The BioCentury Show

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Latest episode

Aug 2026

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About the show

Tune in to BioCentury’s in-depth conversations with global leaders who are advancing the future of medicine. Join our Senior Editors in face-to-face discussions with scientific KOLs, top executives, VCs, and key policymakers, dissecting the most urgent public health issues. The BioCentury Show is THE only place where BioCentury’s experts join top innovators and global influencers to show how science is being turned into medicine. Don't miss this event, every two weeks, now available as a video webcast or audio podcast .

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60 recent

September 4, 2026Episode 11831 min

Ep. 118 - Regeneron's Gonçalo Abecasis on turning genetic data into drug targets

On This Edition of The BioCentury Show , Gonçalo Abecasis, SVP and Chief Genomics and Data Sciences Officer at the Regeneron Genetics Center, joins BioCentury’s Tierney Baum to discuss genetics as a scalable drug discovery platform and the practical use of AI in genomics. View full story: https://www.biocentury.com/article/660697 #Genomics #DrugDiscovery #AI #GeneticMedicines #ClinicalTrials 0:00 - Introduction 1:14 - Regeneron Genetics Center 10:29 - Acting on Genetic Signals 16:57 - Getting to Drug Development 21:51 - Best AI Use Cases

August 21, 2026Episode 11729 min

Ep. 117 - C-Path's Klaus Romero on moving genetic medicines beyond one patient

The Critical Path Institute’s One to Millions Initiative is using individualized rare disease therapies as the starting point for a development framework that could eventually extend across all genetically defined diseases. The initiative seeks to bring form to FDA’s Plausible Mechanism Framework by standardizing how evidence and methods can be reused across therapies and patients. In conversation with Biopharma Analyst Dr. Tierney Baum on The BioCentury Show , C-Path CEO and CSO Klaus Romero discusses how the principal bottleneck is no longer the ability to design therapies for individual patients but rather the absence of a standardized regulatory and development system that can translate one success into many. C-Path plans to bring companies, academics, patient groups, and regulators together to share data and address recurring development bottlenecks. View full story: https://www.biocentury.com/article/660583 #GeneticMedicines #RareDisease #DrugDevelopment #RegulatoryScience #ClinicalTrials 00:00 - Introduction 01:44 - Current Framework 07:01 - Process-based Regulation 13:57 - Overcoming Bottlenecks 20:28 - Use of AI 25:25 - Beyond Rare Diseases

August 7, 2026Episode 11632 min

Ep. 116 - Ovid's Jeremy Levin on biotech in the balance

Throughout his career, which has included serving as president and CEO of Teva, chair of BIO, and a leader or senior executive of large and small biopharma companies, Jeremy Levin has challenged the industry to live up to its ideals. In an interview with BioCentury Washington Editor Steve Usdin, Levin discussed why he believes industry leaders should speak out, and why many remain silent, about critical issues. He described concerns about the strength of the pillars that support the U.S. biotech industry, and why he is optimistic about the future of biotech. View full story: https://www.biocentury.com/article/660408 #Biotech #DrugPricing #BiopharmaPolicy #ChinaBiotech #Innovation 00:00 - Introduction 03:24 - Biotech Under Threat 10:38 - CEO Compensation 15:39 - Competing with China 22:08 - U.S. Policy Prescriptions 30:00 - Looking Ahead

July 23, 2026Episode 11540 min

Ep. 115 - Initiate's Owens on what it takes to be AI-native

As AI becomes increasingly commoditized, Initiate Ventures' Jessica Owens argues healthcare and life sciences companies need to use it to solve historically intractable problems, not just streamline workflows. On The BioCentury Show , Owens breaks down how she evaluates founders, when Initiate chooses to fund versus co-found a company, and why she believes proprietary data now matters more than any proprietary model. Owens also discusses gaps in evidence generation for diagnostics, and closes with a look at MASH, arguing that better non-invasive fibrosis staging will become increasingly critical as more GLP-1 combination therapies reach patients. View full story: https://www.biocentury.com/article/660203 #AI #VentureCapital #Diagnostics #HealthTech #DrugDevelopment 00:00 - Introduction 01:15 - Initiate Ventures' Thesis 07:04 - What Makes Founders Fundable 17:36 - Defining AI Native Healthcare 23:20 - Diagnostics & Evidence Generation 36:44 - Non-Invasive Fibrosis Testing

July 10, 2026Episode 11441 min

Ep. 114 - Roivant’s Matt Gline on commercial launches and the future of the vant model

Roivant CEO Matt Gline calls the company’s move beyond spinning out subsidiary “vants” to concentrating on late-stage programs and commercial launches less a pivot than an evolution toward an original goal, which could soon be realized with the approval and launch of brepocitinib this year. In conversation with Lindsay Martin on The BioCentury Show , Gline discussed how Roivant’s initial hub-and-spoke approach has provided the foundation needed for the company to develop and commercialize its portfolio now, including lead program JAK-1/TYK2 inhibitor brepocitinib. Gline also discussed how he views AI at Roivant and more broadly in biopharma R&D, the science behind Roivant’s next most advanced program, Phase III anti-FcRN mAb imeroprubart and the lessons he’s taking from a “graduating class” of biotechs that have launched programs, like Alnylam and Argenx S.E. View full story: https://www.biocentury.com/article/660059 #DrugDevelopment #BiotechInnovation #Commercialization #ArtificialIntelligence #BiopharmaStrategy 00:00 - Introduction 00:42 - Roivant’s Evolution 09:19 - AI in R&D 17:48 - Lead Asset Brepocitinib 28:23 - Anti-FcRN mAb Imeroprubart 32:23 - China 37:55 - What’s Next for Roivant

