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Today, we're joined by Thomas Hopkins, Vice President and Head of ExploR&D at Eli Lilly. With a background as a physician-scientist in oncology, Thomas has spent his career bridging bold discovery science with rigorous development, first in academia and clinical practice, then at Lilly since 2015. Lilly ExploR&D represents new thinking in the pharma-biotech collaboration model: a shared-risk, deep scientific partnership designed specifically for early-stage biotechs. It provides full-stack R&D capabilities helping companies overcome the toughest hurdles in moving from molecule creation to clinical proof-of-concept, all while staying lean in a challenging funding environment. In this episode, Thomas dives into his journey shaping ExploR&D, how the program works in practice, current priorities in modalities and therapeutic areas, and offers some practical advice for biotechs seeking to partner with Eli Lilly. 01:30 — Meet Tom Hopkins 05:11 — What makes ExploR&D biotech-friendly 07:46 — How collaborations work in practice 09:40 — Shared risk models 14:25 — Engaging bold science early 28:16 — Success stories and advice for biotechs Interested in being a sponsor of an episode of our podcast? Discover how you can get involved here!  Stay updated by subscribing to our newsletter To dive deeper into the topic:  Eli Lilly’s strategy in motion: Beyond diabetes and obesityOver $3 billion in a month: Why is Eli Lilly starting 2025 on a buying spree?What to look for in a biotech incubator

Today, my guest is Dr. Clare Wareing, Founder and CEO of Cumulus Oncology, who joins us from Edinburgh.  With over 25 years of expertise in oncology drug development, Clare has built a remarkable career translating scientific breakthroughs into life-changing therapies. Cumulus Oncology is curating a risk-adjusted portfolio of preclinical assets focused on high unmet needs in oncology. Their platform-agnostic, approach prioritizes patient subgroups and precision medicine to boost success rates and drive value creation. In this conversation, we explore Clare's journey to and through biotech, Cumulus and the current state of oncology in biotech, the vibrant Scottish biotech ecosystem, and her vision for the future for 2026 and beyond. 01:17: Meet Clare Wareing 03:57: Inspiration for founding Cumulus Oncology. 05:38: Cumulus's unique drug development model. 09:53: Overview of Cumulus's asset portfolio. 13:05: Importance of the patient subgroup strategy. 17:41: Trends in oncology drug discovery. 21:09: Drivers of oncology deal-making activity. 24:22: Challenges in accessing venture capital. 30:06: Future milestones for Cumulus Oncology. Interested in being a sponsor of an episode of our podcast? Discover how you can get involved here!  Stay updated by subscribing to our newsletter To dive deeper into the topic:  Curing cancer: Daiichi Sankyo's ambitious ADC approachCracking Cancer’s Code: Transforming Research with Novel Cancer ModelsNew cancer cell discovery sheds light on childhood blood cancer

Today, we're thrilled to have Tim Opler, a leading voice in biotech investment banking. Tim's career spans academia, Credit Suisse, and co-founding Torreya Partners, which Stifel acquired in 2023. As Managing Director in Stifel's Global Healthcare Group, he's advised on over 150 deals totaling more than $100 billion, shaping major M&A, licensing, and financings in life sciences. Tim is renowned for his insightful Biopharma Market Updates, and in this episode, we'll dive into his December 2025 edition, where he outlines five transformative trends set to drive biopharma for the next decade: M&A booms, giant markets like obesity and aging drugs, China's rising innovation, AI's reshape of healthcare, and incredible scientific advances. 01:22 - Meet Tim Opler 03:12 - Stifel and the Biopharma Market Updates 05:50 - Trend 1: M&A Booms 10:06 - Trend 2: Giant Markets 17:05 - Trend 3: China's Innovation 22:29 - Trend 4: AI Reshaping Healthcare 28:42 - Trend 5: Incredible Science 34:18 - Looking forward Interested in being a sponsor of an episode of our podcast? Discover how you can get involved here!  Stay updated by subscribing to our newsletter To dive deeper into the topic:  10 biotech companies in China you should know aboutWhen AI isn’t enough: How physics is shaping the next wave of drug discovery JPM 2026: what’s the outlook like this year? 

