Approved
Life sciences, under the hood. Deep dives into the patent filings, regulatory gauntlets, and capital-risks that shape the business of biology.
Episodes
Keytruda: How Merck's Pembrolizumab Became the Best-Selling Cancer Drug of All Time
Keytruda is Merck's $31 billion a year PD-1 inhibitor and the best-selling cancer drug of all time. In Episode 3 of Approved, Alex Kesin and Matthew Pech trace the development of pembrolizumab , featuring interviews the scientists who drove the program forward : co-inventors Gregory Carven and Michel Streuli, and former Merck oncology CMO Roy Baynes.Topics include preclinical PD1 / CTLA-4
Episode #2: Geron
Listen on SpotifyListen on Apple PodcastsListen on YouTubeTABLE OF CONTENTS(00:00:00) - Introduction (00:01:19) - Hayflick Limit (00:08:30) - Michael West & Founding of Geron (00:15:16) - Early Science & IP Strategy (00:27:25) - Cloning the Telomerase Gene (00:29:30) - Embryonic Stem Cells & Political Context (00:44:21) - Okarma, West’s Departure & Corporate Turmoil (01:05
Episode #1: Amylin Pharmaceuticals
Listen on SpotifyListen on Apple PodcastsListen on YouTubeTABLE OF CONTENTS(00:00:00) - Introduction(00:04:40) - $50 of Dried Lizard Venom(00:29:17) - Fax of Death(00:43:04) - Sleeping Beauty Awakens(00:52:07) - Carl Icahn Sends a Letter(01:09:19) - Endgame(01:13:40) - Postmortem & PlaybookCREDITSCo-hosted by Alex Kesin and Matthew Pech Written, edited, and produced by Alex KesinMusic
