<description>Synopsis: 

This episode is proudly sponsored by Quartzy.

In this far-reaching conversation, Rahul Chaturvedi speaks with John Lepore, CEO &amp; President of ProFound Therapeutics and CEO-Partner at Flagship Pioneering, tracing a career shaped by a deep commitment to understanding the causal machinery of human disease. John shares how a Harvard-trained physician-scientist evolved into a biotech leader building one of the industry’s most ambitious platform companies.

Reflecting on 17 years at GSK — from academic cardiologist to running global research — John describes the moment he realized traditional target discovery had reached its limits. That insight propelled him into Flagship’s venture-creation ecosystem and ultimately into leading ProFound Therapeutics, where the team is uncovering tens of thousands of previously unknown human proteins that could fundamentally reshape drug discovery and unlock true first-in-class opportunities.

John also offers a candid look at today’s biotech leadership realities: navigating capital-tight markets, fostering high-trust pharma partnerships, making disciplined early kill decisions, and using AI to extract causal insights from vast proteomic datasets. Together, he and Rahul explore why the expanded human proteome may be medicine’s next great frontier — and what it takes, scientifically and psychologically, to lead a company bold enough to pursue it.

Biography:

John Lepore, M.D., is CEO and President of ProFound Therapeutics and CEO-Partner at Flagship Pioneering, where he is leading a new era of drug discovery by harnessing the expanded proteome to build a pipeline of first-in-class medicines. A physician-scientist and accomplished pharma executive, he joined ProFound following a 17-year career at GSK, where he was most recently SVP, Head of Research, leading a 2,500+ person global team and driving a renewed focus on immunology and human genetics across target discovery and validation, modality platforms, drug discovery, and clinical translation. He also chaired GSK’s Research Review and Investment Board, guiding capital allocation and R&amp;D strategy. Under his leadership, GSK advanced 15 Phase 1 programs with first- or best-in-class potential and executed $1B+ in strategic R&amp;D deals. Before joining the biopharma industry, Dr. Lepore was a faculty cardiologist and research investigator at the University of Pennsylvania, where his lab investigated the transcription regulation of cardiovascular development. He currently serves on the boards of ProFound, KSQ Therapeutics, and the Innovation Growth Board of Mass General Brigham. Dr. Lepore received his B.S. in Biology from the University of Scranton and his M.D. from Harvard Medical School, after which he completed his residency and post-doctoral training at Massachusetts General Hospital and the Harvard School of Public Health.</description>

Synopsis: 

This episode is proudly sponsored by …

Synopsis: 

This episode is proudly sponsored by Quartzy.

In this far-reaching conversation, Rahul Chaturvedi speaks with John Lepore, CEO & President of ProFound Therapeutics and CEO-Partner at Flagship Pioneering, tracing a career shaped by a deep commitment to understanding the causal machinery of human disease. John shares how a Harvard-trained physician-scientist evolved into a biotech leader building one of the industry’s most ambitious platform companies.

Reflecting on 17 years at GSK — from academic cardiologist to running global research — John describes the moment he realized traditional target discovery had reached its limits. That insight propelled him into Flagship’s venture-creation ecosystem and ultimately into leading ProFound Therapeutics, where the team is uncovering tens of thousands of previously unknown human proteins that could fundamentally reshape drug discovery and unlock true first-in-class opportunities.

John also offers a candid look at today’s biotech leadership realities: navigating capital-tight markets, fostering high-trust pharma partnerships, making disciplined early kill decisions, and using AI to extract causal insights from vast proteomic datasets. Together, he and Rahul explore why the expanded human proteome may be medicine’s next great frontier — and what it takes, scientifically and psychologically, to lead a company bold enough to pursue it.

