Episodes
How Biotech Startups Use mRNA Vaccines Beyond COVID
In this episode of Biotech Business with Fexingo, Lucas and Luna explore how biotech startups are applying mRNA technology beyond COVID-19 vaccines. They dive into the story of Moderna's early bet on mRNA and how startups are now targeting cancer, rare diseases, and even personalized therapies. The conversation covers the science of lipid nanoparticles, the business challenges of scaling manufacturing, and the regulatory landscape that startups must navigate. Tune in to understand the…
How Biotech Startups Use AI to Design Clinical Trials
Episode 165 of Biotech Business with Fexingo digs into a quiet revolution: AI-driven clinical trial design. Lucas and Luna break down how startups are using machine learning to pick the right patients, predict trial outcomes, and cut years off drug development. They walk through a recent example where an AI-designed trial for a rare oncology drug hit its endpoint in half the expected time, and discuss the trade-offs: algorithmic bias, regulatory hesitancy, and the human cost of getting it…
How Biotech Startups Use Base Editing for Precision Medicine
In episode 164 of Biotech Business with Fexingo, Lucas and Luna explore how biotech startups are leveraging base editing, a precise gene-editing technique that swaps single DNA letters without cutting the double helix. They trace the journey from lab discovery to clinical application, focusing on a specific startup that has moved into human trials. The hosts break down the science in plain English, discuss the regulatory landscape as of August 2026, and highlight the commercial potential and…
How Biotech Startups Are Using Cryo-Electron Microscopy
In this episode of Biotech Business, Lucas and Luna explore the growing use of cryo-electron microscopy in biotech startups, focusing on how this Nobel-winning technology has become a practical tool for drug discovery. They begin with a 2025 study where researchers captured the structure of a key cancer protein at near-atomic resolution, a feat unthinkable a decade ago. Lucas explains the shift from academic facilities to in-house instruments, driven by cheaper equipment and cloud-based data…
How Biotech Startups Use Spatial Transcriptomics
This episode of Biotech Business explores how startups are using spatial transcriptomics to map gene activity directly inside tissue, revealing the cellular geography of disease. Lucas and Luna break down the technology — from imaging-based methods like MERFISH to sequencing-based platforms — and discuss how it's reshaping drug discovery, from identifying novel targets to stratifying patients for clinical trials. They highlight a fresh, recent case: a startup using spatial transcriptomics to…
How Biotech Startups Use CRISPR Screens to Find New Drug Targets
In episode 161, Lucas and Luna dive into the world of CRISPR screens — a high-throughput method that lets biotech startups knock out thousands of genes at once to uncover which ones drive disease. They break down the difference between pooled and arrayed screens, walk through a real-world example from a startup hunting for combination therapies in ovarian cancer, and discuss the surprising finding that many new targets are genes we already knew about but never thought to drug. With a nod to the…
How Biotech Startups Use Patient Registries
In this episode of Biotech Business with Fexingo, Lucas and Luna dive into the world of patient registries — organized systems that collect real-world data from patients with specific conditions. They explore how startups are leveraging these registries to accelerate drug development, improve trial design, and even support regulatory approvals. Using the example of a rare disease registry, they break down the practical steps, data quality challenges, and the shift toward patient-reported…
How Biotech Startups Use AI to Repurpose Existing Drugs
In this episode of Biotech Business, Lucas and Luna explore the emerging field of AI-powered drug repurposing. They discuss how startups like Healx and Recursion are using machine learning to find new uses for existing drugs, dramatically cutting the time and cost of bringing treatments to patients. The conversation centers on a recent success story: a repurposed drug for a rare genetic disorder that moved from computer prediction to Phase II trials in under two years. Lucas explains the…
How Biotech Startups Use Liquid Biopsies to Find Cancer Early
