Making Medicine

Filmed live at the JPMorgan Healthcare Conference 2026, this episode of the Making Medicine Podcast examines how global power shifts are reshaping the pharmaceutical industry. This Part 1 conversation features host John Stanford with former Senator Richard Burr and EU Commissioner Phil Hogan as they discuss whether the pharmaceutical industry is losing its long-held “geopolitical immunity.” As tho...

In this episode of the Making Medicine Podcast, John Stanford previews new CMS drug pricing proposals and explains how they could shape biotech investment and innovation. The conversation looks ahead to the JPMorgan Healthcare Conference, where policy, capital formation, and global competition are expected to drive discussion. The episode breaks down the Globe and Guard Medicare models, their pote...

In this New Year episode of the Making Medicine Podcast, we revisit a full-length conversation with U.S. Senator Thom Tillis of North Carolina, focused on the policies shaping US life sciences. The discussion explores intellectual property, drug pricing dynamics, regulatory balance, and how innovation ecosystems grow at the state and national level. The episode examines approaches to sustaining re...

In this special holiday episode, the Making Medicine Podcast looks back at standout conversations since the show’s July relaunch, covering biotech innovation, research funding, and global competitiveness. Highlights include discussions with industry leaders on venture capital, R&D stability, manufacturing, and the importance of a connected life sciences ecosystem. The episode also revisits con...

In this year-in-review episode, we break down key biotech investment trends from 2025, major policy developments in Congress, and what they mean for innovation and patients. The conversation covers defense-related biotech priorities, healthcare affordability challenges, PBM reform efforts, and capital access for early-stage companies. We also preview new data on venture investment, emerging therap...

This episode breaks down how Congress is turning biotechnology into a core national security priority. John Stanford explains the biggest shifts in the 2025 defense bill, why China-focused guardrails are expanding, and how new investment rules could reshape biotech funding. We also cover a new bipartisan proposal to create a government-backed investment fund, and a high-stakes battle over ACA subs...

In this episode of Making Medicine, host John Stanford sits down with Senator Thom Tillis, the first sitting U.S. Senator to join the show. Tillis opens up about his relationship with President Trump, the impact of Most Favored Nation (MFN) drug pricing on U.S. innovation, and the forces shaping America’s biotech competitiveness. They discuss why predictable intellectual property and regulatory fr...

In this episode of the Making Medicine Podcast, John Stanford sits down with Daphne Zohar, Founder, CEO, and Board Member of Seaport Therapeutics to explore the forces shaping today’s biotech ecosystem. Daphne shares her entrepreneurial path from PureTech to Seaport, offering a rare inside look at building companies, catalyzing innovation, and scaling breakthrough science. The conversation dives i...

In this special Tokyo edition of the  Making Medicine Podcast , John Stanford hosts a powerhouse panel of biotech investors, founders, and industry leaders to break down Japan’s emerging life-sciences boom. Together, they explore Japan’s regulatory shifts, government incentives, and rising startup momentum. This episode unpacks how Japan is positioning itself as a global hub for regenerative medic...

Former Sutro Biopharma CEO Bill Newell joins host John Stanford to discuss the realities of leading a biotech company through economic uncertainty, long development timelines, and a shifting policy landscape. Bill shares lessons from 16 years at the helm, raising over $1.6 billion, navigating clinical trials, and building partnerships with global pharma leaders. The episode dives deep into the cha...

In this episode, John Stanford breaks down the surge in U.S. biomanufacturing investments, including Virginia’s new $500B hub, and what it means for the nation’s workforce. He contrasts this expansion with the recent closure of Arena BioWorks, raising questions about the balance between onshoring and sustaining innovation. The discussion also dives into major rumors of a potential Medicare-GLP-1 d...

In this episode of Making Medicine, host John Stanford unpacks the Senate HELP Committee hearing on “The Future of Biotech.” From China’s accelerating investment to U.S. policy uncertainty, he explores what’s needed to protect American leadership in life sciences. The episode also covers new White House biosimilar announcements, gene therapy market challenges, and early insights from Incubate Poli...

In this week’s episode, John breaks down the White House headlines, the FDA’s new wave of priority review vouchers, and September approvals, then celebrates National IP Month with guest Joshua Kresh. We dig into criteria for the new wave of CNPVs, domestic manufacturing pushes (Augmentin XR and ketamine), and why some approvals matter for patients who’ve run out of options. John also unpacks the O...

