Biotech in the Balance: Dr. Jeremy Levin on Trust, Innovation, and the Future of American Medicine

Biotech is living through a paradox: the science has rarely looked more powerful, while the institutions behind it have rarely seemed less trusted. The sector that helped accelerate vaccines, advance cancer treatment, and open new frontiers in brain disease is now facing public skepticism, political pressure on science, and rising competition from countries that see biotech as a strategic national asset. That frustration is being sharpened by affordability concerns, with recent polling finding that nearly six in ten U.S. adults worry about paying for prescription drugs. For an industry built around lifesaving innovation, the challenge is no longer just discovering what comes next; it is proving to the public that those breakthroughs are being developed in patients’ best interests.So, how can biotech and pharma restore public trust while continuing to deliver the breakthroughs patients are waiting for?On I Don’t Care, host Dr. Kevin Stevenson speaks with Dr. Jeremy Levin, Chairperson of Ovid Therapeutics and author of Biotech in the Balance: Saving a Strategic Industry in an Age of Distrust. Their conversation explores why the public has lost trust in pharma, how pharmacy benefit managers and rebate structures complicate drug pricing, why biotech should be treated as a strategic national asset, and what the industry must do to reconnect with patients.Top insights from the talk…Trust is biotech’s central challenge. Dr. Levin argues that the industry’s biggest mistake has been losing sight of its covenant with patients. While biotech has delivered transformative medicines, he says the public often sees the industry as profiting from illness rather than partnering in care.Drug pricing is more complex than the sticker price. Dr. Levin points to pharmacy benefit managers, insurers, rebates, and opaque intermediary structures as major drivers of patient frustration, arguing that patients often blame drug companies without seeing how money moves through the system.American biotech faces a strategic test. Dr. Levin warns that if the United States does not protect scientific institutions, support the FDA, and recognize biotech as a national priority, innovation and investment may move elsewhere, including China.Dr. Jeremy Levin is a physician-scientist and biotechnology executive with deep experience leading life sciences companies, boards, strategy, alliances, and business development. He is Chairperson of both Ovid Therapeutics and Opthea, and he previously founded and led Ovid as Chairperson and CEO. He is also Chairman Emeritus of the Biotechnology Innovation Organization, where he helped guide industry leadership across biotechnology policy, innovation, and patient-focused drug development. Earlier in his career, he held senior leadership roles at Teva Pharmaceuticals, Bristol Myers Squibb, and Novartis.