Liquid biopsies are quietly transforming how we detect and monitor cancer — and biotech startups are at the center of it. In this episode, Lucas and Luna dig into the science and the business. They trace how a simple blood draw can catch tumor DNA months before symptoms appear, then follow a specific startup that's using methylation patterns to spot multiple cancer types at once. They break down why the economics are finally working: the cost per test has dropped from thousands to a few hundred…
How Biotech Startups Are Using Digital Twins
Digital twins — virtual replicas of physical systems — are moving from manufacturing and aerospace into biotech. In this episode, Lucas and Luna explore how startups are building digital twins of clinical trials, manufacturing lines, and even individual patients to cut costs and speed up development. They look at how a mid-stage biotech company used a digital twin of a Phase 3 trial to simulate different enrollment scenarios and adjust their strategy before spending a dime. They also discuss…
How Biotech Startups Use Antibody-Drug Conjugates
In this episode of Biotech Business with Fexingo, Lucas and Luna explore how biotech startups are leveraging antibody-drug conjugates, or ADCs, to target cancer cells with precision. They break down the science behind ADCs, the business case for startups entering this space, and the challenges of manufacturing and safety. With real examples from the industry, they discuss why ADCs are becoming a hot area for investment and what it means for the future of oncology. Tune in to understand the…
How Biotech Startups Are Using In Vivo Gene Editing
In episode 155, Lucas and Luna explore the shift from ex vivo to in vivo gene editing, a frontier that could make one-time genetic therapies accessible beyond rare diseases. They break down the science behind lipid nanoparticle and viral vector delivery, the challenge of targeting the right cells, and the recent momentum signaled by FDA guidance. The conversation zooms in on a notable 2025 clinical data readout for a base-editing candidate for a cholesterol disorder, and what it means for the…
How Biotech Startups Use Organoids for Drug Testing
Organoids are miniature, lab-grown organs that mimic real human biology, and startups are using them to test drugs before they ever reach a human. In this episode, Lucas and Luna explore how these tiny 3D cultures are changing the game for disease modeling and drug screening. They discuss the scientific breakthroughs that make organoids possible, the challenges of making them reproducible at scale, and the regulatory shift as the FDA begins to consider alternatives to animal testing. Plus, they…
How Biotech Startups Use Mass Spectrometry Imaging
In this episode of Biotech Business, Lucas and Luna explore how biotech startups are using mass spectrometry imaging to map drugs and metabolites directly inside tissue samples. They discuss the technology's shift from academic proteomics to pharmaceutical R&D, citing a recent startup that used it to identify why a promising oncology candidate failed in phase two, saving years of development. The hosts break down how MALDI imaging works, compare it to traditional histology, and highlight its…
How Biotech Startups Use Phage Display for Targeted Therapies
In this episode of Biotech Business, Lucas and Luna explore how biotech startups are leveraging phage display to engineer antibodies and peptides for targeted therapies. They discuss the technology's origins, its role in drug discovery, and a recent case involving a startup that used phage display to create a bispecific antibody for cancer treatment. The hosts also touch on the challenges of scaling production and the future of this approach in precision medicine. Tune in to understand why…
How Biotech Startups Use DNA Origami for Drug Delivery
In this episode of Biotech Business, Lucas and Luna explore a cutting-edge approach to drug delivery: DNA origami. They discuss how biotech startups are folding DNA strands into nanoscale structures to deliver therapies with unprecedented precision. The conversation centers on a recent proof-of-concept study where DNA origami boxes delivered a chemotherapy drug directly to cancer cells, reducing systemic toxicity and improving efficacy. They also cover the challenges of scaling production and…
Biotech Startups Turn to Organ Chips for Drug Testing
In this milestone 150th episode of Biotech Business with Fexingo, Lucas and Luna explore how biotech startups are using organ-on-a-chip technology to test drugs before human trials. Centered on a concrete example — a startup using a lung-on-a-chip to model inflammation and test a candidate for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease — the conversation digs into the engineering, the regulatory shift that made the FDA more receptive to these platforms, and the economic case for replacing some…