Today I’m joined by not one, not two, but three guests with their takes on the biotech year ahead. In December we tasked Labiotech journalists Jules Adam, Roohi Peter, and Willow Shah-Neville with the task of identifying the five biotech players that they thought would be the ones to watch in 2026. Now you can read that article at Labiotech-dot-EU, and we’ve linked it in the show notes here in your podcast player, too, but on today’s episode I’m joined by Jules, Roohi, and Willow who explain a little more about the companies that caught their eye and what might be expected of those companies in the year ahead. 15 companies, three journalists, all in one special podcast as we uncover the companies to watch in 2026. 1:18     Meet Jules Adam 2:30     Abivax 4:04     AAVantgarde Bio 6:10     Isotope Technologies Munich (ITM) 8:16     MaaT Pharma 9:55     Novo Nordisk 13:15    Meet Willow Shah-Neville 14:29    Kardigan 18:23    Braveheart Bio 21:16    Beam Therapeutics 24:34    MindMed 27:39    Kailera Therapeutics 32:36    Meet Roohi Peter 33:30    Aspen Neuroscience 34:45    Reunion Neuroscience 36:14    MapLight Therapeutiucs 37:41    Hope Medicine 38:59    Regenxbio Interested in being a sponsor of an episode of our podcast? Discover how you can get involved here!  Stay updated by subscribing to our newsletter To dive deeper into the topic:  Keep an eye on these 15 biotech companies in 2026 Biotech in 2025: A retrospective Eight of the biggest immunology and inflammation (I&I) deals in 2025

Welcome to our first episode for 2026. Today, we're joined by Hakan Goker, Managing Director at M Ventures, the strategic corporate venture capital arm of Merck KGaA. With over two decades in biotech investing, Hakan has driven transformative deals in oncology, autoimmune diseases, and beyond, including standout 2025 investments like FoRx Therapeutics and portfolio milestones such as Artios' FDA Fast Track designation.  As we kick off 2026 at Beyond Biotech, Hakan shares insights on corporate VC advantages, emerging therapeutic priorities, and the industry's evolving landscape amid rising M&A and AI innovation.  1:10                 Meet Hakan Goka 4:37                 About M Ventures and pharma CVC 8:14                 Sourcing innovative biotechs 12:52                How M Ventures works with Merck KGaA 16:54              M Ventures in 2025 24:46                Areas to watch in the new year 29:19                Looking forward to 2026 32:20                The next big thing in biotech? 33:08                Advice for biotechs pitching CVC Interested in being a sponsor of an episode of our podcast? Discover how you can get involved here!  Stay updated by subscribing to our newsletter To dive deeper into the topic:  The ABC of biotech startup fundingSeven genome sequencing companies to look out forLabiotech's 2025 biotech funding tracker

Welcome to our final episode for 2025. We’re taking a little break for the holidays but we’ll be back again on Friday 9th of January to kick off our year with the Managing Director of Merck KGaA’s M Ventures, Hakan Goker. Today, though, I’m joined by Ester in t’Groen of Johnson & Johnson. Fresh off the American Society of Hematology (ASH) Annual Meeting in Orlando, where J&J presented over 60 abstracts, Ester shares insights into the company's portfolio and the advances that the company has made over recent years in the hematology space. She walks us through the real-world evidence for some pretty significant results from the thousands of patients in their clinical trials, and explain what's next for J&J in hematology in 2026—including some exciting readouts. 01:14 - Meet Ester in t'Groen     02:37 - Winning the Kilmer Medal 06:32 - J&J's key focus areas 07:32 - The hematology portfolio 19:07 - All about ASH 2025 23:49 - The MajesTEC-3 data 27:43 - The value of real-world datasets 32:06 - Looking forward into 2026 Interested in being a sponsor of an episode of our podcast? Discover how you can get involved here!  Stay updated by subscribing to our newsletter To dive deeper into the topic:  Blood Cancer Awareness Month: What biotech holds in store 10 oncology deals in 2025 spotlight where industry leaders are betting bigT cell engagers: A promising, fast-growing field for cancer and autoimmune disease treatments

