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This week on Leading Beyond The Lab, Lawrence Rose sat down with Megan McGill, CEO of Brenig Therapeutics, with years of experience spanning biotech leadership, strategy, clinical medicine, management consulting and neuroscience research.

In this episode, Megan covers:

• Why Brenig Therapeutics is targeting neuroinflammation and Parkinson’s disease through LRRK2 and NLRP3 inhibitors, and how the company is positioning itself within the rapidly evolving neurodegenerative disease landscape.

• How AI and machine learning are being used across medicinal chemistry and drug development at Brenig through investment from Torrey Pines, OrbiMed, New Enterprise Associates, BioGeneration Ventures, to optimise brain penetration, selectivity and safety profiles simultaneously.

• Why Megan believes an MD and PhD background is critical in biotech leadership, combining a deep understanding of disease biology with a real-world understanding of patients and unmet medical needs.

• The realities of building a career in medicine, biotech and leadership while raising children as a single mother, and the leadership lessons around empathy, patience and resilience that came from that experience.

• Why neuroscience investment remains significantly underfunded despite the growing global burden of neurodegenerative disease, and what needs to change across biotech, pharma and venture capital to accelerate progress in CNS innovation.

• Lawrence and Megan also discuss organisations and companies including Eli Lilly and Company, McKinsey & Company, BridgeBio Pharma and the Michael J. Fox Foundation.

Be sure to check out the full episode to hear Megan’s perspective on the future of neuroscience, biotech leadership and the evolving role of AI across drug development.

Follow ARTO

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/artotalent

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/0kEcRZOiJChOoN1KF2n1ng

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/arto.talent?igsh=MWdhbWl5N204a253NQ%3D%3D&utm_source=qr

TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@artotalent?_t=ZG-8tHbGACAZaj&_r=1

Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/leading-beyond-the-lab/id1783115575

Website: https://arto-talent.com/

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@artotalent

Megan McGill

CEO at Brenig Therapeutics

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mcgillmegan/

Lawrence Rose

Consulting Director at ARTO

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lawrencerose/

Timestamps:

00:00 Introduction

02:21 Megan’s background across medicine, biotech and neuroscience

03:03 Joining Brenig Therapeutics and the company’s pipeline

04:16 LRRK2 and NLRP3 inhibitors in Parkinson’s disease

05:23 The growing neuroinflammation landscape

06:51 Phase 1 clinical trial milestones and biomarkers

07:23 Why Brenig chose Parkinson’s disease

10:14 AI medicinal chemistry and machine learning in drug discovery

12:08 How AI is changing biotech operations and strategy

14:20 Brenig’s Series B strategy and upcoming milestones

15:57 Building efficient biotech teams and scaling operations

17:30 Leadership inspiration and high-performing teams

18:46 The advantages of being an MD and PhD in biotech leadership

21:16 Commercial partnerships and pharma collaboration strategy

23:08 Digital biomarkers, diagnostics and wearable technology

28:06 Balancing medicine, biotech leadership and motherhood

33:30 Mentorship, McKinsey and learning commercial strategy

37:00 Leadership communication and simplifying complexity

38:23 What defines elite biotech teams and company culture

40:40 Brenig’s board, investors and strategic support

43:16 Building a culture of excellence in a virtual biotech company

46:13 The future of neuroscience and neurodegenerative disease

50:25 Clinical trial recruitment and patient engagement

52:34 The Biotech CEO Sisterhood and women in biotech leadership

56:17 Diversity, leadership and representation in biotech

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95% of our viewers aren’t subscribed. If you’re watching and not yet subscribed, please subscribe to the channel so you don’t miss future episodes.

Can AI become a universal simulator of biology, helping predict disease, improve drug success rates, and reshape how medicine is developed?

This week on Leading Beyond The Lab, Lawrence Rose sat down with Jean-Philippe Vert, Co-Founder and CEO of Bioptimus, with decades of experience spanning artificial intelligence, computational biology, academia and big tech, including leadership roles at Google, and work influenced by breakthroughs such as DeepMind’s AlphaFold.

In this episode, Jean-Philippe covers:

• Why Bioptimus is focused on understanding patient biology, not simply designing molecules, and why that could change drug development.

• How AI-powered decision systems could improve translational research, clinical trial design, patient recruitment and disease prediction.

• Why Jean-Philippe left Google to build Bioptimus, and why foundation models for biology may represent a major shift in medicine.

• How partnerships across healthcare systems, pharma and research institutions are helping build the data infrastructure behind biological foundation models, with perspectives shaped alongside leaders including Sarah Teichmann (Professor at Cambridge University) and Caroline Uhler (Professor at MIT)

• What makes AI in biology defensible, from proprietary data partnerships and elite interdisciplinary teams, to support from investors including Edward Kliphuis (Sofinnova Partners), Bpifrance, Cathay Investments.

A thoughtful conversation on AI, biology, and the future of medicine. From lessons learned in big tech to what it takes to build enduring platforms in TechBio, this is a considered discussion for anyone interested in where scientific discovery is heading.

