportunities in precision-based neurology. Finally, she shares her approach to building culture at Vigil.

Biography: 
Ivana is an accomplished pharmaceutical and biotechnology executive focused on corporate excellence and execution. She has over 20 years of senior management experience in financing, strategic partnerships, M&A, clinical development, regulatory affairs, commercialization, legal and IP strategies, and preparation and execution of operating plans. Prior to Vigil, Ivana was Executive Vice President (EVP) and Chief Business Officer at Ipsen where she was responsible for fueling the pipeline through external innovation and led the External Innovation, Business Development and Alliance Management functions. Prior to Ipsen, Ivana was EVP, Chief Strategy and Corporate Development Officer at Axcella Health, Senior VP (SVP) and Head of Global Business Development for the specialty drug business at Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. She previously worked at Dyax Corp in management roles including EVP and Chief Operating Officer where she launched the company’s first drug, Kalbitor® for an orphan indication, Hereditary Angioedema, and at Transkaryotic Therapies, Inc. Ivana serves as a member of the Board of Directors for Aeglea BioTherapeutics, Inc. Ivana holds a PhD in Genetics from Harvard University and received her JD in High Technology law from Suffolk University Law School.

Harnessing the power of microglia, Ivana Magovčević-Liebisch, President & CEO, Vigil Neuroscience

Synopsis: 
Bobak Azamiam, MD, Ph.D., is the CEO and Chairman of Tarsus Pharmaceuticals, a biopharmaceutical company that applies proven science and new technology to revolutionize treatment for patients, starting with eye care. Bobby talks about his early years working in the venture capital space before founding his first company. He shares what it’s like running a publicly traded biotech for the first time and the evolution of his role over the years at Tarsus. He shares his viewpoint on unmet needs and the importance of having a true focus on what’s really happening to the patient. He talks about future indications they’re pursuing at the company and how he leverages learnings from the first programs they ran to what’s coming up next. Finally, he discusses the company’s decision to commercialize in-house versus with a partner and the challenges of taking the company public during the pandemic in 2020.

Biography: 
Bobby cofounded Tarsus Pharmaceuticals, Inc. with Michael Ackermann in November 2016 and has served as its President and CEO since September 2018. He has served as the company’s Chairman since December 2022. Since its founding, Tarsus has established a leading team and culture and has completed successful fundraising efforts through multiple private and public financings and global partnerships. Tarsus recently secured FDA approval for its first product, XDEMVY™ (lotilaner ophthalmic solution) 0.25%, which is the first and only FDA-approved treatment in the United States for the eyelid disease Demodex blepharitis. Beyond XDEMVY, Tarsus continues to advance its pipeline into Phase 2 clinical studies evaluating therapies that have the potential to create new categories to treat other major diseases, including meibomian gland disease, rosacea, and Lyme disease prevention.
 
Bobby has cofounded and led other novel therapeutics companies, including Vibrato Medical and Metavention, and currently serves on the board of Vibrato Medical and as Chairman of the board of Osanni Bio. Bobby began his biotechnology career at Versant Ventures and Third Rock Ventures, where he was an investor and board observer for a variety of life sciences companies. He also served on the board of the nonprofit organization Octane.
 
Bobby trained as a physician scientist, completing his residency in internal medicine and serving as an attending hospitalist at Brigham and Women’s Hospital. He received an MD from Harvard Medical School (Harvard-MIT Health Sciences and Technology), a PhD in chemistry from Oxford University as a Rhodes Scholar, and a BA in physics from Rice University. He is also an author of numerous patents and peer-reviewed publications. Bobby enjoys sports, travel, arts and culture, and spending time in Newport Beach with his newborn son, wife, and dog.

Biotech 2050

Biotech 2050 Podcast by Biotech 2050

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