Biography:

John Lepore, M.D., is CEO and President of ProFound Therapeutics and CEO-Partner at Flagship Pioneering, where he is leading a new era of drug discovery by harnessing the expanded proteome to build a pipeline of first-in-class medicines. A physician-scientist and accomplished pharma executive, he joined ProFound following a 17-year career at GSK, where he was most recently SVP, Head of Research, leading a 2,500+ person global team and driving a renewed focus on immunology and human genetics across target discovery and validation, modality platforms, drug discovery, and clinical translation. He also chaired GSK’s Research Review and Investment Board, guiding capital allocation and R&D strategy. Under his leadership, GSK advanced 15 Phase 1 programs with first- or best-in-class potential and executed $1B+ in strategic R&D deals. Before joining the biopharma industry, Dr. Lepore was a faculty cardiologist and research investigator at the University of Pennsylvania, where his lab investigated the transcription regulation of cardiovascular development. He currently serves on the boards of ProFound, KSQ Therapeutics, and the Innovation Growth Board of Mass General Brigham. Dr. Lepore received his B.S. in Biology from the University of Scranton and his M.D. from Harvard Medical School, after which he completed his residency and post-doctoral training at Massachusetts General Hospital and the Harvard School of Public Health.

John Lepore, CEO & President - ProFound Therapeutics, on Proteome, AI, & Bold First-in-Class Drugs

<description>Synopsis: 

This episode is proudly sponsored by Quartzy.

Biotech is undergoing a scientific redesign, and Jason Kelly reveals to host Alok Tayi how automation, AI-ready datasets, and modular lab technologies are reshaping the future of R&amp;D. Jason explains why legacy biopharma data—messy, inconsistent, and lacking metadata—cannot power modern machine learning, and why the industry must generate entirely new, massively standardized experimental datasets to unlock AI’s true potential.

He walks through Ginkgo’s evolution from platform partnerships to a next-generation CRO built for AI-driven discovery, offering industrialized functional genomics, mammalian engineering, CRISPR libraries, and high-throughput developability assays at unprecedented scale. Jason also describes how Ginkgo’s reconfigurable automation systems—robotic building blocks that replace 18-month custom builds—are democratizing high-throughput experimentation and making advanced lab infrastructure as flexible as cloud computing.

Together, Jason and Alok explore how the fusion of automation and AI can collapse R&amp;D timelines, rewrite cost structures, and enable thousands of new biotech companies to test ideas faster than ever before. For scientists, engineers, and AI practitioners, this episode offers a compelling look at the new scientific architecture emerging at the intersection of robotics, data, and programmable biology.

Biography:

Dr. Jason Kelly is the co-founder and CEO of Ginkgo Bioworks. He took the company public and raised $1.6B in the largest US biotech public listing to date in 2021.  Today the company is pioneering autonomous labs that accelerate bioengineering across biopharma, agriculture, and industrial biotech industries. Jason also previously served as the Chair of the US National Security Commission on Emerging Biotechnology which oversees how advancements in emerging biotechnology will shape current and future activities of the US Department of Defense.  Prior to Ginkgo, Jason received B.S. degrees in Chemical Engineering and Biology and a PhD in Biological Engineering all from MIT.</description>

Synopsis: 

This episode is proudly sponsored by Quartzy.

Biotech is undergoing a scientific redesign, and Jason Kelly reveals to host Alok Tayi how automation, AI-ready datasets, and modular lab technologies are reshaping the future of R&D. Jason explains why legacy biopharma data—messy, inconsistent, and lacking metadata—cannot power modern machine learning, and why the industry must generate entirely new, massively standardized experimental datasets to unlock AI’s true potential.

He walks through Ginkgo’s evolution from platform partnerships to a next-generation CRO built for AI-driven discovery, offering industrialized functional genomics, mammalian engineering, CRISPR libraries, and high-throughput developability assays at unprecedented scale. Jason also describes how Ginkgo’s reconfigurable automation systems—robotic building blocks that replace 18-month custom builds—are democratizing high-throughput experimentation and making advanced lab infrastructure as flexible as cloud computing.

Together, Jason and Alok explore how the fusion of automation and AI can collapse R&D timelines, rewrite cost structures, and enable thousands of new biotech companies to test ideas faster than ever before. For scientists, engineers, and AI practitioners, this episode offers a compelling look at the new scientific architecture emerging at the intersection of robotics, data, and programmable biology.