June 25, 2026Episode 11335 min

Ep. 113 - Frank Jiang on Hengrui’s rise and China’s new era of biopharma dealmaking

Launched in the 1970s as a generics company, Hengrui has become China’s leading innovator in R&D and dealmaking, with more than 100 NMEs in the pipeline and broad alliances with GSK and BMS. Under the leadership of Frank Jiang, EVP and chief strategy officer, Hengrui is engaging in a range of dealmaking and using its partnerships as stepping stones toward its goal of becoming one of the top biopharma companies in the world. In conversation with Executive Editor Jeff Cranmer on The BioCentury Show , Jiang describes the evolution of China’s biotech ecosystem — and Hengrui's — toward first-order innovation and the changing nature of deals in China, from straightforward licensing deals with “safe money” to NewCo deals and “co-co” partnerships. View full story: https://www.biocentury.com/article/659912 #ChinaBiotech #BiopharmaInnovation #DrugDevelopment #StrategicPartnerships #GlobalBiotech 00:00 - Introduction 01:32 - Evolution of China Biotech 08:43 - China Deals 17:23 - Hengrui’s Evolution 24:43 - Shareholder Base 26:42 - Deals

June 18, 2026Episode 11240 min

Ep. 112 - Chris Arendt on rebuilding Takeda for AI

Chris Arendt, CSO of Takeda, likens the AI overhaul at the pharma to gutting and rebuilding an old house, from the plumbing and electrical up, while you’re still living there. In a Fireside Chat at Grand Rounds U.S. in Seattle, Arendt sat down with Editor in Chief Simone Fishburn to discuss how Takeda is integrating AI across R&D, in and beyond the science, while still executing on the active programs in drug development. View full story: https://www.biocentury.com/article/659807 #ArtificialIntelligence #PharmaInnovation #DrugDevelopment #DigitalTransformation #ResearchAndDevelopment 00:00 - Introduction 02:07 - Revamping Takeda for AI 19:03 - Teams & Talent 26:43 - Alliances 32:50 - Q&A

June 12, 2026Episode 11136 min

Ep. 111 - McGill's Angela Genge on why ALS drug development is turning a corner

ALS drug development has long been hampered by heterogeneity, but Angela Genge — neurologist at McGill University and CMO of AL-S Pharma — argues the field is getting closer to making that heterogeneity tractable. On The BioCentury Show , Genge discusses progress in pathway prioritization, progression-rate prediction, and endpoint standardization with BioCentury's Selina Koch. On the biology side, Genge expects the field to converge on a small number of high-priority pathways. SOD1 is the first validated example, and AL-S Pharma is now testing whether misfolded SOD1 marks a treatable subset of sporadic ALS. On biomarkers, she's optimistic a TDP-43 marker could arrive within two years. View full story: https://www.biocentury.com/article/659713 #ALS #DrugDevelopment #ClinicalTrials #Biomarkers #ALSResearch 00:00 - Introduction 02:03 - ALS Mechanistic Diversity 06:13 - Trial Design Challenges 16:52 - Biomarker Toolkit Update 24:20 - ALS Pharma & SOD1

May 28, 2026Episode 11037 min

Ep. 110 - Richard Pops on Three Decades in Biotech: Drug pricing, FDA and China

Richard Pops has lived the biotech roller coaster over three decades as CEO of Alkermes: an IPO, M&A, near-death events for his company, FDA setbacks, battles with an activist investor, and the satisfaction of knowing that millions of patients have benefited from the company’s medicines. He has led PDUFA reauthorization negotiations for industry, chaired BIO, and advocated for the interests of mid-sized biotechs. As Pops prepares to retire as CEO (he will remain chairman), he spoke with BioCentury Washington Editor Steve Usdin about the ways policy and economics shape the development of medicines. Pops discussed the impact of the Trump administration’s most favored nation (MFN) drug pricing policy and the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), concerns about FDA’s loss of talent, and competition and collaboration with China’s life sciences sector. View full story: https://www.biocentury.com/article/659601 #DrugPricing #BiotechLeadership #FDAPolicy #LifeSciencesPolicy #DrugDevelopment 00:00 - Introduction 01:40 - Alkermes’ Evolution 05:12 - PBMs, Pricing & Access 10:54 - IRA 18:14 - MFN 24:36 - PDUFA Negotiations 28:05 - FDA Staffing 31:40 - China & U.S. Policy

May 15, 2026Episode 10936 min

Ep. 109 - Mind the Gap: Karen Knudsen on Fixing Cancer Drug Development

Karen Knudsen, CEO of the Parker Institute for Cancer Immunotherapy, believes the central problem in cancer drug development is not discovery, but a broken “translational middle.” In a wide-ranging interview on The BioCentury Show with BioCentury Washington Editor Steve Usdin, Knudsen discussed the Parker Institute’s focus on accelerating the path from scientific breakthrough to medical impact. As it approaches its tenth anniversary, the institute has deployed about $400 million , catalyzing roughly $4 billion in follow-on investment across 17 companies. View full story: https://www.biocentury.com/article/659476 #CancerImmunotherapy #TranslationalScience #DrugDevelopment #Biopharma #CancerResearch 00:00 - Introduction 01:34 - Optimizing Translation 07:42 - Training the Immune System 16:33 - China’s Opportunity 20:50 - Need for a Cancer Strategy 24:40 - Enhancing Cancer Survivorship 27:55 - Scientific Foundation Under Threat