The Magic of Drug Development

In this special episode of Molecule to Market, we go back inside the global drug development space with Marcelo Bigal, President and CEO, of Ventus Therapeutics, and Versant Venture Partner, who shares his journey from being a neurologist to taking a drug to market when he became part of Teva Pharmaceuticals and now is a CEO.

Your host, Raman Sehgal, discusses the pharmaceutical and biotechnology supply chain with Marcelo, covering: 

• What it feels like to take a drug from the laboratory to market and what really goes into that process.
• The company’s phenomenal attitude toward patients and how this is exemplified in its drug development. 
• The incredible story of the company he joined and how 14 months after a fundraiser it was acquired by Teva Pharmaceuticals for $825M.
• The current state of the capital market and where future opportunities may lie for the business. 
• The challenging area of drug development in biotechnology over the last three years. 

Marcelo brings more than 13 years of pharma experience with a focus on urology spanning r&d, medical and scientific affairs. He has extensive experience in leading large and small scientific groups, including multiple leadership roles in industry, including the Chief Scientific Officer at Teva as well as Chief Medical Officer at Teva and Purdue. Prior to his work in the pharma sector, Marcelo was a faculty member of the Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Department of Neurology, as well as the director of research at the New England Centre for headache. 

He has authored no fewer than 330 papers in peer-reviewed journals, edited six books in urology and is the recipient of multiple awards and recognitions in the field. Marcelo holds a medical doctorate degree from the College of Medicine at the University of Sao Paulo, Brazil, where he obtained a master’s in science and a PhD in neurosciences. He completed his postdoctoral research at the New England Centre for headache.