How Biotech Startups Use Nanopore Sequencing for Real-Time Genomics
In this episode of Biotech Business with Fexingo, Lucas and Luna explore how nanopore sequencing is giving biotech startups a real-time window into genomics. They dive into the technology's ability to read long DNA fragments on the fly, making it possible to detect pathogens, monitor outbreaks, and even sequence genomes in the field. The conversation centers on a specific application: using portable nanopore devices to track antibiotic resistance in remote clinics, a case that shows how speed…
How Biotech Startups Use AlphaFold for Drug Discovery
In this episode of Biotech Business with Fexingo, Lucas and Luna explore how biotech startups are leveraging AlphaFold, DeepMind's protein structure prediction AI, to accelerate drug discovery. They discuss the technology's evolution from a research curiosity to a practical tool, its role in tackling previously 'undruggable' targets, and the limitations that still require experimental validation. Through a concrete example of a small startup using AlphaFold to design a small molecule against a…
How Biotech Startups Use PROTACs to Drug the Undruggable
Most disease-causing proteins have no obvious binding pocket, which is why roughly 80 percent of the human proteome has been considered 'undruggable' with traditional small molecules. In this episode, Lucas and Luna explore how biotech startups are tackling that problem with PROTACs — molecules that hijack the cell's own protein-disposal system to degrade targets rather than inhibit them. They trace the story from the discovery in Craig Crews's Yale lab in 2001 to the first clinical validations…
How Biotech Startups Reuse Orphan Drugs for Rare Diseases
In this episode of Biotech Business with Fexingo, Lucas and Luna explore how biotech startups are repurposing existing orphan drugs to treat rare diseases—a strategy that cuts development time and cost. They dive into the case of a small startup that took an approved therapy for a metabolic disorder and repositioned it for a rare neurological condition, leveraging FDA's orphan drug incentives. The conversation covers the regulatory advantages, the challenges of patent life and reimbursement…
How Biotech Startups Use Synthetic Lethality Screens
In episode 145 of Biotech Business, Lucas and Luna explore how biotech startups are leveraging synthetic lethality screens to uncover new cancer drug targets. They anchor the discussion on the recent approval of a PARP inhibitor for pancreatic cancer, a milestone that validates the approach beyond BRCA-mutated tumors. The hosts walk through the science — how a mutation in one gene can be exploited by targeting a second, dependent gene — and highlight a startup that used a CRISPR-based screen to…
How Biotech Startups Use Single-Cell Sequencing
In this episode of Biotech Business with Fexingo, Lucas and Luna drill into single-cell RNA sequencing — the technology that lets researchers see gene expression in individual cells, not just tissue averages. They trace how a 2009 paper by a then-unknown Swedish scientist kicked off a field that now drives drug target discovery, patient stratification, and clinical trial design. Lucas explains the difference between plate-based and droplet-based methods, cites the day when a single run could…
Why Biotech Startups Are Turning to Proximity Labeling for Drug Discovery
In this episode of Biotech Business, Lucas and Luna explore how proximity labeling is becoming a go-to technique for biotech startups mapping protein interactions and finding new drug targets. They focus on the case of Turquoise Bio, a startup using the APEX2 enzyme to tag proteins in live cells in minutes—a method that captures transient interactions that older techniques miss. The hosts break down the chemistry simply, compare it to alternatives like BioID and split-luciferase, and discuss…
How Biotech Startups Use AI to Design Better Clinical Trials
Episode 142 of Biotech Business with Fexingo dives into the quiet revolution in clinical trial design. Lucas and Luna explore how startups are using AI to simulate trial outcomes, optimize patient selection, and cut development timelines. They break down the story of a mid-stage oncology trial that used AI to reduce patient numbers by thirty percent without losing statistical power, and discuss the FDA's evolving stance on algorithmic trial design. With specific examples like a rare disease…
How Biotech Startups Use Base Editing for Genetic Therapies