Be sure to check out the full episode.

Follow ARTO

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/artotalent

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/0kEcRZOiJChOoN1KF2n1ng

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/arto.talent

TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@artotalent

Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/leading-beyond-the-lab/id1783115575

Website: https://arto-talent.com/

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@artotalent

Jean-Philippe Vert

CEO at Bioptimus

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jean-philippe-vert/

Lawrence Rose

Talent Solutions Director at ARTO

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lawrencerose/

Timestamps

00:00 Introduction and vision for AI as a universal simulator of biology

01:41 Introducing Jean-Philippe Vert and @Bioptimus

02:27 What Bioptimus is doing differently in AI biology

07:46 AI decision systems and improving clinical development

12:52 Early disease detection and predictive healthcare

15:28 Why Jean-Philippe left @Google

19:21 Building and sourcing biological data at scale

22:19 Partnerships and foundation models

28:04 Lessons from big tech

33:23 Defensibility in AI biology

37:09 Building interdisciplinary teams and culture

39:28 AI in healthcare, hype versus infrastructure

41:20 What AI means for doctors

43:10 What may define lasting AI-biology companies

45:05 Challenges of building Bioptimus

48:13 Prioritisation and deciding where to focus

51:33 Mentorship, leadership and building teams

53:02 Communicating vision to boards and investors

55:33 What success looks like in ten years

#LeadingBeyondTheLab #ARTOTalent #TechBio #ArtificialIntelligence #DrugDiscovery #ComputationalBiology #PrecisionMedicine

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What does it take to build not just one billion-dollar company, but seven and start again after losing it all? In this episode, Robert Wessman shares the mindset, discipline and foresight behind building one of the world’s most ambitious biosimilars platforms.

This week on Leading Beyond The Lab, Lawrence Rose sat down with Robert Wessman, Founder and Executive Chairman, with over 25 years of experience spanning global pharmaceuticals, generics, biosimilars and serial entrepreneurship.

In this episode, Robert Wessman covers:

(01:12) Why biologics dominate the future of pharmaceuticals and the urgent need to expand access through biosimilars, with treatment costs reaching up to $100,000 per patient annually

(04:10) Building seven companies including six unicorns, and scaling a global generics business across 80+ countries with over 16,500 employees

(12:32) The seven-pillar framework behind building high-performance culture, including vision setting, team alignment and execution discipline

(18:14) The importance of timing in biotech, and how starting too early or too late in biosimilars can determine success or failure

(38:16) Strategic foresight in action, from anticipating regulatory changes to building one of the largest biosimilars pipelines with over 30 products

This conversation offers a clear, experience-backed perspective on scaling in life sciences, building resilient organisations and making high-impact decisions in complex markets. If you are working in biotech, pharma or leadership, this episode provides practical insights worth applying.

Follow ARTO

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/artotalent

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/0kEcRZOiJChOoN1KF2n1ng

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/arto.talent?igsh=MWdhbWl5N204a253NQ%3D%3D&utm_source=qr

TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@artotalent?_t=ZG-8tHbGACAZaj&_r=1

Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/leading-beyond-the-lab/id1783115575

Website: https://arto-talent.com/

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@life_sciences

Robert Wessman

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/robert-wessman/

Lawrence Rose

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lawrencerose/

Timestamps:

00:00 Introduction

00:46 The global cost challenge of biologics

01:12 Market dynamics and future of biosimilars

03:11 Origins of building multiple pharma companies

04:10 Scaling Actavis into a global leader

05:22 Repeatable frameworks for building companies

06:53 Execution, culture and operational excellence

10:01 Building Alvotech in Iceland

11:10 Hiring globally and building culture

12:32 The seven pillars of high-performance culture

15:28 Execution and accountability at scale

17:03 Scaling rapidly while maintaining culture

18:14 Timing the biosimilars market

19:27 Fundraising and early-stage selling

22:07 Building partnerships and licensing strategy

24:21 Manufacturing strategy and infrastructure

25:49 Business development and commercial model

27:11 Building global supply chains

28:23 Transitioning leadership roles

30:29 Evolution of CEO skillsets

32:03 AI and the future of work in pharma

34:03 Hiring for high-performance teams

36:33 Managing risk and operational challenges

37:07 Reducing development costs through foresight

38:16 Scaling pipeline strategy

40:25 Patent challenges and market barriers

42:19 Anticipating market shifts in biologics

44:11 Navigating setbacks and industry challenges

45:26 Market dynamics and global pricing pressures

47:08 Why Iceland as a strategic base

50:47 Attracting global talent to Iceland

53:09 Capital markets and disciplined growth

54:40 Risks of overfunding

55:04 Personal story and adversity

58:19 Near-death cycling accident

01:00:30 Recovery and resilience

01:05:55 Impact on mindset and life perspective

#LeadingBeyondTheLab #ARTOTalent #Biotech #Pharmaceuticals #Biosimilars #LifeSciences #Leadership

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