Biography:

Dr. Jason Kelly is the co-founder and CEO of Ginkgo Bioworks. He took the company public and raised $1.6B in the largest US biotech public listing to date in 2021.  Today the company is pioneering autonomous labs that accelerate bioengineering across biopharma, agriculture, and industrial biotech industries. Jason also previously served as the Chair of the US National Security Commission on Emerging Biotechnology which oversees how advancements in emerging biotechnology will shape current and future activities of the US Department of Defense.  Prior to Ginkgo, Jason received B.S. degrees in Chemical Engineering and Biology and a PhD in Biological Engineering all from MIT.

Jason Kelly - Ginkgo Bioworks CEO and Co-Founder on Automation, AI Data & Biotech’s Reset

<description>Synopsis: 

In a conversation rich with strategic insight, Coya Therapeutics CEO Arun Swaminathan unpacks the intersections of scientific innovation, business development discipline, and capital-efficient execution that define today’s most resilient biotechs. With a 25-year foundation spanning R&amp;D, clinical pharmacology, marketing, and BD, Arun offers investors a rare systems-level lens on how neurodegenerative programs progress from hypothesis to value inflection.

Through his dialogue with host Alok Tayi, he breaks down Coya’s differentiated Treg-modulating platform and the data emerging across ALS, FTD, and Alzheimer’s. He explains why Coya’s dual-mechanism approach—restoring regulatory T-cell function while reshaping the neuroinflammatory environment—is uniquely poised to change patient trajectories.

Arun also delves into the structural logic behind Coya’s partnership with Dr. Reddy’s, demonstrating how complementary strengths in manufacturing, commercialization, and regulatory strategy can dramatically shift both timelines and capital needs. For investors tracking macro trends, he contextualizes shifting interest rates, pipeline gaps, and rising M&amp;A momentum—and why 2026 may mark the beginning of a healthier biotech cycle.
A must-listen for anyone evaluating platform durability, risk mitigation strategies, and next-generation neurodegenerative therapeutics.

Biography:

Arun Swaminathan, Ph.D., has over 20 years of hands-on healthcare business executive experience with an emphasis on corporate and business development, strategy, and finance. He possesses a demonstrated history of prospecting, evaluating, structuring, and closing company validating transactions that augment both organizational and shareholder value.

Prior to joining Coya, Arun served as Chief Business Officer (CBO) for Actinium Pharmaceuticals (NYSE: ATNM) where he was responsible for all business development. Within 1 year of joining Actinium, he successfully moved forward negotiations to closure and executed a $452M deal with $35M upfront. Prior to Actinium, he was the CBO at Alteogen (196170.KQ) where he spearheaded over $6B in deals, including deals with two of the top 10 global pharma companies and a $1B+ deal within the first year of assuming the role of CBO. Prior to this, he co-founded and served as CEO of Lynkogen Inc, a pre-clinical stage biotech.

Arun began his career in clinical development and commercial roles of increasing responsibility at BristolMyers Squibb and Covance. He obtained his Ph.D. in pharmaceutical sciences from the University of Pittsburgh.</description>

Synopsis: 

In a conversation rich with strategic…

Synopsis: 

In a conversation rich with strategic insight, Coya Therapeutics CEO Arun Swaminathan unpacks the intersections of scientific innovation, business development discipline, and capital-efficient execution that define today’s most resilient biotechs. With a 25-year foundation spanning R&D, clinical pharmacology, marketing, and BD, Arun offers investors a rare systems-level lens on how neurodegenerative programs progress from hypothesis to value inflection.

Through his dialogue with host Alok Tayi, he breaks down Coya’s differentiated Treg-modulating platform and the data emerging across ALS, FTD, and Alzheimer’s. He explains why Coya’s dual-mechanism approach—restoring regulatory T-cell function while reshaping the neuroinflammatory environment—is uniquely poised to change patient trajectories.

Arun also delves into the structural logic behind Coya’s partnership with Dr. Reddy’s, demonstrating how complementary strengths in manufacturing, commercialization, and regulatory strategy can dramatically shift both timelines and capital needs. For investors tracking macro trends, he contextualizes shifting interest rates, pipeline gaps, and rising M&A momentum—and why 2026 may mark the beginning of a healthier biotech cycle.
A must-listen for anyone evaluating platform durability, risk mitigation strategies, and next-generation neurodegenerative therapeutics.

