Season 2 Ep#2 | AI's Real Job in Pharma Isn't Speed - It's Access | Ft. Mimi Fenton

Season 2 Ep#2 | AI's Real Job in Pharma Isn't Speed - It's Access | Ft. Mimi Fenton

Pharma is drowning in AI pitches that all promise the same thing: faster, cheaper, smarter. Mimi Fenton thinks we're selling the wrong story. Her bet? AI's biggest job in pharma isn't speed, it's access. Putting a clinical trial inside the doctor's office of a patient who would otherwise never see one.  In this episode of The Best AI Show on Pharma, host Ayush Mishra sits down with Mimi Fenton, epidemiologist, CEO of CEDAR Health Research and Aspen Insights, board advisor at Anervea.ai, ultra-marathoner, and (briefly) a charity boxer, to unpack what AI adoption in pharma actually looks like beyond the hype. We get into: → Why pharma's AI adoption is still stuck in "pilot mode" while other industries race ahead → How an epidemiologist's lens changes the way you build AI for drug development → The real-world evidence project at Sanofi that saved ~$10M by replacing a prospective study with data → The 2018 ML model that predicted clinical trial success and matched the actual results → Aspen Forge: reading patient charts in seconds at 98% accuracy (and the "voluntary removal of uterus" story that proves why free-text notes matter) → AI as a "digital workforce", augmentation, not replacement and how to grow capacity 75% while keeping a flat org → Why patient trust still needs a human in the loop and whether the Alexa generation will feel the same in 20 years → Her #1 advice to founders building in this space: obsess over the end user → The biggest unsolved pain point at trial sites: 20+ logins and zero interoperability  Plus, boxing for Parkinson's, 100-mile ultras, and a no-filter rapid-fire round. A must-watch for anyone in pharma, biotech, clinical research, and health-tech thinking seriously about where AI actually creates value. Watch Now on YouTube [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xfkkccFnJ3Q]

Season 2 Ep#1 | Why the Companies Winning in Pharma won’t have the Best AI | Victoria Gamermann

Most AI conversations in pharma start with the technology. This one starts somewhere far more useful. Victoria Gamerman joins Ayush Mishra on The Best AI Show on Pharma to challenge a belief almost everyone holds: that winning comes down to having the best AI. Her answer points to something the leaders racing for the latest model tend to overlook entirely. If you've ever wondered why some AI investments compound and others quietly stall, start here. Victoria Gamerman's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/victoriagk/   Ayush Mishra's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ayushmishra/     Watch this episode now on YouTube: https://youtu.be/9bt5qJb3if4 Watch Now on YouTube [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xfkkccFnJ3Q]

Ep #7 I The Biggest Lie Pharma Industry Tells Itself About AI | Dr. Neha Gupta

Every pharma company today says they're doing AI. But how much of it is actually real? In this episode of The Best AI Show on Pharma with Ayush Mishra our guest is Dr. Neha Gupta who is a clinician, digital health product leader, and Ironman athlete and the one who has spent years building real digital products that have had to survive regulators, compliance frameworks, audits, and actual patients across multiple markets. She is one of the rare people who has seen healthcare from inside the clinic, inside the product team, and inside the pharma system. You will hear insights on: * Where AI is genuinely creating value inside pharma organizations today and where it quietly collapses * Why AI confidence without calibration is one of the most dangerous problems in healthcare * Why model accuracy and clinical trust are not the same number * How real world evidence is being used to change what's possible in clinical trials and drug labeling * Why 85% of AI pilots in pharma never move beyond the pilot stage * What AI transformation in pharma actually demands from organizations beyond just technology * The one space startup founders building for life sciences should be focused on right now * Which global markets are leading healthcare AI innovation and why Brazil made this list * The biggest lie the pharma industry tells itself about AI adoption If you work in pharma, digital health, clinical operations, or life sciences technology, this conversation offers one of the most honest assessments of where AI in pharma actually stands today. Dr. Neha Gupta's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/drnehagupta/  Ayush Mishra's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ayushmishra/   Watch this episode now on YouTube: https://youtu.be/kDG4VpM8kfo  Watch Now on YouTube [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xfkkccFnJ3Q]

