Alex Telford - Unlocking Innovation in Pharma - [Invest Like the Best, EP.360]

My guest today is Alex Telford. Alex is the founder of Convoke, a software platform to help streamline drug development and commercialization. He also has been writing frequent blog posts on the biotech industry since 2019, keeping a pulse on the direction of innovation. He joined me today to talk about the history of the pharmaceutical industry and what’s becoming possible in medicine in the coming years. Alex helped break down the complexities of investing in new drug development, breakthroughs in gene therapy on the horizon, and the dance between timely progress and restrictive regulation. This industry has a lot to unpack, and he thoughtfully lays out the landscape. Please enjoy my conversation with Alex Telford.

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For the full show notes, transcript, and links to mentioned content, check out the episode page here.

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Past guests include Tobi Lutke, Kevin Systrom, Mike Krieger, John Collison, Kat Cole, Marc Andreessen, Matthew Ball, Bill Gurley, Anu Hariharan, Ben Thompson, and many more.

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Editing and post-production work for this episode was provided by The Podcast Consultant (https://thepodcastconsultant.com).

Show Notes:

(00:00:00) Welcome to Invest Like the Best

(00:04:01) First question - Exploring public perceptions of Big Pharma

(00:04:56) Providing an overview of the drug discovery process

(00:07:22) Assessing the efficiency of the pharmaceutical industry

(00:12:13) Anticipating the future direction of drug development

(00:16:46) Categorizing different types of pharmaceutical drugs

(00:21:19) Strategies to reduce the time from discovery to implementation

(00:25:55) Gaining insights from cross-disciplinary research

(00:31:13) The emerging role of AI in pharmaceuticals

(00:34:32) Analyzing potential regulatory shifts in the industry

(00:39:13) Discussing the importance of Randomized Controlled Trials (RCTs)

(00:43:29) Examining the impact of blockbuster drugs

(00:47:47) Deliberating on the complexities of drug pricing

(00:54:09) Highlighting exciting developments and concerns in pharma

(00:59:55) The kindest thing anyone has ever done for him