CRISPR made gene editing famous, but its blunt cuts carry risks. Base editing changes a single DNA letter without breaking the helix—a precision tool that startups like Beam Therapeutics and Verve Therapeutics are betting on for sickle cell disease and heart disease. This episode explains how base editing works, why it matters for patients, and the business challenges of turning a one-time edit into a viable therapy. Hosts Lucas and Luna break down the science, the clinical milestones, and the…
How Biotech Startups Use Cryo-EM to Design Better Drugs
Cryo-electron microscopy, or cryo-EM, has transformed structural biology since winning the Nobel Prize in 2017. Once limited to academic labs with massive budgets, the technology is now within reach of biotech startups, enabling them to visualize proteins at atomic resolution and design drugs with unprecedented precision. In this episode, Lucas and Luna explore how one startup reduced a two-year target identification phase to six months using cryo-EM, the economics of building in-house vs.…
How Real-World Evidence Is Changing Biotech Drug Approvals
This episode of Biotech Business with Fexingo explores how biotech startups are leveraging real-world evidence (RWE) to accelerate FDA approvals, especially for rare diseases. Lucas and Luna discuss the FDA's latest guidance on RWE, the types of data used (electronic health records, wearables, patient registries), and the advantages over traditional randomized controlled trials. They examine a case study of a fictional startup using natural history data to support a gene therapy for Duchenne…
How Biotech Startups Are Engineering Antibodies to Cross the Blood-Brain Barrier
The blood-brain barrier (BBB) has long been the bane of CNS drug development, blocking over 98% of small molecules and virtually all large biologics. But in 2026, that wall is finally cracking. This episode examines how biotech startups like Denali Therapeutics are hijacking the brain's own transport systems—specifically the transferrin receptor—to shuttle antibodies and enzymes across the BBB. We walk through the science of transporter-mediated transcytosis, the role of focused ultrasound as…
How Biotech Startups Use Exosomes for Drug Delivery
Exosomes, tiny vesicles that cells naturally secrete, are becoming a powerful drug delivery vehicle for biotech startups. This episode explores how companies like Evox Therapeutics and Codiak BioSciences are engineering exosomes to deliver RNA therapies, proteins, and small molecules to tissues that were previously hard to reach. We break down the science, the manufacturing challenges, and why big pharma is taking notice. Learn about the key advantages over lipid nanoparticles and viral…
Biotech Startups Target the Gut-Brain Axis for Depression
Episode 136 of Biotech Business explores how biotech startup Mendel Biotech is developing a live biotherapeutic for major depressive disorder. With promising Phase 2 data showing a 4-point reduction on the Hamilton Depression Rating Scale, we break down the gut-brain axis science, the challenges of manufacturing live bacterial therapies, and the regulatory path for FDA approval. We also discuss the business landscape, including competition from Seres Therapeutics and Pendulum, and what it means…
How Biotech Startups Use Lipid Nanoparticles Beyond the Liver
In this episode, Lucas and Luna explore how biotech startups are engineering lipid nanoparticles to deliver gene therapies to organs beyond the liver—the traditional target for these delivery vehicles. They spotlight ReCode Therapeutics and its lung-targeting LNP platform, discuss the chemistry innovations that make tissue-specific delivery possible, and examine the clinical and manufacturing challenges startups face as they race to bring the first non-liver LNP gene therapy to market. With…
How Directed Evolution Helps Biotech Startups Engineer Better Enzymes
This episode of Biotech Business with Fexingo explores how biotech startups use directed evolution, the Nobel-winning technique, to engineer custom enzymes for drug manufacturing and therapeutics. Lucas and Luna break down the story of Codexis, which evolved an enzyme that slashed waste in the production of the blockbuster diabetes drug Januvia (sitagliptin) by 80 percent. They discuss how directed evolution mimics natural selection in the lab—mutating genes, screening for improved activity…
How Biotech Startups Engineer Probiotics to Deliver Drugs
