Episode 206 - Valerie Vanhooren - CEO & Co-Founder Ona Therapeutics

Episode 206 - Valerie Vanhooren - CEO & Co-Founder Ona Therapeutics

In this episode of The BioHub by Avetix, I'm joined by Valerie Vanhooren, CEO and Co-Founder of Ona Therapeutics. Recorded shortly after Ona Therapeutics announced its $85 million Series B, Valerie shares the journey behind building the company, the challenges of fundraising in today's biotech market, and the opportunity to develop next-generation precision oncology therapies that improve outcomes for patients with cancer. We also discuss the evolution of antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs), what it takes to build a biotech from the ground up, the importance of company culture, and Valerie's vision for the future of precision oncology.

Episode 205 - Paul Bresge - CEO of Ray Therapeutics

Paul didn't stumble into biotech, he was pulled in by a diagnosis. When a doctor told his daughter to prepare for a life without her sight due to retinitis pigmentosa, he went all in on finding the best science out there to give patients like her new hope. Today he leads Ray Therapeutics, who're developing optogenetic gene therapies designed to restore vision, not just slow its loss, for patients who are already out of other options. We talk about the science, the personal mission, and what's coming next.

Episode 204 - Samir Ounzain - Co-founder & CEO Haya Therapeutics

In this episode of The BioHub by Avetix, I'm joined by Samir Ounzain, CEO and Co-Founder of HAYA Therapeutics. Samir shares the journey from pioneering research into the so-called "dark genome" to building one of biotech's most exciting RNA therapeutics companies. We discuss why long non-coding RNAs could unlock an entirely new class of precision medicines, the challenge of turning groundbreaking science into a business, and how HAYA is approaching diseases with significant unmet need. We also explore the importance of resilience in biotech, the evolution from scientist to CEO, the role AI is beginning to play in drug discovery, and what the future holds for RNA therapeutics and precision medicine.

Episode 203 - Tim Noyes - CEO of Newleos Therapeutics

In this episode of The BioHub Podcast, Ben is joined by Tim Noyes, President and CEO of Newleos Therapeutics. Tim reflects on more than 35 years across the life sciences industry, from beginning his career at Merck to building and leading emerging biotechnology companies. He shares why he has consistently been drawn to smaller organisations, where leadership teams can remain close to the science, the patients and the people driving the company forward. The conversation explores Newleos’ mission to rethink the treatment of anxiety and other neuropsychiatric conditions through a pipeline of differentiated GABA-A receptor modulators originally licensed from Roche. Tim discusses the opportunity to retain the therapeutic benefits associated with GABA modulation while overcoming the limitations of traditional benzodiazepines, including the company’s clinical programmes in generalised anxiety disorder and social anxiety disorder. They also discuss the importance of patient access, the challenges of reimbursement in the US healthcare system, and why humility, appreciation and a people-focused culture are central to Tim’s approach to leadership.

Episode 202 - Ben Swanson - CEO of Skeletalis

Today we're joined by Ben Swanson, Founder and CEO of Skeletalis, a biotechnology company developing a new generation of precision medicines for bone disease. Ben's path into biotech is anything but conventional. Trained as both a dentist and a scientist, he founded Skeletalis to tackle one of the biggest unmet challenges in musculoskeletal health: how to deliver treatments directly to the parts of the skeleton that need them most, while minimizing effects on the rest of the body. At Skeletalis, Ben and his team have developed the OASIS platform—a targeted drug delivery approach designed to direct therapies to sites of active bone remodeling. Their lead focus is osteoporosis, a disease affecting hundreds of millions of people worldwide, with the potential to transform how bone diseases are treated in the future. In this conversation, we'll explore Ben's journey from academia to entrepreneurship, what it takes to build a biotech company from groundbreaking research, the future of precision medicine, and why solving bone health could have a profound impact on healthy aging