pharmaphorum Podcast

Hosted by pharmaphorum

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Episodes

351

Latest episode

Aug 2026

Language

EN-US

About the show

pharmaphorum is one of the leading global channels for insight into the pharma and healthcare industry – and is essentially a group of passionate people who like asking excellent questions. Our podcasts offer a chance to pose some of these questions to the keenest minds in our industry to look at the big issues and opportunities facing pharma, biotech and healthcare today. With interviews and contributions from a host of industry experts and insiders, the pharmaphorum podcast is a must-listen for those who want insight into the future of health and medicine.

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60 recent

August 19, 2026Episode 27235 min

Understanding Operation Trialblazer, with Dr Harpreet Singh

For a variety of reasons, early stage clinical trials have been moving out of the United States more and more over the past few years, as companies pursue savings and lighter regulatory burden in places like China and Australia. The industry has long urged the US government to take some action to make it more attractive to bring these trials back to the States. That's the broad idea behind Operation TRIALBLAZER, a campaign launched this summer by HHS and the FDA. On today's podcast, host Jonah Comstock is joined by Dr Harpreet Singh, currently chief medical officer at Precision for Medicine. That's her first private sector job after nearly nine years at the FDA, so she's able to bring both an insider and outsider perspective in discussing this initiative. In addition to sharing some details about her time at the FDA and how the organisation has changed, Dr Singh discusses the situation in clinical research that's led to the US' leadership in clinical trials slipping away, what's in the Trialblazer plans, and whether she thinks it will be enough to turn the tide. They also talk a little bit about radiotherapeutics regulation and discuss why having clinical trials in the United States is important not just for the economy, but also for patients who are missing out on opportunities for cutting-edge care. Tune in for a fascinating primer on a major new US government clinical trials initiative.

August 4, 2026Episode 27115 min

Prevent-Stop-Cure: Diagnostics & chronic liver disease, with Roche

Chronic liver disease affects around 1.5 billion people globally. As understanding of liver disease improves, outcomes are increasingly determined by how early patients are identified, not just what therapies are available. In a new pharmaphorum podcast, web editor Nicole Raleigh speaks with Lee Lehman Becker, Roche’s global head of healthcare insights at Roche Information Solutions (RIS), for a discussion of the liver disease epidemic that is being diagnosed too late and driving a growing health system crisis globally. The conversation also explores scalable diagnostic innovation and the role of this in addressing health system burden – metabolic liver disease projected to affect some 1.8 billion people by 2050, with global costs expected to exceed $2.3 trillion. You can listen to episode 271 of the pharmaphorum podcast in the player below, download the episode to your computer, or find it – and subscribe to the rest of the series – on Apple Podcasts , Spotify , Overcast, Pocket Casts, Podbean , and pretty much wherever else you download your other podcasts from.

July 30, 2026Episode 27029 min

Policy in Focus: What’s new with CMS drug price negotiation, with Alice Valder Curran

The drug price negotiation provisions in the Inflation Reduction Act were designed to continue evolving with each passing year. As CMS prepares for 2028 and 2029, the agency has put out new draft guidance codifying and, in some cases, modifying the fine print of the controversial law. They’ve also recently issued additional draft guidance on how they’ll handle the imminent introduction of Part B drugs into the programme. Hogan Lovells partner Alice Valder Curran returned to join pharmaphorum editor-in-chief Jonah Comstock to elucidate some of the finer points of this latest communication from CMS – and to urge the industry to take advantage of the public comment periods associated with it. Curran and Comstock discuss small, but impactful, changes in CMS’s policies around deemed biologics, vaccines, and the special provisions that protect small biotechs. And Curran gives a rundown of what’s in – as well as what’s not in – the new MFP effectuation guidance, laying out how the differences in how Part D and Part B drugs are paid for leave some big question marks hanging over the programme. Tune in for an easy-to-understand deep dive into some complicated subject matter, and for a more comprehensive rundown don’t forget to check out Hogan Lovells’ policy briefs on the new draft rules and the MFP effectuation guidance.

July 21, 2026Episode 26916 min

CAMP4 on a new class of ASO in gene under expression

SYNGAP1-related disorder negatively impacts synaptic signalling during critical periods of brain development, leading to a range of cognitive, epileptic, behavioural, and motor symptoms. In a new episode of the pharmaphorum podcast, web editor Nicole Raleigh spoke with Kelly Gold, CFO of CAMP4 Therapeutics, about antisense oligonucleotides (or ASOs) - medicines designed to selectively restore natural protein production in diseases caused by gene under expression. Gold discusses the space and CAMP4’s CMP-002 study, targeting the regRNA associated SYNGAP1 gene. You can listen to episode 269 of the pharmaphorum podcast in the player below, download the episode to your computer, or find it – and subscribe to the rest of the series – on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Overcast, Pocket Casts, Podbean, and pretty much wherever else you download your other podcasts from.

July 14, 2026Episode 26820 min

BonelliErede on M&A in Europe: Andrea Carta Mantiglia

The M&A market has been rebounding in the US, driven by factors like patent cliffs and improved balance sheets – but the question is whether this will play out in Europe and how the wave could differ. In a new pharmaphorum podcast, web editor Nicole Raleigh speaks with Andrea Carta Mantiglia, partner and lead of the Healthcare & Life Sciences Focus Team at Italian law firm BonelliErede, about whether the current US biotech M&A surge will indeed extend into Europe. The conversation touches upon the appetite for cross-border dealmaking, the growing role of private equity in European pharma and medtech, generational exits among family-owned pharma groups in Italy, and the role of digitalisation in all this. You can listen to episode 268 of the pharmaphorum podcast in the player below, download the episode to your computer, or find it – and subscribe to the rest of the series – on Apple Podcasts , Spotify , Overcast, Pocket Casts, Podbean , and pretty much wherever else you download your other podcasts from.