In this episode we sit down with Martin Beck, Senior Vice President and Head of the Inflammation Business Unit at Boehringer Ingelheim. Martin grew up just down the road from the company’s headquarters in Germany, joined as a scholarship student more than 20 years ago, and never really left – and you’ll hear why he still loves it. We spend most of the episode focused on a disease that doesn’t get nearly enough attention: idiopathic and progressive pulmonary fibrosis. These are rare, fatal lung-scarring conditions that kill faster than many cancers, yet patients often shrug off the first symptoms as “just aging.”  Martin walks us through why half the people on today’s treatments stop taking them, how BI just brought the first new medicine in over a decade to the U.S. market, and why an AI tool that spots microscopic changes on lung scans might finally help doctors diagnose and treat these patients’ years earlier.  01:24   Meet Martin Beck 04:21   About Boehringer Ingelheim 07:12   Understanding idiopathic & progressive pulmonary fibrosis 10:16   Current treatments & high discontinuation rates 12:25   BI’s long-term investment in PF 16:02   eLung AI tool for earlier diagnosis 22:16   A new oral PDE4B inhibitor 28:13   Key data highlights from the recent ERS congress 30:31   FDA approval & global rollout plans Interested in being a sponsor of an episode of our podcast? Discover how you can get involved here!  Stay updated by subscribing to our newsletter To dive deeper into the topic:  Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis: Refoxy, Boehringer, Insilico, and more on the hunt for curative treatmentsEight respiratory disease companies advancing innovative therapies in 2025BI: Life with pulmonary fibrosis 

Cancer is one of the biggest health challenges worldwide. While progress has been made, millions of patients are still in need of new treatment options that better address the complexities of their disease. BeOne Medicines is creating the world’s next-generation cancer treatments with relentless innovation, aiming to deliver therapies to more people around the globe. This week, I'm sitting down with Mark Lanasa, Senior Vice President and Chief Medical Officer, Solid Tumors, at BeOne Medicines, to learn more about how their novel cancer models and unique in-house R&D approach is pushing them closer to cracking the cancer code. This episode is sponsored by BeOne Medicines. 01:06              Meet Mark Lanasa 04:56              Cancer as a differentiated and adaptative disease 07:35              BeOne’s approach to cancer research and development 10:30              Accelerating cancer research by bringing it all in-house 15:24              Making progress and signs of success 17:41              Exciting investigational stage programs 23:51              The advantage of hierarchical thinking in R&D 28:13              Keep up with new research from BeOne Interested in being a sponsor of an episode of our podcast? Discover how you can get involved here! Stay updated by subscribing to our newsletter. To dive deeper into the topic: How can treatment strategies evolve to address the challenges in chronic lymphocytic leukemia?

Daiichi Sankyo has been pioneering ADCs since 2010, with a pipeline targeting over 30 indications and potentially reaching 400,000 patients. In today’s episode I’m joined by Dr. Markus Kosch, Head of the EU Oncology Business Division at Daiichi Sankyo. A physician by training with a deep academic background in oncology, Markus has spent over two decades advancing cancer care, from clinical practice to leadership roles shaping strategy across Europe and Canada. Since joining Daiichi Sankyo in 2021, he has been at the forefront of one of the industry’s most ambitious ADC pipelines, overseeing more than 60 clinical trials across 24 countries and driving landmark approvals that are redefining treatment in breast, lung, and gastric cancers. This week's episode is brought to you with the support of Kadans.  Looking for the perfect space to grow your Life Sciences company? Kadans Science Partner is Europe’s leading provider of cutting-edge lab and offices spaces, tailored to your needs. Kadans puts you at the centre of innovation, giving you the chance to connect with top researchers, universities, and investors through its international network. Here, you’ll join a vibrant community of innovators driving real change. Are you ready to take your research to the next level? Learn more at kadans.com – where innovation thrives.  01:45.         Meet Markus Kosch 03:12.         Clinical background shaping an industry role 04:46.         Daiichi Sankyo’s 40-year oncology legacy 06:19.         European investments and Munich hub 10:34.         ADC platform strengths explained 14:20.         Key ESMO 2025 trial data Clarification: The reference to ‘TB01’ at 16:24 refers to the TROPION-Breast02 clinical trial, not TB01. 19:43.         Managing risks and partnerships 23:35.         Patient advocacy in trial design 33:59.         Future of oncology and ADCs Interested in being a sponsor of an episode of our podcast? Discover how you can get involved here!  Stay updated by subscribing to our newsletter To dive deeper into the topic:  10 oncology deals in 2025 spotlight where industry leaders are betting bigAstraZeneca and Daiichi Sankyo’s Enhertu recommended for approvalTen drugs to watch in 2025: will these therapies become blockbusters?