In June 2026, the FDA approved the first engineered live biotherapeutic product for a rare metabolic disorder, signaling a new era for programmable medicines. This episode explores how startups are engineering probiotics to sense disease and release therapies directly in the gut. Lucas and Luna discuss the science behind these living drugs—how bacteria are reprogrammed with genetic circuits to produce anti-inflammatory molecules, break down toxins, or deliver cancer immunotherapies. They…
How Biotech Startups Use DNAEncoded Libraries for Drug Discovery
Lucas and Luna explore how DNA-encoded libraries (DELs) are transforming drug discovery, allowing startups to screen billions of compounds in a single test tube. They break down the technology behind DELs—how DNA barcodes encode each compound's structure and how sequencing reveals the hits. The conversation covers advantages over traditional high-throughput screening, common pitfalls like false positives, and why DELs are especially powerful for targeting 'undruggable' proteins. They also touch…
How Biotech Startups Use CRISPR Diagnostics
Lucas and Luna explore the emerging field of CRISPR-based diagnostics, where startups like Sherlock Biosciences and Mammoth Biosciences are turning gene-editing enzymes into rapid, portable tests for infectious diseases and beyond. They break down how Cas12 and Cas13 enzymes detect specific DNA or RNA sequences, creating signals that can be read on a simple lateral flow strip — similar to a pregnancy test but able to distinguish between flu, COVID, and RSV from a single sample. The episode…
How Biotech Startups Use Liquid Biopsies for Early Cancer Detection
Lucas and Luna dive into the rapidly evolving world of liquid biopsies—blood tests that detect cancer DNA fragments. They explore a landmark 2025 study from the PATHFINDER 2 trial, which screened over 6,600 adults and found early-stage signals in 1.4% of participants, with a positive predictive value above 40%. The hosts discuss how startups like Guardant Health and Grail are pushing the technology toward multi-cancer screening, the technical challenge of distinguishing tumor DNA from benign…
How Biotech Startups Use Automated Patch Clamp for Drug Discovery
Lucas and Luna explore how automated patch clamp (APC) technology is transforming ion channel drug discovery. They discuss the shift from manual to automated electrophysiology, the role of companies like Sophion and Nanion, and how startups are using APC to screen for cardiac safety and develop new pain therapeutics. The episode dives into the numbers: how APC has reduced screening time from months to days, and why ion channels are still an underexplored target class despite being the third…
How Biotech Startups Use Lysosomal Targeting for Drug Delivery
In this episode of Biotech Business with Fexingo, Lucas and Luna explore how biotech startups are leveraging lysosomal targeting to deliver drugs precisely where they're needed inside cells. They focus on the case of Lysogene, a French biotech that used a lysosomal enzyme replacement therapy to treat a rare neurological disorder called Sanfilippo syndrome type A. The hosts break down the science behind lysosomal targeting—how mannose-6-phosphate receptors guide therapeutic enzymes to…
Why Biotech Startups Are Betting on RNA Editing
Lucas and Luna explore the emerging field of RNA editing as a therapeutic platform. They break down how startups like Ascidian Therapeutics and Wave Life Sciences are using RNA editing to correct disease-causing mutations without permanently altering the genome. The episode dives into the key distinction between RNA editing and CRISPR gene editing: reversibility and safety. Lucas explains the two main approaches — adenosine deamination and ADAR recruitment — and why the space is heating up…
How Biotech Startups Use Proteomics to Find New Drug Targets
Lucas and Luna explore the emerging field of proteomics in drug discovery, focusing on how biotech startups are using mass spectrometry and AI to measure thousands of proteins simultaneously. They discuss the case of Seer, a company that raised over $150 million to commercialize its proteograph platform, and compare it to the older approach of affinity-based proteomics. The hosts explain why measuring the proteome has been historically harder than the genome, how startups like PrognomiQ are…
How Biotech Startups Use Proteolysis Targeting Chimeras for Drug Discovery
In this episode of Biotech Business with Fexingo, Lucas and Luna explore the emerging field of PROTACs—proteolysis targeting chimeras—as a new modality for drug discovery. They focus on how startups like Arvinas and Kymera Therapeutics are leveraging this technology to degrade disease-causing proteins rather than inhibiting them. The hosts discuss the mechanism of action, key clinical milestones, and the challenges of oral bioavailability and E3 ligase selectivity. They also touch on the…