July 7, 2026Episode 26715 min

Purespring on nephrology & gene therapy in kidney disease

Purespring Therapeutics is a precision nephrology company pioneering first-in-class, targeted genetic therapies designed to preserve kidney function. In a new pharmaphorum podcast, web editor Nicole Raleigh speaks with Haseeb Ahmad, CEO of Purespring, who discusses transforming the treatment of kidney disease, an area of enormous unmet need, with more than 840 million people worldwide living with chronic kidney disease. Indeed, Purespring’s lead programme is the podocyte-targeted gene therapy PS-002, which is for IgA nephropathy (or IgAN). The conversation also touches upon the evolution of the gene therapy landscape more generally, and where next with this type of innovation in the nephrology space. You can listen to episode 267 of the pharmaphorum podcast in the player below, download the episode to your computer, or find it – and subscribe to the rest of the series – on Apple Podcasts , Spotify , Overcast, Pocket Casts, Podbean , and pretty much wherever else you download your other podcasts from.

June 30, 2026Episode 26615 min

Parexel: Flawless execution, policy shifts & patient-centric design

Europe's biotech sector is facing an innovation cliff, with fewer clinical starts, tighter capital, and increasing development complexity. In a new pharmaphorum podcast, web editor Nicole Raleigh caught up with Paul Bridges, president, consulting, at Parexel, and Charlotte Moser, Parexel’s chief medical officer, following BIO-Europe Spring in Lisbon, Portugal. The conversation touches upon regulatory strategy and evolving policy shifts, trial design and execution – and the importance of patient centricity – as well as AI in drug development and medical leadership in drug development today. You can listen to episode 266 of the pharmaphorum podcast in the player below, download the episode to your computer, or find it – and subscribe to the rest of the series – on Apple Podcasts , Spotify , Overcast, Pocket Casts, Podbean , and pretty much wherever else you download your other podcasts from.

June 23, 2026Episode 26513 min

Citius’ Leonard Mazur talks targeted immune therapy for CTCL

Cutaneous T-cell lymphoma (or CTCL) is a rare form of non-Hodgkin lymphoma that begins in T lymphocytes, a kind of white blood cell that plays a crucial role in the immune system. And Citius Oncology is focused on developing and commercialising a targeted immune therapy for the initial indication of the treatment of persistent or recurrent CTCL. In a new pharmaphorum podcast, web editor Nicole Raleigh spoke with Leonard Mazur, CEO and Chairman of Citius Pharmaceuticals about the launch of its first FDA-approved drug, Lymphir, for CTCL. Mazur discusses the landscape of unmet need in this space, as well as Citius’ advancement of clinical trials in other areas without approved treatments and the future horizon for such oncological innovations. You can listen to episode 265 of the pharmaphorum podcast in the player below, download the episode to your computer, or find it – and subscribe to the rest of the series – on Apple Podcasts , Spotify , Overcast, Pocket Casts, Podbean , and pretty much wherever else you download your other podcasts from.

June 17, 2026Episode 26414 min

Radiopharma in 2026 & beyond, with ITM's Dr Andrew Cavey

The radiopharmaceutical sector is in the midst of a transformative year in 2026, with significant developments and challenges, including policy and reimbursement, increasing demand and growth within precision oncology and molecular imaging, and the need for specialised CDMOs when it comes to the intricate nature of radiopharmaceutical manufacturing. In a new pharmaphorum podcast, web editor Nicole Raleigh speaks with Dr Andrew Cavey, CEO of ITM, about current and future radiopharmaceutical trends. Dr Cavey discusses the evolution of radiopharma, beyond the original “two pillars” of GEP-NETs and PSMA, including the move towards a multi-isotope model, as well as ITM’s pipeline and the potential growth of the broader radiopharma ecosystem going forward. You can listen to episode 263 of the pharmaphorum podcast in the player below, download the episode to your computer, or find it – and subscribe to the rest of the series – on Apple Podcasts , Spotify , Overcast, Pocket Casts, Podbean , and pretty much wherever else you download your other podcasts from.

June 10, 2026Episode 26313 min

Biosimilars & patient access independent of geographies or socioeconomics, with Rebecca Guntern

2026 is the year of a major wave of pharmaceutical patent expirations, with numerous blockbuster drugs – spanning diabetes, immunology, cardiovascular, oncology, and other therapeutic areas – on the verge of losing market exclusivity. In a new pharmaphorum podcast, web editor Nicole Raleigh speaks with Rebecca Guntern, chief commercial officer at Sandoz, for a conversation on the ‘golden decade’ for generics and biosimilars as so many blockbuster drugs come off patent. Guntern discusses why the current wave of blockbuster biologics losing exclusivity is so significant for patient access and healthcare budgets, and the conversation also touches upon policy and regulatory changes still needed in order to unlock the full potential of biosimilars, as well as what should be expected from the next generation of biosimilars. You can listen to episode 263 of the pharmaphorum podcast in the player below, download the episode to your computer, or find it – and subscribe to the rest of the series – on Apple Podcasts , Spotify , Overcast, Pocket Casts, Podbean , and pretty much wherever else you download your other podcasts from.