Ep #6 | From Google to Drug Discovery with AI: Why "Science Advances One Funeral at a Time" | Javier Tordable

Early-stage drug discovery can take years and requires deep expertise in computational chemistry that most biologists don't have. This creates a massive bottleneck in getting new therapies from concept to testing. In this episode, Ayush Mishra sits down with Javier Tordable, Founder & CEO of Pauling.AI, to explore how AI is automating the most time-intensive parts of drug discovery and why adoption remains the industry's biggest challenge. You will hear insights on: * Why he left 16 years at Google to focus entirely on pharmaceutical AI * How rational drug design works and where the traditional process breaks down * What Pauling.AI does differently, an AI agent that handles target identification, molecular design, and binding predictions like ChatGPT handles text * The real resistance AI faces from veteran scientists and the uncomfortable truth about generational change in pharma * When we can expect to see the first fully AI-designed drugs receive FDA approval * Where emerging market founders can find datasets when premium pharmaceutical data is locked behind paywalls * What human scientists will always do better than AI, and why that matters * His brutally honest take on the "science advances one funeral at a time" phenomenon * Practical advice for biotech entrepreneurs building AI healthcare companies in Asia and Africa If you work in pharma R&D, drug discovery, biotech innovation, computational chemistry, or clinical development strategy, this conversation offers an unfiltered view of where AI is actually taking pharmaceutical research. Javier Tordable's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jtordable/  Ayush Mishra's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ayushmishra/  Watch Now on YouTube [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xfkkccFnJ3Q]

Ep #5 | Surgeon to Biotech CEO: Regenerating Human Skin, AI in Wound Care & Healthcare's Broken System | Dr. Ned Swanson

Dr. Ned Swanson walked away from surgery residency to commercialize technology that regenerates human tissue. What started with mouse studies is now helping real patients heal wounds that traditional medicine couldn't solve. But here's the twist: the science wasn't the hardest part. In this episode, Dr. Ned Swanson (President & CMO at Polarity Bio) sits down with Ayush Mishra to reveal the brutal truths about building biotech, navigating healthcare's broken reimbursement systems, and separating AI signal from noise in wound care. IN THIS EPISODE:  The Career Gamble * Why he left surgery residency mid-training * The moment he realized biotech could help patients faster than academia * Grant money vs VC funding: which path offers more creative freedom * Taking a company public while still thinking like a resident  Building Biotech: The Brutal Reality * The #1 challenge that blindsided him (it's not what you think) * Moving technology from mouse studies to human patients * Navigating FDA approval processes * Why hiring the right people is harder than everything else * Patient stories that made the risk worth it Healthcare's Uncomfortable Truths * How cost and reimbursement drive medical decisions more than evidence * The "pure medicine" illusion every resident experiences * Why the same products are priced $100 vs $5,000 per square centimeter * What breaks when you step outside the hospital walls AI in Healthcare: Reality Check * Where AI genuinely helps in wound care: imaging, monitoring, real-world evidence * Smart boots tracking diabetic ulcers and patient compliance * How platforms like Open Evidence are changing clinical decisions * Why AI won't replace RCTs but will expand their impact * The future of wound care in 5-10 years Regenerative Medicine Explained * How SkinTE technology actually works * Why 95% of traditional skin grafts fail * From lab bench to patient bedside: the real timeline * Expanded access programs and their impact If you work in pharma, clinical operations, wound care, or research strategy, this conversation offers a clear view of where the future of healthcare is heading. Dr. Ned Swanson LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ned-swanson-md-9612b120/  Ayush Mishra's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ayushmishra/   Watch Now on YouTube [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xfkkccFnJ3Q]