What keeps a drug alive when the science is fragile, the funding dries up, and the company name changes four times?

A 20-year survival story of near-death science, offshore funding, and final impact.

If you want a real look at how drug development and STEM careers work behind the scenes, this episode gives you the straight version, not the polished one.

You’ll learn:

• Why drugs are designed, not discovered, and what that means for your STEM career choices

• Why starting with a strong target matters more than starting with an indication

• How the financial crisis and investment landscape pushed this Australian project offshore

• Why Momelotinib survived multiple handovers when it could have died at any stage

• What it takes to grow from lab scientist to CEO, and the people you need around you

Press play to hear the real story behind a drug that survived science hurdles, funding shocks, and corporate chaos to finally reach patients.

Dr Chris Burns is the CEO and Managing Director of AmpliaTherapeutics. He is one of the few scientists who has watched a drug he helped design reach FDA approval. While he was heading Cytopia, Chris co-led the creation of Momelotinib, a JAK2 inhibitor approved for myelofibrosis in 2023 after two decades of stops, starts, handovers, and near-failures.

00:00 Why very few scientists see their work reach patients

02:00 Designed, not discovered: the truth about drug creation

05:10 The creativity behind medicinal chemistry

08:15 How Momelotinib got its name

09:45 Preclinical wins, metabolic failures, and early near-death moments

12:00 The JAK2 discovery that shifted the entire program

15:20 Running across lily pads: designing drugs at the edge of knowledge

17:45 The metabolic wall that nearly killed the compound

20:00 Entering the clinical valley of death

21:10 The handover chain: Cytopia → YM Bioscience → Gilead → Sierra → GSK

27:00 Why Australian innovation keeps leaving the country

29:30 Practical funding advice for early biotechs

32:00 Winning the Prime Minister’s Prize

33:00 From scientist to CEO, step by step

36:00 The leadership habits that matter most

• Ampio Therapeutics

• Momelotinib FDA approval

• Prime Minister’s Prize for Innovation

• JAK2 mutation discovery

• Cytopia historical research

(If you want direct links added, send them through.)

1. Which part of your own work would survive longer if you treated it like a design process instead of waiting for inspiration?
2. What’s one area in your STEM career where timing, allies, or better funding could shift everything?
3. If your work went through four handovers, what would keep it alive?

Want to craft a career story that opens doors?

I help STEMM professionals speak with clarity, confidence, and purpose and show up as thought leaders —so the right opportunities find you.

📬 Let’s connect: angeliquegreco.com.au | LinkedIn

⭐️ Help More People Reinvent Their Careers

If you enjoyed this episode, please:

• ✅ Leave a quick ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify 🙏
• ♻️ Share it with a friend who's questioning their path in STEM

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Derisk you biotech assets with 3 key coniderations.

Learn from drug development expert Angelique Greco and medtech-biotech founders and investors with tangible examples that show how real de-risking plays out.

🔍 What You’ll Learn

Drug discovery feels like a maze when you're early in your career, especially when you're trying to build a biotech path without wasting years or cash. This episode gives you a clear way to turn solid science into something fundable.

You’ll learn:

• Where to find real support, from incubators to honest VC advice

• Why early commercial input matters and how to fix your market slide

• How smart entry points like animal health or adjacent indications de-risk your program and boost your funding chances

Action: Press play if you want 20 minutes that cut months of guesswork.

🧠 About the Guest

This episode brings insights from ShanShan Wang (RoamTech AI), Anushi Rajapaksa (Misti), Maryam Parviz (SDIP Innovations), Mike Lamprecht (Tenmile), and Ben Wright (Mimetic MedTech Foundry) on how founders can derisk and resource their team.

Plus why you do not always need an indication at the start, with lessons from Dr Chris Burns, whose team discovered Momelotinib in Australia before its FDA approval.