Biography:

Arun Swaminathan, Ph.D., has over 20 years of hands-on healthcare business executive experience with an emphasis on corporate and business development, strategy, and finance. He possesses a demonstrated history of prospecting, evaluating, structuring, and closing company validating transactions that augment both organizational and shareholder value.

Prior to joining Coya, Arun served as Chief Business Officer (CBO) for Actinium Pharmaceuticals (NYSE: ATNM) where he was responsible for all business development. Within 1 year of joining Actinium, he successfully moved forward negotiations to closure and executed a $452M deal with $35M upfront. Prior to Actinium, he was the CBO at Alteogen (196170.KQ) where he spearheaded over $6B in deals, including deals with two of the top 10 global pharma companies and a $1B+ deal within the first year of assuming the role of CBO. Prior to this, he co-founded and served as CEO of Lynkogen Inc, a pre-clinical stage biotech.

Arun began his career in clinical development and commercial roles of increasing responsibility at BristolMyers Squibb and Covance. He obtained his Ph.D. in pharmaceutical sciences from the University of Pittsburgh.

Arun Swaminathan: Coya CEO on Neuroinflammation, BD Strategy & Patient-Driven Biotech

<description>Synopsis: 

Nimbus Therapeutics CEO Abbas Kazimi walks Alok Tayi through the company’s evolving pipeline and playbook for choosing the right risks in a noisy biotech environment. From Werner helicase for MSI-high cancers to a highly selective SIK2 program and GLP-1–adjacent strategies focused on body composition, Abbas details how Nimbus balances rigor, speed, and capital efficiency.

He shares candid lessons from pausing and later resurrecting AMPK in partnership with Eli Lilly, the decision to remain modality-agnostic but small-molecule-centric, and the importance of knowing when not to chase the latest fad. Throughout, Abbas returns to a consistent theme: success at Nimbus comes from disciplined target selection, deep collaboration, and a culture that empowers teams to make hard calls in service of patients rather than headlines.
Biography:
Abbas Kazimi is the Chief Executive Officer of Nimbus Therapeutics. Previously, he served as Chief Business Officer, leading the company’s strategic and corporate development efforts while overseeing business operations. Since joining Nimbus in 2014, he has helped raise over $630 million in equity financing and led  transactions totaling more than $8 billion.
Notably, Mr. Kazimi spearheaded the $6 billion sale of Nimbus’s TYK2 program to Takeda, the $1.2 billion sale of its MASH (ACC) program to Gilead, and multiple licensing deals exceeding $1.5 billion with partners such as Genentech, Celgene/Roche, and Eli Lilly. Under his leadership, Nimbus has advanced four programs into the clinic, returned over $4 billion to investors, and continues to expand its computational drug discovery and clinical development capabilities.
In 2025, Mr. Kazimi joined the board of Unnatural Products (UNP), a biotech company pioneering orally delivered macrocyclic peptides to tackle previously undruggable targets. He also serves on the Editorial Advisory Board for In Vivo magazine, a leading publication offering strategic insights and analysis of the pharmaceutical, biotechnology, medtech, and consumer health industries. Along with his family, he established the Kazimi Family Endowment for Data Science in Oncology at MD Anderson Cancer Center. This endowment reflects their personal commitment to philanthropy and their vision for revolutionizing cancer treatment through data-driven innovation. 
At the core of Mr. Kazimi’s leadership is a deep sense of purpose—one that seeks to change the trajectory of medical diagnoses where options are limited. The ability to give patients, prescribers, and families a new outlook on life is a powerful responsibility—and one he knows the biopharmaceutical sector has the ability to fulfill.
Before Nimbus, he was at Extera Partners, LLC (formerly PureTech Development, LLC), where he provided strategic advisory, supported fundraising, and executed numerous business development transactions. Earlier in his career, he was with JSB-Partners, LP, a specialized investment banking and advisory firm serving biotech and pharmaceutical companies.
Mr. Kazimi holds a B.A. from the University of Texas at Austin and an M.S. from Harvard University.</description>

Synopsis: 

Nimbus Therapeutics CEO Abbas Kazimi …

Synopsis: 

Nimbus Therapeutics CEO Abbas Kazimi walks Alok Tayi through the company’s evolving pipeline and playbook for choosing the right risks in a noisy biotech environment. From Werner helicase for MSI-high cancers to a highly selective SIK2 program and GLP-1–adjacent strategies focused on body composition, Abbas details how Nimbus balances rigor, speed, and capital efficiency.