In this week’s episode, John Stanford breaks down Day 15 of the federal shutdown’s impact on health agencies, major pullbacks in cell & gene therapy, and the White House’s latest MFN-style deal with AstraZeneca following Pfizer. We’re joined by Incubate’s Policy Director John Guy to explain how “BIOSECURE” found new life inside the Senate’s NDAA and what that means for biopharma. We also cover...

In this week’s episode, John Stanford reports from Boston - the beating heart of global biotech - with insights from investors, scientists, and executives shaping the future of life sciences. He breaks down what the government shutdown means for FDA operations, unpacks the White House–Pfizer deal, and shares key takeaways from conversations on U.S. competitiveness, biotech investment, and the next...

This week, John Stanford breaks down the government shutdown and its impact on FDA, NIH, and biotech innovation. He also covers the surprising lapse of the SBIR program, what it means for early-stage biotech funding, and the fierce political debate around its future. Plus, we analyze President Trump’s deal with Pfizer on “Most Favored Nation” drug pricing and his latest tariff threats. What does a...

In this week’s episode, John Stanford breaks down the White House autism event, the debate over shifting SEC reports to twice-yearly, and how MFN pressure is reshaping pricing strategy - before welcoming Endpoints News’ Max Bayer for a wide-ranging Press Pass on tariffs, GLP-1s, and China’s biotech surge. We unpack what “success” might look like for the administration’s drug-pricing push, why insu...

This week, John Stanford dives into the UK’s pharmaceutical challenges, including ABPI’s warning about declining competitiveness and major companies pausing investment. We also explore the debate over direct-to-consumer drug advertising in the U.S. and how it ties into investment decisions and the pill penalty. Finally, we close with August’s FDA approvals, celebrating breakthroughs for rare disea...

In this week’s episode, John Stanford reflects on Incubate’s own holiday, September 13th (9/13), and the ongoing fight to end the pill penalty through the EPIC Act. He also covers the latest developments on tariffs, HHS hearings, FDA’s new rare disease principles, and the future of the SBIR program. We close with new research on how the IRA is affecting biotech investment. What are your thoughts o...

This week, John Stanford sits down with Kendalle Burlin O’Connell (CEO & President, MassBio) to unpack the 2025 Industry Snapshot - why Massachusetts still attracts 22% of U.S. biotech VC and how advanced modalities keep the state at the cutting edge. We dig into the “flywheel” of the bioeconomy, from NIH and SBIR to FDA uncertainty, tariffs, and MFN. Kendalle lays out a unifying policy roadma...

In this week’s episode, John Stanford breaks down the latest headlines across Washington, the FDA, NIH, and industry. We cover the Trump cabinet’s tariff-drug pricing push, BARDA’s funding of vaccine research following recent pivots away from mRNA vaccines, a hopeful return of biotech IPOs, and NIH program cuts. Plus, we debut the FDA Approvals Corner celebrating new medicines reaching patients, a...

This week, John Stanford sits down with Dr. Ned Sharpless - former NCI Director, Acting FDA Commissioner, and now venture capitalist at Jupiter Bio Ventures. From the challenges of biotech funding, regulatory uncertainty, and the Inflation Reduction Act to the rise of China in biotech, IP battles, and the hype around AI, Ned offers candid insights you won’t hear anywhere else. What do you think ab...

In this episode, John Stanford dives into the latest policy and science headlines - from Dr. Vinay Prasad’s dramatic exit and return to the FDA, to HHS’s $500M cut in mRNA research, to looming pharmaceutical tariffs. Then, we debut our new "Industry Perspectives" segment with NovaQuest Capital’s Patrick Jordan, exploring how regulatory uncertainty, populist pricing policies, and global market dyna...

This week on the Making Medicine Podcast, John Stanford dives into the “Most Favored Nation” (MFN) pricing concept, championed by President Trump, and what it could mean for drug pricing, innovation, and patients in America. Could aligning U.S. drug prices with those abroad actually save patients money, or would it crush innovation and access? John unpacks the trade-offs of MFN, the global free-ri...

In this week’s special Q&A episode, John Stanford tackles your biggest questions from around the biotech and policy world. From the growing list of drug price controls under the IRA to the newly announced 15% EU tariffs on medicines, there's a lot at stake for patients, companies, and innovation. John also breaks down the temporary NIH funding freeze, what it means for research, and why August...