📌 Episode Highlights

00:00 Why de-risking matters for early biotech founders

00:20 Two angles: advice and smarter indication choices

01:00 How drug discovery fits a STEM entrepreneur path

01:40 Upskilling vs burning cash and time

02:10 Three pillars: compass, investors, venture studios

Roadmap & Upskilling

03:00 The value of a commercialization roadmap

03:45 Han Wang on first seeing the map

04:30 Anushi Rajapaksa on IP, regulatory and evolving the plan

06:00 Where to find training, Bridge program, NSW program

07:00 Why programs matter for network and support

08:00 Maryam Parviz on global doors opening

09:30 What you cannot Google: real conversations

10:30 How informal mentoring happens

11:00 Using tech transfer offices even if you're external

Investor Advice

12:00 Why VC advice matters before fundraising

13:00 Mike Lamprecht on critical early experiments

14:00 What a realistic market conversation looks like

Bridging Your Gaps

15:00 When to stop upskilling and bring experts

15:40 Ben Wright on scaling support instead of solo learning

16:00 How investors view founders who learn on the job

17:00 How venture studios derisk early biotech and medtech

18:00 Why structure and clinical champions matter

Success Exists

18:45 Momelotinib as a real success story

19:10 When starting with the molecule works

20:00 Dr Chris Burns: from discovery to 2023 approval

Smarter Entry Points

22:00 Why some programs need a side door

22:30 What to check before picking an entry point

23:00 Ivermectin from livestock to humans

24:30 Ketamine and S-ketamine into severe depression

26:00 How new IP opened new paths

26:40 The semaglutide pivot

Final Takeaways

27:00 Do not do it alone

27:15 Get advice early, including from VC

27:30 Philanthropy can be a real path

27:45 Be realistic and optimistic, success exists

Want to craft a career story that opens doors?

I help STEMM professionals speak with clarity, confidence, and purpose and show up as thought leaders —so the right opportunities find you.

📬 Let’s connect: angeliquegreco.com.au | LinkedIn

⭐️ Help More People Reinvent Their Careers

If you enjoyed this episode, please:

• ✅ Leave a quick ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify 🙏
• ♻️ Share it with a friend who's questioning their path in STEM

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

From pitch decks to de-risking strategies — how to turn promising research into an investible opportunity

You’ve got strong data and maybe even a breakthrough idea, but can you convince an investor or pharma partner that it’s worth their millions?

🔍 What You’ll Learn:

In this second part of the Drug Discovery Roadmap series, we move from the bench to the boardroom.

If you’re a STEM researcher or biotech founder wondering what turns great science into an investible opportunity, this episode unpacks it straight from investors, pharma veterans, and researchers who’ve been through the process.

You’ll learn:

• How to pitch your science to investors — what to include, what to leave out, and how to get a second meeting.

• Why a realistic, conservative market size matters more than billion-dollar dreams.

• The smart ways to de-risk your project — from alternate indications to veterinary and agricultural applications.

🎯 Play this episode to learn how to make your science fundable and credible in the eyes of those who write the cheques.

🧠 About the Guests:

Recorded live at the 2025 ARCS Drug Discovery Forum, this episode features insights from industry investors and researchers who’ve lived the highs and lows of drug translation:

• Mike Lamprecht, Investment Manager at Tenmile, on what catches his eye in a biotech pitch (and what sends red flags).
• Dr Wolfgang Jarolimek, Head of Drug Discovery at Syntara, on why you should never bet everything on one indication.
• Dr Daniel Beard, Founder and CSO of Shearflow, on how feedback from the Forum reshaped his strategy for stroke therapy.
• Tim Boyle, CEO of ARCS Australia, on why collaboration and “asking the right questions early” are key to commercial success.

📌 Episode Highlights:

00:00 Welcome back — what makes a project investible

02:00 Tim Boyle on building the bridge between research and industry

03:45 The number one startup killer: running out of capital

04:00 Mike Lamprecht on how to pitch science to investors

06:00 Market size myths — why “$10B market” slides backfire

08:00 The antibiotic paradox: when life-saving drugs still fail commercially

10:00 Diagnostics, payers, and the hidden gap between science and buyers

11:00 Daniel Beard on differentiating his stroke therapy

14:00 How to reframe your science for clarity and investor appeal

16:00 What clinicians need to see before trials

17:00 De-risking your project: alternate indications and sectors

19:00 The case for parallel applications — human, veterinary, agriculture

20:00 Why every biotech needs backup plans

21:00 Closing takeaways: the intersection of science, strategy, and story

♻️ Share this episode with researchers and biotech scientists and anyone trying to get their science to market.

Want to craft a career story that opens doors?

I help STEMM professionals speak with clarity, confidence, and purpose and show up as thought leaders —so the right opportunities find you.

📬 Let’s connect: angeliquegreco.com.au | LinkedIn

⭐️ Help More People Reinvent Their Careers

If you enjoyed this episode, please:

• ✅ Leave a quick ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify 🙏
• ♻️ Share it with a friend who's questioning their path in STEM

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.