He shares candid lessons from pausing and later resurrecting AMPK in partnership with Eli Lilly, the decision to remain modality-agnostic but small-molecule-centric, and the importance of knowing when not to chase the latest fad. Throughout, Abbas returns to a consistent theme: success at Nimbus comes from disciplined target selection, deep collaboration, and a culture that empowers teams to make hard calls in service of patients rather than headlines.
Biography:
Abbas Kazimi is the Chief Executive Officer of Nimbus Therapeutics. Previously, he served as Chief Business Officer, leading the company’s strategic and corporate development efforts while overseeing business operations. Since joining Nimbus in 2014, he has helped raise over $630 million in equity financing and led  transactions totaling more than $8 billion.
Notably, Mr. Kazimi spearheaded the $6 billion sale of Nimbus’s TYK2 program to Takeda, the $1.2 billion sale of its MASH (ACC) program to Gilead, and multiple licensing deals exceeding $1.5 billion with partners such as Genentech, Celgene/Roche, and Eli Lilly. Under his leadership, Nimbus has advanced four programs into the clinic, returned over $4 billion to investors, and continues to expand its computational drug discovery and clinical development capabilities.
In 2025, Mr. Kazimi joined the board of Unnatural Products (UNP), a biotech company pioneering orally delivered macrocyclic peptides to tackle previously undruggable targets. He also serves on the Editorial Advisory Board for In Vivo magazine, a leading publication offering strategic insights and analysis of the pharmaceutical, biotechnology, medtech, and consumer health industries. Along with his family, he established the Kazimi Family Endowment for Data Science in Oncology at MD Anderson Cancer Center. This endowment reflects their personal commitment to philanthropy and their vision for revolutionizing cancer treatment through data-driven innovation. 
At the core of Mr. Kazimi’s leadership is a deep sense of purpose—one that seeks to change the trajectory of medical diagnoses where options are limited. The ability to give patients, prescribers, and families a new outlook on life is a powerful responsibility—and one he knows the biopharmaceutical sector has the ability to fulfill.
Before Nimbus, he was at Extera Partners, LLC (formerly PureTech Development, LLC), where he provided strategic advisory, supported fundraising, and executed numerous business development transactions. Earlier in his career, he was with JSB-Partners, LP, a specialized investment banking and advisory firm serving biotech and pharmaceutical companies.
Mr. Kazimi holds a B.A. from the University of Texas at Austin and an M.S. from Harvard University.

How Nimbus CEO Abbas Kazimi Builds Resilient Pipelines Through Culture, Rigor & Smart Bets

<description>
Synopsis: 

Jim Tananbaum, Founder &amp; CEO of Foresite Capital, joins Rahul Chaturvedi to dissect the patterns driving biotech innovation, the role of macroeconomic cycles in venture performance, and how disciplined science fuels enduring investment success.

Drawing from three decades across entrepreneurship and venture leadership, Jim reflects on his path from co-founding drug discovery startups with Harvard collaborators to building one of the most respected investment firms in life sciences. He unpacks how interest rate environments shape fund vintages, why AI is emerging as the next transformative platform, and how investors can identify enduring opportunities amid volatility.

Their discussion spans valuation compression, AI-driven discovery, CNS and Alzheimer’s innovation, and the geopolitical forces influencing biotech globally. Jim’s perspective offers a masterclass in balancing scientific rigor with strategic foresight — and in positioning capital where breakthrough innovation meets sustainable impact.

“Lean into areas where there’s likely to be immense change,” Jim advises — a principle as relevant to biotech investing as it is to shaping the future of healthcare itself.

