Episode 46

On this week’s episode, hosts Daphne Zohar and Josh Schimmer welcome founder and former CEO of Alnylam, John Maraganore, as a guest, and are joined by Ethan Perlstein, Rob Perez, Michal Preminger and Chris Garabedian. The discussion begins with a recap from John’s recent op-ed article published in The Timmerman Report that poses the question: ‘Is it the right time for biotech to be back together in person?’ The group debates the subject of remote vs. hybrid work models and discusses other cultural and strategic topics related to business models in biotech. They also cover Amazon’s new program, RxPass, that provides unlimited generic medicines, which address about 80 conditions, to Prime members for a monthly rate of $5. Additionally, the hosts share insights into recent data and trial updates, including setbacks at Magenta Therapeutics and a positive readout from Pliant Therapeutics. The discussion ends with news from TG Therapeutics, a small biotech that launched a new drug that directly competes with pharmaceutical giant, Roche, leading to another discussion of the pros & cons of small biotechs competing with large pharma.