#39 - Authentic Leadership: Advancing Biotech and Women’s Health | Paula Soteropoulos

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At Akcea Therapeutics, biotech leadership meant more than drug development—it meant building with purpose, addressing long-overlooked areas of health, and paving the way for future leaders. And at the helm was founding CEO Paula Soteropoulos.

On this episode of Ventured Growth, Katie Segien sits down with Paula to explore how she helped take Akcea public, launched therapies for underserved diseases, and advanced efforts in women’s health—a space historically underfunded and under-researched. With 35 years of experience across pharma and biotech, Paula shares how she's using her platform to drive both innovation and inclusion.

She also talks about mentoring the next generation of women CEOs, shaping boardroom dynamics, and why genomic medicine could help close longstanding gaps in women’s care.

Topics include:

• Leading Akcea through IPO and pivotal drug launches
• The massive underfunding of research into women’s health 
• Mentoring and elevating women in biotech leadership
• Building purpose-driven executive teams
• What’s next in in vivo genomic medicine
• And more…
  
  
  

Paula Soteropoulos is a seasoned biotech executive, board member and advisor whose career spans a broad range of therapeutic areas, including rare disease, cardiovascular and metabolism, infectious disease, renal, and transplant and oncology. Paula is a Venture Partner at 5AM Ventures, and serves as Chairman of Ensoma, and on the boards of directors of Dianthus Therapeutics, Rallybio, and Kyowa Kirin. Paula was the founding CEO of rare disease therapeutic developer, Akcea Therapeutics, and was a board director at UniQure. She serves on the advisory boards for Chiesi USA and Tufts University Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering. Paula continues to lead and advise companies at the intersection of science, leadership, and women’s health.