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How has immunotherapy evolved in the last decade? In this episode of The Chain, Laszlo Radvanyi, professor of immunology at the University of Toronto, discusses his years-long research on cancer immunotherapy, including his time at MD Anderson, with host Rakesh Dixit. He shares his thoughts on agonist antibodies, the true breakthroughs that are moving the needle for patients, reducing the CD-28 pathway so that it doesn’t produce cytokine toxins, and what is the next frontier in immunotherapy.  Links from this episode:   EpiVax University of Toronto, Department of Immunology  University of Toronto   

December 13, 2025 | What is next for immunogenicity? In this episode of The Chain, Vibha Jawa, chief scientific officer at EpiVax, provides her thoughts and insights on BiTE molecules, pegylated molecules, and other biologic molecules and their impact on cancer treatment and research with host Rakesh Dixit. Jawa shares the most rewarding project she’s worked on and what therapeutic modality she sees being picked up in the next decade, as well as advice for the next generation of scientists, such as why it’s important to be hands-on with research and be collaborative with others.   Links from this episode:   EpiVax 

November 11, 2025 | What is the next modality to focus on in the next 10 years? For Bahija Jallal, CEO of Immunocore, it would be T-cell engagers. In this episode of The Chain, host Rakesh Dixit speaks with Jallal on the potential advantages of bispecific T-cell engager therapy versus T-cell receptor therapy, biggest anticipated changes in drug discovery and development in the next 10 years, and how AI is going to impact the next generation of scientists. Plus, Jallal shares her experiences as the previous president of MedImmune and at AstraZeneca, what her most rewarding project was, and the transformations and achievements that occurred under her leadership.  Links from this episode:   Immunocore 

As drug development pushes into more complex antibody formats, the big question is: how do you really assess developability? In this episode, host Nimish Gera speaks with Shamit Shrivastava, Ph.D., founder and CEO of Apoha, to dive into Liquid Brain, his interdisciplinary innovation that’s changing the way researchers tackle developability of challenging antibody-based drugs. Shamit breaks down what makes Liquid Brain different from traditional developability methods, reveals how it’s unlocking new possibilities for complex format development, and shares a glimpse into Apoha’s future-including an exclusive preview of what’s coming at PEGS Europe this November. 

September 16, 2025 | With the rise of AI and automation, what is the core human skill in drug discovery that is and will be valuable in the future? Derek Lowe, director of Chemical Biology Therapeutics at Novartis and author of the In the Pipeline blog, discusses the impact of AI—and non-AI technologies—on the business of drug making. With host Christopher Bahl, cofounder and CEO of AI Proteins, their conversation covers the value of a PhD in the tech world today, the long-term impacts of knowledge creation in US leadership positions, how the industry can navigate a biotech winter, and more.  Links from this episode:   AI Proteins Novartis  In the Pipeline 

August 12, 2025 | Diagonal Therapeutics founder and CEO Alexey Lugovskoy discusses the key lessons learned over his illustrious career, starting from his childhood in the Soviet Union to founding his own company, Diagonal Therapeutics. With host Tariq Ghayur, Lugovskoy shares insights gained from working with organizations of different sizes, taking on the obstacles of building a pipeline, and integrating AI/ML into discovery programs, as well as his most memorable achievement—and most memorable failure. He also offers advice to young scientists and entrepreneurs, emphasizing the importance of challenging problems and surrounding yourself with the right people. 

July 15, 2025 | Are licensing fees required or gatekeeping? In this episode of The Chain, host Nimish Gera, vice president of Biologics at Mythic Therapeutics, and Ian Wilkinson, CEO of Gamma Proteins, discuss accessing antibody discovery technology through licensing fees and royalties—and whether these fees are justified or not. Wilkinson delves into the current landscape of antibody discovery technologies, including if AI-based technology warrants fees, how royalties affect both small companies and big pharma, and his background as one of the first experts in the field who offered purely free-for-service options. He also shares what excites him about antibody engineering and beyond.  Links from this episode:   Mythic Therapeutics  Gamma Proteins 

