Biotech leaders call for free press

To the Editor: We, the undersigned, are biotechnology executives, entrepreneurs, academic leaders and investors. We are gravely concerned about trends in the United States that are undermining our news media, such that more than 300 news publications across the country recently found it necessary to run coordinated editorials in defense of the First Amendment’s guarantee of freedom of the press.  Read more

First Rounders: John Maraganore

First Rounders: John Maraganore

The First Rounders podcast with John Maraganore can be found here. If you’d like more background on John, read this profile in Xconomy from 2014. Here’s John being interviewed at BIO after being elected chairman of the lobby group. And here’s the Nature paper on RNAi in 2001 that helped crack the field open.  Read more

Is yellow fever back in Brazil?

Is yellow fever back in Brazil?

The answer to this question is, Not exactly. Yellow fever never left Brazil. I earlier wrote that Oswaldo Cruz eradicated yellow fever in Brazil in the 19th century. In fact the extraordinary work done by Cruz focused on yellow fever in urban areas in Rio de Janeiro, but the illness persisted in the jungles.  Read more

First Rounders: Jeffery Leiden

Dr. Jeffrey Leiden, Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer of Vertex Pharmaceuticals photographed in July 2017 for Forbes.

The First Rounders podcast with Jeff can be found here. A Boston Globe article on Leiden taking the CEO position at Vertex is here and one from Xconomy is here. Read the Forbes piece on Vertex’s success in cystic fibrosis.  A profile on Jeff in STAT can be found here. Click here for a video on Vertex’s learning lab.  Read more

First rounders: Stelios Papadopoulos

First rounders: Stelios Papadopoulos

The First Rounders podcast with Stelios Papadopoulos can be found here. Here is his bio page as chairman of the board for Biogen. He is still the record holder for most goals in a game at Bethany college. A video of Stelios being interviewed by BioBusiness TV is here. And here is the “godfather of biotech” on CNBC discussing biotech stocks.  Read more

First Rounders: Greg Winter

First Rounders: Greg Winter

The First Rounders podcast with Greg Winter can be found here. Here is a profile of him in The Lancet, and an interview about his work and startups can be found here. Interested in more information on Trinity College Cambridge? Here’s a page on its history. And here is the Wikipedia page for the very long list of the Masters of Trinity. There are a few photos of Trinity and the Master’s Lodge below.  Read more

First Rounders: Jan Vilcek

First Rounders: Jan Vilcek

The Jan Vilcek podcast can be found here. Here is a link to the Vilcek Foundation, and Jan’s research page at NYU. Here’s a NY Times article on his huge donation to NYU. His memoir, Love and Science, can be bought several ways, and the Goodreads page is here. The National Czech & Slovak Museum and Library have an exhibit on Jan, and it’s displayed here, with a collection of clips from a video interview.  Read more