Alex Kesin and Matthew Pech

Approved

Business EN ↓ 3 episodes

Life sciences, under the hood. Deep dives into the patent filings, regulatory gauntlets, and capital-risks that shape the business of biology.

Author

Alex Kesin and Matthew Pech

Episodes

Keytruda: How Merck's Pembrolizumab Became the Best-Selling Cancer Drug of All Time 14.05.2026 2:07:36

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 chec...

Episode #2: Geron 13.03.2026 2:22:06

Listen on Spotify Listen on Apple Podcasts Listen on YouTube TABLE 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:...

Episode #1: Amylin Pharmaceuticals 30.01.2026 1:46:28

Listen on Spotify Listen on Apple Podcasts Listen on YouTube TABLE 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 & Playbook CREDITS Co-hosted by Alex Kesin and Matthew Pech Written, edited, and produced by Alex Kesin...