June 10, 2025 | In this bonus episode of The Chain, Daniel Chen, MD, PhD, founder and CEO of Synthetic Design Lab, returns for the Science Commune segment and speaks with Keith Flaherty, MD, FAACR, professor of Medicine of Harvard Medical School and president-elect of AACR. They discuss Flaherty’s prolific career; how his background led him to pursue a career in medicine; how public and private sectors are coming together in oncology around collaborations; reflections on targeted therapies and technologies; optimism around how AI will impact society and the future of medicine positively; and how we need to detect and treat disease early.  Links from this episode:   PEGS Boston Conference & Expo  Engineering Bispecific Antibodies  Synthetic Design Lab  Harvard Medical School  AACR 

June 10, 2025 | This episode of The Chain features a panel discussion from May’s PEGS Boston. Moderated by Peter Tessier, Albert M. Mattocks professor of Pharmaceutical Sciences and Chemical Engineering at the University of Michigan, the panelists include Sarel Fleishman, professor of Biomolecular Sciences at the Weizmann Institute of Science; Kadina Johnston, senior specialist of Discovery Biologics at Merck & Co.; Vincent Ling, chief business officer of Morphocell Technologies; Arvind Rajpal, SVP of Xaira; and Max Vasquez, chief computing officer of Adimab. Together they discuss benchmarking AI/ML methods compared to traditional approaches, development of human-relevant training data, identifying and addressing core challenges in de novo designs, and more.  Links from this episode:   PEGS Boston Conference & Expo  Engineering Bispecific Antibodies  University of Michigan  University of Michigan Chemical Engineering  Weizmann Institute of Science  Scala Biodesign  Merck & Co., Inc.  Morphocell Technologies  Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation  Xaira  Adimab LLC 

In this episode of The Chain, host Tariq Ghayur, PhD, Tariq Ghayur Consulting, LLC, talks with Pamela Barney, former associate director of HR, AbbVie, about her career within biotech/pharma organizations and some key lessons learned, such as taking advantage of your contacts and network, managing diverse workforces, and HR’s role in creating an engaged team. Barney also discusses why she entered the HR field and the challenges of culture changes when transitioning from a small organization to a large company.  AbbVie: https://www.abbvie.com/    

In this episode of The Chain, host Brandon DeKosky, associate professor, speaks with MIT colleague Jessica Stark, Underwood-Prescott career development professor, about glycans and why they are important in cancer research. Stark discusses how she became interested in immunology, what her PhD and post-doctoral training was like, her thoughts on singlets operating as part of a network of checkpoint molecules, and what’s currently going on in glycobiology. She also talks about her keynote presentation at PEGS 2025 and what her new lab is working on.  LINKS: MIT Department of Chemical Engineering MIT Department of Biological Engineering MIT 

March 11, 2025 | In this episode of The Chain, host Andrew Buchanan, principal scientist at AstraZeneca, and Andreas Plückthun, professor and head of biochemistry at the University of Zurich, discuss AI/ML technologies in the antibody and protein engineering space. Plückthun shares his perspectives on what technologies show promise and success, why the definition of epitope is important when developing a drug, and what aspects he expects to improve in the ML field in the future.   

February 21, 2025 | This episode marks the 50th anniversary of one of the most influential papers in biomedical science—the 1975 Milstein and Köhler paper on hybridoma technology, which paved the way for monoclonal antibodies. Ralph Minter, Biotech CSO/CTO, discusses this important milestone with a true pioneer in the field, Sir Greg Winter, Nobel Laureate and one of the key figures in the development of therapeutic antibodies. 

In this episode of The Chain, host Andrew Bradbury, CSO of Specifica, an IQVIA business, speaks with Randolph Lopez, CTO and co-founder of A-Alpha Bio, about how A-Alpha Bio is changing the game of protein-protein interactions with their platform AlphaSeq. Lopez delves into the origins, the process, the successes, and the possibilities of the company’s platform and how it can help with epitope mapping, affinity predictions, and off-target binding. With the data the platform generates, Lopez also discusses how this affects the potential of AI and ML.  LINKS:     Bionavigen A-Alpha Bio Specifica 

November 12, 2024 | In this episode of The Chain, host Rakesh Dixit, PhD, DABT, president and founder of Bionavigen Oncology and Regio Biosciences, speaks with Anthony Tolcher, M.D., FRCPC, cofounder of NEXT Oncology, about antibody drug conjugates (ADCs) including the role of the bystander effect, approaching targets in oncology, dual-payload technologies, the potency of new payloads, and bispecific targeting. Tolcher also shares what inspired him to pursue oncology, how he came across ADCs, and where he sees ADCs heading in the future.         LINKS:     Bionavigen  NEXT Oncology