Two weeks ago, the biopharma industry gathered in Vienna, Austria, for BIO-Europe. Tens of thousands of one-on-one meetings were organized between innovators and out-licensors with top pharma companies and venture capitalists eager to partner and invest.  For the large pharma firms, it’s a chance to learn about new science and keep tabs on evolving assets. For smaller biotechs, though, it can be three-days of high-pressure networking where a lot is riding on making the right pitch to the right company at just the right time. Get it right, and you walk away with a clear path forward and the cash to fund it. But get unlucky and you might find yourself with few options in the New Year. This year, we decided to follow one biotech heading into their first BIO-Europe partnering conference. We met with DISCO Pharma three times over the last month to follow their BIO-Europe journey: Before the event to learn about the science behind DISCO and understand what their goals were heading into BIO-Europe. At the event itself to talk about how the partnering meetings had been going and how the event had shaped up for DISCO. A week after BIO-Europe had closed, diving into the follow-up activities and learning about the next steps for this German biotech.I hope you enjoy my conversations with Ajla Hrle, Chief Business Officer at DISCO, and this behind the scenes look at BIO-Europe from an innovator’s perspective. 02:25          Preparing for BIO-Europe 16:51           On the floor at BIO-Europe 22:23          Following up from BIO-Europe Interested in being a sponsor of an episode of our podcast? Discover how you can get involved here!  Stay updated by subscribing to our newsletter To dive deeper into the topic:  BIO-Europe partnering: Australian biotech companies share their experiencesPractical partnering at BIOSPAIN: on the ground with biotech innovators ready to take the next stepBiotech in Vienna: a budding life science hub 

Last week saw more than 5,900 people from 3,200 companies gather in Vienna, Austria, for the continent’s largest biopharma partnering conference, BIO-Europe. Over three days the world’s top pharma companies, most innovative biotechs, and life science professionals from 60 countries took more than 32,000 one-on-one meetings, made the connections, and sealed deals that will drive the industry forward into 2026 and beyond. Among the highlights of BIO-Europe this year was the Startup Spotlight contest. This exciting competition offers biotech entrepreneurs an affordable opportunity to engage with top-tier investors and other important players in the biotech industry and to take their business to the next level. Eight finalists made their pitches at BIO Europe and one, Fusix Biotech from Germany, came out on top. This week on Beyond Biotech I’m joined by Fusix Biotech’s Managing Director and co-founder, Jennifer Altomonte, who tells me about her journey through the industry, Fusix’s InFUSE platform, and what it’s like to pitch – and win – one of the most important biopharma startup competitions of the year. 01:34               Meet Jennifer Altomonte 05:12               Co-founding Fusix Biotech 10:37               Fusix Biotech and the InFUSE platform 18:50               Intellectual property for a young company 20:04               The BIO-Europe Startup Spotlight 23:47               The impact of the competition win 29:05               The milestones ahead 30:33               What does a successful 2026 look like for Fusix Biotech? 31:56               Learn more about Fusix Biotech This episode is supported by EBD Group. Interested in being a sponsor of an episode of our podcast? Discover how you can get involved here!  Stay updated by subscribing to our newsletter To dive deeper into the topic:  BIO-Europe partnering: Australian biotech companies share their experiencesFour New Technologies That Will Change Cancer TreatmentWhy is the immunology and inflammation market suddenly attracting a wave of investment?

Urinary Tract infections, or UTIs, affect millions worldwide, driving sepsis, antibiotic overuse, and microbial resistance. Current diagnostics rely on either slow lab cultures or unreliable dipsticks, and often lead to delayed or unnecessary treatment. Llusern’s Lodestar DX changes that: a point-of-care test that detects 96% of key UTI pathogens in just 35 minutes, no lab required. In this episode I’m joined by Emma Hayhurst who shares her journey into diagnostics, Llusern’s mission, and the emergence of Wales as a biotech hub with a growing life sciences sector fueling local innovation. We discuss UTI prevalence, diagnostic gaps, and how rapid, accurate testing can transform patient care and antimicrobial stewardship.  02:14               Meet Emma Hayhurst 04:37               Introducing Llusern Scientific 07:21               Collaboration between Llusern and the academy 08:50               The life science ecosystem in Wales 12:10               Urinary tract infections (UTIs) 15:45               UTI patient demographics 16:54               Health impacts of UTIs: sepsis, antibiotic resistance, and more 19:01               Existing UTI diagnostic options and their shortcomings 24:41               Llusern’s Lodestar DX 29:03               A point-of-care test, not a lab test 31:44               Applications beyond UTIs 36:03               Looking forward at Llusern Interested in being a sponsor of an episode of our podcast? Discover how you can get involved here!  Stay updated by subscribing to our newsletter To dive deeper into the topic:  Life sciences in Wales: biotechs in the scene in 2025Fighting Antimicrobial Resistance with Fast Molecular DiagnosticsUltra-Fast Diagnostics Could Transform Sexual Health