How Biotech Startups Use Organoids to Model Disease
Episode 124 of Biotech Business with Fexingo dives into organoids — miniature, lab-grown organs derived from stem cells that are transforming drug discovery and disease modeling. Lucas and Luna discuss how startups like Emulate and Organovo are using these 3D structures to test drugs on human tissues without animal models, focusing on a specific case: a colorectal cancer organoid platform that predicted patient drug response with over 90% accuracy in a 2025 study. They explore the technology's…
How Biotech Startups Use Cell Painting for Drug Discovery
Episode 123 of Biotech Business with Fexingo dives into cell painting, an image-based profiling technique that is transforming early-stage drug discovery. Lucas and Luna explore how startups like Recursion Pharmaceuticals and the Broad Institute's teams use fluorescent dyes and automated microscopy to capture thousands of cellular features per well, creating a 'phenotypic fingerprint' of how compounds affect cells. They discuss how this approach helped identify a new candidate for a rare…
How Biotech Startups Are Using Circular RNA for Therapeutics
In this episode of Biotech Business with Fexingo, hosts Lucas and Luna explore the emerging field of circular RNA therapeutics. They explain how these stable, non-linear RNA molecules are being engineered by startups like Orna Therapeutics and Laronde (now part of Flagship Pioneering) to create durable protein expression without the immune activation seen in linear mRNA. The conversation covers the unique 3D structure of circRNA, its advantages for sustained treatment, and the technical…
How Biotech Startups Use Single-Cell Sequencing for Drug Discovery
Biotech startups are turning to single-cell sequencing to uncover how individual cells drive disease, enabling more precise drug targets and patient stratification. In this episode, Lucas and Luna explore two companies: ScaleBio and Parse Biosciences. ScaleBio's method profiles thousands of cells at once, reducing costs to pennies per cell, while Parse's split-pool barcoding allows whole-transcriptome analysis without expensive instruments. They discuss how these technologies are being applied…
How Biotech Startups Use Base Editing for Precision Medicine
Episode 120 of Biotech Business with Fexingo explores base editing, a genome editing technology that chemically converts one DNA base pair to another without cutting the double helix. Lucas and Luna dive into a specific case: how startup Beam Therapeutics is advancing base editors for sickle cell disease and beta-thalassemia, with a focus on their ongoing clinical trials as of mid-2026. They discuss the technology's advantages over CRISPR-Cas9, key safety challenges like off-target edits, and…
How Biotech Startups Use AI for Protein Design
In this episode, Lucas and Luna explore how biotech startups are leveraging artificial intelligence to design novel proteins from scratch. They discuss the case of David Baker's lab at the University of Washington and the spinout company Protein Design Labs, which uses deep learning to create proteins that don't exist in nature. The hosts break down how these AI-designed proteins can be used for everything from targeted cancer therapies to industrial enzymes. They also touch on the recent $200…
How Biotech Startups Use Drug Conjugates Beyond Cancer
This episode drills into the emerging world of antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs) — but not for oncology. Lucas and Luna explore how startups like Mersana Therapeutics and others are repurposing the ADC platform to target fibrosis, autoimmune disease, and inflammation. They break down the science behind linker technology and payload selection, and walk through a specific case: a Phase 1 trial for an ADC targeting the integrin receptor in fibrotic lung disease. Listeners will learn why Big Pharma…
How Biotech Startups Use Antibody-Drug Conjugates for Targeted Cancer Therapy
In this episode of Biotech Business with Fexingo, Lucas and Luna explore the fast-growing field of antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs) — cancer treatments that deliver potent chemotherapy directly to tumor cells. They break down the science behind ADCs, using Pfizer's Mylotarg as a cautionary tale and focusing on Daiichi Sankyo and AstraZeneca's Enhertu as a modern success story. The conversation covers how linkers and payloads have evolved to improve safety and efficacy, why the ADC market is…
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