The Biotech Voyager

Jeff Martin
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Biotech's Live show. Dedicated to covering the early stage signals that indicate what's next in the industry.

  1. Jul 31

    Insilico Medicine Racks Up Wins, And Michael Torres Outlines Longevity Gene Therapy

    Welcome to The Biotech Voyager. It's the show that covers what's next in biotech, mapping the early-stage signals before they become big news.

  2. Jul 29

    Tuesday July 28th

    Welcome to The Biotech Voyager, the show that covers what's next in biotech.

  3. Jul 20

    The Snake Molecule That Could Replace GLP-1s | The Jack Gugel Interview

    Jack Gugel, co-founder and CEO of Arkana Therapeutics, joins the show to explain how a molecule discovered in Burmese python metabolism could offer an alternative to GLP-1 drugs, why pythons are the perfect model organism for studying extreme metabolic swings, and why he thinks every PhD should end with a company instead of a postdoc application. Arkana spun out of a University of Colorado Boulder lab that's spent 20 years studying how Burmese pythons survive a year without eating, then consume a meal their own body weight, spiking their metabolism 40x in the process. That extreme biology led to the discovery of a novel appetite suppressant molecule that acts only on the brain, unlike GLP-1 drugs, which also slow gastric emptying and cause GI side effects in roughly half of patients. Jack walks through the science, the company's origin story, and where the platform goes next. Chapters 00:00:00 Intro and meet Jack Gugel, CEO of Arkana Therapeutics 00:01:03 How studying pythons for a PhD led to a biotech 00:02:45 The discovery: a python molecule that suppresses appetite 00:04:26 GLP-1 vs. Arkana's molecule, why the side effects differ 00:06:10 From 200 metabolites to one drug candidate 00:07:04 How they actually manufacture it (they're not farming pythons) 00:08:46 The origin story: an Oklahoma road trip and a CU Boulder lab 00:11:00 Why every PhD should end with a company 00:14:16 The eureka moment: a drug target with zero competition 00:16:06 The flip side: could this help cancer and ICU patients? 00:17:36 Arkana's next steps and funding stage 00:18:49 The other half of weight loss: burning calories like a python 00:20:27 Inside the lab: how they pull compounds from snakes 00:24:20 Other biotechs betting on extreme animal biology 00:25:47 What's being slept on in biotech right now New episodes every Tuesday and Thursday at 11:00 AM. #biotech #arkana #GLP1

  4. Jul 17

    Cancer Drugs Get Re-Purposed Into LNPs - And 2 Cell Therapy Developers Join the Show

    Welcome to the BioTek Voyager. It's the show that covers what's next in BioTech, mapping the early-stage signals that are going to be a big deal in a couple years.

  5. Jul 15

    Neurological Drugs Dominate the Headlines, and Therapeutics from Snakes.

    Welcome to The Biotech Voyager. It's the show that covers what's next in biotech, mapping the early-stage signals before they become major news. If you have any questions, drop them below.

  6. Jul 10

    Thursday, July 9th

    Welcome to The Biotech Voyager. It's the show that covers the early-stage biotech space, uncovering the companies that are going to be a big deal in a couple of years.

  7. Jul 8

    iPSC Cells Get Attention, Gut Bug Clinical Readouts, and X-tosis

    Welcome to the Biotech Voyager. It's the show that covers what's next in biotech. Drop a question in the chat to be part of the conversation .

  8. Jun 29

    The Kevin Walton Interview - Baseimmune

    Kevin Walton, CEO of Baseimmune, joins Ben and Jeff to break down one of the most underappreciated problems in modern medicine: fibrosis. IPF alone carries a life expectancy of three to five years upon diagnosis, and despite decades of research only three drugs have been approved, none of which halt or reverse the disease. Kevin explains why every previous approach has failed, why fibrosis is a network-driven redundant disease that defeats single-target therapies, and how Baseimmune's computational platform uses active immunotherapy to go after multiple pathways simultaneously with a single vaccine. Beyond fibrosis, Kevin reveals two additional applications the platform is being explored for, including a therapeutic vaccine for chronic pain and migraines, and a cardiovascular application. He also shares his take on what is most slept on in biotech right now: the immune system as a drug manufacturing platform. 0:00 Introduction 1:02 What is Baseimmune targeting with active immunotherapy 1:25 IPF — the disease, the stats, the failure of current drugs 1:49 Why single-target approaches keep failing 4:03 How the vaccine approach works 4:28 Additional applications beyond fibrosis 7:31 The data they've seen so far 9:35 Early results and what's encouraging 13:30 Pain vaccine — chronic migraines and the marketing opportunity 14:42 Cardiovascular applications 15:43 AI and the future of peptide-based immunotherapy 19:45 What's slept on in biotech — Kevin's answer 20:33 Immune system as a drug manufacturing platform 21:31 Jeff's response and closing thoughts New episodes every Tuesday and Thursday at 11:00 AM 🚀

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About

Biotech's Live show. Dedicated to covering the early stage signals that indicate what's next in the industry.

Information

  • Creator
    Jeff Martin
  • Years Active
    2026
  • Episodes
    29
  • Rating
    Clean