10.06.21 -- Cell Therapy Podcast: Focus On Neurological Diseases And Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia

Check out the latest episodes from Cell & Gene: The Podcast and Business of Biotech. As a member of the Life Science Connect community, you have access to content beyond our weekly newsletters, including our podcast series. Don’t forget to subscribe so you never miss an episode!

Karen Kozarsky, Ph.D., cofounder and CSO of SwanBio explains how the company is pioneering a deep and varied pipeline of gene therapies for genetically defined neurological diseases with a focus on the spinal cord.

Bob Levis was diagnosed with chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) in 2002 and was one of the early experimental trial participants at Penn Medicine for Dr. Carl June’s CAR-T therapy. Bob shares his remarkable journey with CLL as well as his important work with the CLL Society. 

Dr. Judy Chou, president and CEO at AltruBio, shares personal and professional insight into how she's applied what she learned in Big Bio to transform a clinical-stage developer of monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) designed to treat a broad range of immunological diseases.

The biologics therapy market is crowded, and judging by the recent parade of IPOs, competition for investment, mindshare, talent, and, ultimately, share of market is only getting stiffer. Our friend and biotech business guru Allan Shaw joins us for a foundational conversation on creating competitive differentiation at every stage of biopharma growth.

Aruvant CTO Palani Palaniappan, Ph.D. joins special guest Tony Khoury, EVP at Project Farma, to discuss recent advances in gene therapy manufacturing. We cover the role of AI in the discovery of adeno-associated virus (AAV) capsids that can avoid the immune system, the scaleup advantages of suspension technologies versus adherence, manufacturing capacity and talent constraints, and much more.

Portage Biotech is focused on addressing the 75% of cancer patients who show no, or limited, response to existing therapies such as checkpoint inhibitors. Portage CEO Dr. Ian Walters, shares what's fueling the company's progress, including its unique financing strategy and its approach to de-risking platform development for novel immune-oncology therapies.