Will the Drug Work? Engineering a New Future for Oncology - BioCortex

90% of our listeners don't realise they aren't subscribed - please check!What if we could predict whether a drug will work, before it ever reaches a patient?This week, in another episode of Leading Beyond the Lab, we host a co-guest episode featuring Nik Sharma, CEO & Co-Founder of BioCortex, a trained neurologist with years of experience spanning clinical medicine, ALS research, academia (Cambridge, NIH) and more. And Muhannad Alomari, CTO & Co-Founder, with over a decade of experience spanning aerospace engineering, AI leadership and physics-based systems modelling.In this episode, the duo covers:Why bacteria inside tumours may explain clinical trial variability, how “in silico bridge trials” could reshape oncology development, and how BioCortex plans to translate that science into commercial inflection points, global licensing models, and long-term value creation without taking traditional pipeline risk.From partnerships with CD BioPharma, they explain how global clinical strategy, particularly leveraging innovation and trial infrastructure emerging from China, is reshaping how oncology assets are advanced and positioned for global success.They also discuss investor backing from Edward Kliphuis from Sofinnova, Hussein Kanji from Hoxton Ventures and Draper Associates, and how capital discipline combined with deep-tech engineering principles (inspired by Rolls-Royce and even NASA) is shaping a new model for oncology drug development.They also reflect on visiting leading oncology centres in China alongside HSBC and AstraZeneca, highlighting the sheer scale and speed of patient recruitment, momentum that was clearly visible in multiple back-to-back presentations at ASCO, signalling a structural shift in global cancer innovation.This is a conversation about speed, probability, biology, engineering, and ultimately, time. Because for patients, time is everything.To listen to (or watch) the full episode, search “Leading Beyond the Lab BioCorteX” on wherever you get your podcasts, or click on the first link in the comments below. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.