BioTech Nation ... with Dr. Moira Gunn

In time for the 2026 ASCO Annual Meeting in Chicago, we're highlighting 3 BioTech companies shaping the future of cancer treatment...

On this episode of BioTech Nation: how Syndax Pharmaceuticals got two new drugs approved in the last two years, for the treatment of acute myeloid leukemia and graft vs. host disease in both adults and children. CEO Michael Metzger talks to Moira about Syndax's approach to getting the drugs across the finish line, and how they've now set their sights on additional indications and cancer therapies. 

In time for the 2026 ASCO Annual Meeting in Chicago, we're highlighting 3 BioTech companies shaping the future of cancer treatment:

On this episode of BioTech Nation, Dan Schmitt of Actuate Therapeutics talks about a new kind of drug showing positive early results in hard-to-treat cancer - including adult pancreatic cancer, and two pediatric cancers. So, what’s next? Global collaborations, international trials, and efforts into different types of cancer…and they’re showing no sign of slowing down.

This week on BioTech Nation, Dr. Jonas Hannestad and Dr. Joanne Taylor of Gain Therapeutics join Moira to discuss a different approach to treating Parkinson's. While treatments are typically focused on relieving symptoms, Gain Therapeutics aims to stop progression of the disease itself. 

With the recent passing of Dr. J. Craig Venter, biotech scientist and entrepreneur, we look back at Moira and David Ewing Duncan's 2007 interview with Dr. Venter. The occasion for the interview was the publication of his autobiography: "A Life Decoded: My Genome, My Life." Dr. Craig Venter was known for catalyzing the race to decode the human genome, and at the time of the interview had just decoded his own complete DNA and published it on the Internet. 

This week on BioTech Nation, we celebrate the 50th anniversary of Genentech, the first biotech company to go public. Moira speaks with CEO Ashley Magargee about the company's journey over the last 50 years, the evolution of biotech, and where they're headed next.

This week on BioTech Nation, Andrew Farnum and Sarah LeBaron von Baeyer discuss Variant Bio’s unique approach to collecting genetic data - working specifically with indigenous tribes and more isolated populations around the globe. Could compiling this diverse genetic data reveal something about how to develop better drugs and diagnostics? And how might those sharing their data be ethically compensated for it?

Dr. Marc Salzberg, CEO & Chief Medical Officer of Airway Therapeutics, talks about what they are doing to help preterm babies. It may all boil down to delivering these babies a single protein as soon as they are born. 

On this week's episode of BioTech Nation, Dr. Daniel Kraft discusses the "now-near-next" approach he uses when talking about innovation in healthcare...and beyond. From biotech breakthroughs to AI "agentification", this framework can help us see the bigger picture, and envision the possibilities of where we could be headed next. 

This week on BioTech Nation, we celebrate the life of the late Dr. Phil Low, Purdue University Distinguished Professor of Chemistry and biotech entrepreneur. In this 2017 interview, he describes the development of fluorescence-guided surgery - and why it's a game-changer for cancer treatment. 

On this week's BioTech Nation...want to go to space? Well...it's never too late to follow your dreams, and Tech Nation Health Chief Correspondent Dr. Daniel Kraft joins us to talk about who could medically qualify to climb aboard and rocket into orbit. His answers may surprise you...

On this week's BioTech Nation...what could the future of American Healthcare look like? Moira speaks with Dr. Marschall Runge, University of Michigan Medical School Professor, about how Big Tech is quickly redefining the entire healthcare system. His book is, “The Great Healthcare Disruption: Big Tech, Bold Policy, and the Future of American Medicine.” 

On this week’s BioTech Nation, Moira speaks with Dr. Adam Rogers, CEO of NervGen Pharma, about a new treatment that’s showing significant trial results for patients with spinal cord injuries. While typically, patient progress is defined by the early months of recovery after the injury, some trial participants have seen increased function as much as 10 years post-trauma. 

On this week’s Biotech Nation, Moira speaks with Dr. Arun Swaminathan about an intervention for ALS that Coya Therapeutics is taking into phase two clinical trials. The goal? To stop progression of the disease in its tracks. It could even help in patients with Parkinson’s, Alzheimers, and Frontotemporal Dementia.

What if you could routinely screen for early cancer, detecting it while it's easier to treat? Tech Nation Health Chief Correspondent, Dr. Daniel Kraft discusses the latest diagnostics that could allow us to do just that. From blood tests to full-body scans, the future of cancer screening could mean finding cancer before obvious symptoms even begin...

On this week’s Biotech Nation, how doctors and hospitals are using AI, and how it could change the practice of medicine. Moira speaks with Dr. Robert Wachter about his book, “A Giant Leap: How AI is Transforming Healthcare and What That Means for Our Future”.

You may already use "Dr. ChatGPT" to answer your medical questions... but now, OpenAI has announced the rollout of ChatGPT Health and OpenAI for Healthcare. Dr. Daniel Kraft has the latest on how each platform will work, and what happens with the health data you share. 

This week on BioTech Nation, what is AI-Powered Biology? Dr. Shana Kelley, President of Bioengineering and Head of Biohub, Chicago for the Chan-Zuckerberg Initiative, discusses how AI can be used to accelerate research, and what this could mean for the future.  

