Careers in Discovery

Jonny Finlay, LockBody Therapeutics

"If you can't prioritise, rationalise and simplify, then the low-hanging fruit is probably all you're going to get to...the only way to understand your way [to the difficult things] is by removing as much noise from the system as possible."

Jonny Finlay is the CEO and founder of LockBody Therapeutics, a Centessa company, where he and his team are developing a new kind of antibody to fight cancer.

Jonny talked to us about his career, the principle of radical simplicity and the relative advantages of big Pharma and startup Biotech.

Enjoy!

Ali Tavassoli, Curve Therapeutics

"It's so refreshing to have the science come first. Universities and their funding models have changed over the past ten years - there's a lot more admin and red tape...science almost takes a bit of a back seat. Ideas that are high risk don't always get backed, [but in Biotech] things get done."

Ali Tavassoli is the Chief Scientific Officer at Curve Therapeutics, a company developing a revolutionary intracellular screening platform to power drug discovery for challenging targets.

Ali joined us to talk about his career, balancing academic work with building a Biotech company, resisting the pressure to publish when tackling major scientific challenges, and why following the science is crucial in building your life's work.

Enjoy!

Darren Pitt, VisusNano

Darren Pitt is the Chief Scientific Officer of VisusNano, a company developing a novel drug-device combinationto treat issues surrounding cataract surgery, one of the most widely performed procedures in the world.

We talked to Darren about what these problems are and what he's learned in a varied career so far.

Enjoy!

Lisa Patel, Istesso

"It's not success that drives the cohesion of a team, it's facing a challenge together and having a shared commitment to solving that challenge that really builds the relationships. Once you see how a person faces difficulty you can understand them much better - that understanding builds trust and a sense that you're in it together. That then drives success."

Lisa Patel is the CEO of Istesso, a company striding into the unknown frontiers of immunometabolism to discovery new treatments for autoimmune conditions.

Lisa joined us to talk about her career so far, what it's really like moving from big Pharma into a startup, and the dynamics of high-performance teams.

Enjoy!

Bakul Gupta, ImmTune Therapies

"I'm still learning....it's a steep learning curve, especially since my training is all in science. When you become a CEO, it's not just about the science or good data, but about selling your vision, being inspirational and telling the story of why you're doing what you're doing."

Bakul Gupta is the CEO of ImmTune Therapies, a Biotech company pioneering in vivo generation of cell and gene therapies.

Bakul joined us to talk about her career to date, tackling the affordability problem of advanced medicines, the challenges of business development during a pandemic and why who you sit next to might just change the course of your career.

Enjoy!

Pedro Correia de Sampaio, Neobe Therapeutics

"The pandemic hit and I found myself stuck back in my childhood room in Lisbon, and I thought, why not [start a company]? Then I realised that it had legs, I was really enjoying it and I could see it being successful, so I fully immersed myself in it."

Pedro Correia de Sampaio is the CEO of Neobe Therapeutics, a company engineering biologics to treat immunologically cold tumours.

Pedro talked to us about his work, his time working in one of the world's leading cancer centres, why you shouldn't start fundraising too early and not being afraid of sharing your ideas with the world.

Enjoy!

Ian Pike, Proteome Sciences

"It's one thing having an idea, but you've got to be able to make it and you've got to be able to sell it."

Just one extract from a wealth of sound advice offered by Ian Pike, Chief Scientific Officer at Proteome Sciences, on the Careers in Discovery podcast.

Ian also talked to us about how CROs have become a crucial part of drug discovery, the importance of serendipity, his one career regret and being willing to pivot in your vision for your working life.

Enjoy!

James Lapworth, NanoSyrinx

"It's important to have a plan [for your career], it's important to know where you want to be, but it's almost more important to be able to break from that when something interesting comes along....focus on what you'll learn from each opportunity and how that takes you closer to where you want to go."

As Chief Business Officer at NanoSyrinx, James Lapworth plays a key role in developing a truly novel solution to the "delivery problem" faced by Biotech research around the world.

James joined us to talk about how he built a career in the commercial side of drug R&D, the advantages of nanosyringes and the role of a Chief Business Officer in a start up Biotech.

Enjoy!