Biography:

Jim is the founder and CEO of Foresite Capital, a healthcare investment firm founded in 2011 that has approximately $3.5B in assets under management. Jim assembles the people, ideas, and money needed to launch products that save lives and improve healthcare. 

During the last three decades, Jim has been a thought partner for some of the fastest-growing companies of their generation, including 10x Genomics (Nasdaq: TXG), Amerigroup (Nasdaq: ANTM), and Jazz Pharmaceuticals (Nasdaq: JAZZ).

Jim’s entrepreneurial experience began at Harvard Business School when he co-founded GelTex Pharmaceuticals (Nasdaq:GENZ). With less than $80M in funding, GelTex brought two drugs to market, and the company was acquired in 1999 for $1.4B. Jim was also the founding chief executive of Theravance, Inc. Under his tenure, he raised over $350M. Theravance has since split into two parts, one of which is now part of GSK’s respiratory franchise through a joint venture, Innoviva (Nasdaq: INVA), and the other was spun out into Theravance Biopharma, Inc. (Nasdaq: TBPH). Together, they achieved a market capitalization that exceeded $4B.

Jim’s investment experience includes co-founding Prospect Ventures and, earlier in his career, being a partner of Sierra Ventures, where he established its healthcare services investment practice.

Jim graduated from Yale with a BS and BSEE in Applied Math and Electrical Engineering/Computer Science. He then earned an MD from Harvard, graduating from the Harvard/MIT HST Program. He also earned an MBA from Harvard while playing rugby.
</description>


Synopsis: 

Jim Tananbaum, Founder & CEO of Fore…


Synopsis: 

Jim Tananbaum, Founder & CEO of Foresite Capital, joins Rahul Chaturvedi to dissect the patterns driving biotech innovation, the role of macroeconomic cycles in venture performance, and how disciplined science fuels enduring investment success.

Drawing from three decades across entrepreneurship and venture leadership, Jim reflects on his path from co-founding drug discovery startups with Harvard collaborators to building one of the most respected investment firms in life sciences. He unpacks how interest rate environments shape fund vintages, why AI is emerging as the next transformative platform, and how investors can identify enduring opportunities amid volatility.

Their discussion spans valuation compression, AI-driven discovery, CNS and Alzheimer’s innovation, and the geopolitical forces influencing biotech globally. Jim’s perspective offers a masterclass in balancing scientific rigor with strategic foresight — and in positioning capital where breakthrough innovation meets sustainable impact.

“Lean into areas where there’s likely to be immense change,” Jim advises — a principle as relevant to biotech investing as it is to shaping the future of healthcare itself.

Biography:

Jim is the founder and CEO of Foresite Capital, a healthcare investment firm founded in 2011 that has approximately $3.5B in assets under management. Jim assembles the people, ideas, and money needed to launch products that save lives and improve healthcare. 

During the last three decades, Jim has been a thought partner for some of the fastest-growing companies of their generation, including 10x Genomics (Nasdaq: TXG), Amerigroup (Nasdaq: ANTM), and Jazz Pharmaceuticals (Nasdaq: JAZZ).

Jim’s entrepreneurial experience began at Harvard Business School when he co-founded GelTex Pharmaceuticals (Nasdaq:GENZ). With less than $80M in funding, GelTex brought two drugs to market, and the company was acquired in 1999 for $1.4B. Jim was also the founding chief executive of Theravance, Inc. Under his tenure, he raised over $350M. Theravance has since split into two parts, one of which is now part of GSK’s respiratory franchise through a joint venture, Innoviva (Nasdaq: INVA), and the other was spun out into Theravance Biopharma, Inc. (Nasdaq: TBPH). Together, they achieved a market capitalization that exceeded $4B.

Jim’s investment experience includes co-founding Prospect Ventures and, earlier in his career, being a partner of Sierra Ventures, where he established its healthcare services investment practice.

Jim graduated from Yale with a BS and BSEE in Applied Math and Electrical Engineering/Computer Science. He then earned an MD from Harvard, graduating from the Harvard/MIT HST Program. He also earned an MBA from Harvard while playing rugby.


Foresite Capital’s Jim Tananbaum on Biotech Cycles, AI Breakthroughs & Long-Term Value

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