Today, I’m joined by Héctor García Martín, a Staff Scientist at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. A pioneer in metabolic engineering and computational biology, Héctor has spent over a decade decoding microbial systems, everything from termite guts to genome-scale flux models, to unlock sustainable biomanufacturing. Now, he’s leading the charge in self-driving labs: AI-powered, robotic systems that automate experiments, predict biological behavior, and accelerate the design of microbes that produce fuels, medicines, and materials. In this episode, we’ll dive into why biology has traditionally proven so hard to engineer, how AI and robotics are changing that, and where this revolution is headed next. I hope you enjoy my discussion with Hector Garcia Martin. 01:12              Meet Hector Garcia Martin 12:47              Introduction to the Berkeley National Laboratory 14:42              Challenges in synthetic biology 17:21              How unpredictability complicates biomanufacturing 19:30              Self-driving labs at the nexus of AI, robotics, and biomanufacturing 22:23               How is AI integrated into optimize enzyme expression 28:01               Where is the market for self-driving labs? 28:47               The future of synthetic biology 32:24               The most exciting trends in AI-driven biomanufacturing 34:10               The expected impacts of self-driving labs on everyday life 35:28               Advice for aspiring scientists Interested in being a sponsor of an episode of our podcast? Discover how you can get involved here!  Stay updated by subscribing to our newsletter To dive deeper into the topic:  Synthetic Biology @ LabiotechEuropean biotech: trends to watch in 2025The coming of age of European synthetic biology

Today we’re diving into the world of expression systems with Iskandar Dib, of Validogen and we’ll explore the remarkable potential of Pichia pastoris, a methylotrophic yeast that’s revolutionizing pharmaceutical protein production and beyond.  From industrial enzymes to biomaterials, food, feed, and diagnostics, Pichia offers a reliable, scalable, and cost-efficient platform for recombinant protein expression.  Iskandar explains how biotechs can unlock Pichia’s full potential through Validogen’s sophisticated tools and strategies, fine-tuning protein expression with innovative genetic approaches and robust screening systems to deliver unmatched yields and quality.  01:06               Why Pichia is often overlooked or underestimated 03:29               The basics of Pichia pastoris 05:25               How Pichia compares to microbial hosts like E.coli 08:14               Key advantages over mammalian cell systems 10:21               Pichia as a system for secreted production 11:30               Pichia and post-translational modifications 14:30               The challenges of working with Pichia 16:25               Strain optimization and genetic engineering 17:29               Meet Iskandar Dib and Validogen 19:03               The UNLOCK PICHIA platform 24:00               Real-world applications of Pichia pastoris in biopharma 27:19               When Pichia outperforms expectations 28:25               Adapting Pichia for emerging fields 30:23               Advice for those considering Pichia pastoris for protein expression 33:23               Learn more about Validogen This episode is sponsored by Validogen. Interested in being a sponsor of an episode of our podcast? Discover how you can get involved here!  Stay updated by subscribing to our newsletter To dive deeper into the topic:  Pichia case studiesUnlocking Pichia for industry

In today's episode, we welcome Clarke Futch, Chairman and CEO of HealthCare Royalty Partners, or HCRx. HCRx are pioneers in royalty-based financing, with a thirty year track record in biopharma investing. Clarke has led more than 60 royalty acquisitions totaling nearly $4 billion and raised over $8 billion across various vehicles, executing more than 165 transactions that have fueled breakthroughs in life sciences. In this interview we examine the evolution of alternative funding models, the transformative impact of alternative funding models on biotech innovation, partnerships, and M&A, and take a macro view on the financial health of the industry amid economic shifts.  02:10               Meet Clarke Futch 07:58               HCRx and its mission 18:55               Differences between a royalty firm and a venture firm 21:34               Alternative funding models in biotech 24:49               Are VCs pulling back? Are alternatives rising? 30:20               How royalty financing impacts partnerships and M&A 33:02               Do alternative financing models risk stifling innovation? 36:33               A macro look at the health of the biotech sector 41:33               What areas of biotech are underfunded right now? 46:22               Looking forward: the 6-12 months ahead? 48:10               Advice for founders navigating financial uncertainty Interested in being a sponsor of an episode of our podcast? Discover how you can get involved here!  Stay updated by subscribing to our newsletter To dive deeper into the topic:  Moving with the times: biopharma royalty deals on the riseThe ABC of biotech startup funding2025 biotech deals tracker