This is the 2026 BioTech Nation "5":
Five Companies Ready to Make a Difference.
We're highlighting 5 biotech companies with a special release of interviews in time for the 44th Annual J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference right here in San Francisco.
Hear all 5 interviews at https://www.biotechnation.com/jpm-2026-btn-5

For more information a...

This is the 2026 BioTech Nation "5":
Five Companies Ready to Make a Difference.
We're highlighting 5 biotech companies with a special release of interviews in time for the 44th Annual J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference right here in San Francisco.
Hear all 5 interviews at https://www.biotechnation.com/jpm-2026-btn-5

This is the 2026 BioTech Nation "5":
Five Companies Ready to Make a Difference.
We're highlighting 5 biotech companies with a special release of interviews in time for the 44th Annual J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference right here in San Francisco.
Hear all 5 interviews at https://www.biotechnation.com/jpm-2026-btn-5

This is the 2026 BioTech Nation "5":
Five Companies Ready to Make a Difference.
We're highlighting 5 biotech companies with a special release of interviews in time for the 44th Annual J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference right here in San Francisco.
Hear all 5 interviews at https://www.biotechnation.com/jpm-2026-btn-5

This is the 2026 BioTech Nation "5":
Five Companies Ready to Make a Difference.
We're highlighting 5 biotech companies with a special release of interviews in time for the 44th Annual J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference right here in San Francisco.
Hear all 5 interviews at https://www.biotechnation.com/jpm-2026-btn-5

This week on Biotech Nation, Dr. Martin Borch Jensen and Dr. Francisco LePort from Gordian Biotechnology share a bold new approach to fighting diseases of aging before they take hold. Instead of testing one drug at a time, their technology allows scientists to test hundreds of potential treatments at once, making drug discovery faster and more precise. This could change how we treat conditions like arthritis, heart failure, and fatty liver disease.

This week on BioTech Nation, we explore what happens when your immune system overreacts. Professor Niels Riedemann, CEO of InflaRx, explains how the body’s defense system can sometimes cause more harm than good, leading to serious conditions like rheumatoid arthritis, severe COVID-19, and lung failure. Learn how InflaRx is developing treatments to calm the immune system and why their breakthrough drug is getting attention from U.S. health agencies. 

This week on Biotech Nation, Dr. Ari Azhir, Founder and CEO of Neuvivo, shares the incredible journey of an ALS drug that was once abandoned, but is now making its way toward FDA approval. After two failed phase two trials, the drug was left behind until Dr. Azhir and her team discovered a crucial mistake in the trial data. Now with new insights and groundbreaking survival results, Neuvivo is giving hope to ALS patients and exploring its potential for other neurodegenerative diseases like Huntington’s and Alzheimer’s.

This week on BioTech Nation, Bruin Biometrics CEO Martin Burns talks about a new diagnostic tool being used to detect and prevent potentially fatal bedsores in their earliest stages.

For years, we've all turned to Google to self-diagnose every cough, rash, and weird pain. Dr. Daniel Kraft says the shift is happening, from Dr. Google to Dr. ChatGPT.

This week on Biotech Nation, Dr. Lincoln Nadauld shares how Culmination Bio is using 9 million preserved tissue samples and decades of patient data to improve how we understand and treat diseases. From discovering patterns in cancer treatments to exploring breakthroughs in heart and autoimmune diseases, this unique approach is changing medicine.

What if we could fix the gene that causes dementia? In this episode, Aviado Bio CEO Lisa Deschamps tells us how her team is working to correct the gene driving many cases of frontotemporal dementia. 

What if you could tune your DNA to fix any mistakes? Dr. Derek Jantz from Tune Therapeutics talks about tuning DNA, not just with humans, but stopping the Hepatitis B virus in its tracks.

Imagine a world where the toughest wounds heal twice as fast, and patients get their lives back sooner than anyone thought possible. Dr. Ned Swanson, the President and Chief Medical Officer of Polarity Bio, tells us about their approach to healing serious, hard-to-treat skin wounds. In early trials, it's twice as effective as the current treatment for diabetic foot ulcers.

40% of all rheumatoid arthritis patients do not respond to any of the current drugs. Rob Armstrong, CEO of Artax Biopharma, aims to bring new hope for those patients who've been left without effective treatment options.

Can you imagine parents expecting a baby, going in for an ultrasound, and finding out that their baby is missing the heart's left ventricle? This week on BioTech Nation, Dr. Joshua Hare, Co-Founder and Chief Scientific Officer of Longeveron, talks about how they are testing the use of stem cells to treat babies born with a serious congenital heart defect.

This week on BioTech Nation, Dr. Jeff Stein, President & CEO of Cidara Therapeutics, brings up promising news about a new approach to flu shots.

Dr. Marc Salzberg, CEO & Chief Medical Officer of Airway Therapeutics, talks about what they are doing to help preterm babies. It may all boil down to delivering these babies a single protein as soon as they are born. 

Dr. Avak Kahvejian, Founding CEO of Cellarity, explains their new approach to discovering drugs by using AI to look at how cells behave as a whole, rather than focusing on one part of the problem. This approach could lead to faster development of better treatments, such as a pill for sickle cell disease.

This week on Biotech Nation, Paul Hastings, CEO of Nkarta and former chair of BIO—the Biotechnology Innovation Organization—discusses the impact of cuts to research funding and stepping away from recommending vaccines—what this means for you and the biotech industry. 

This week on BioTech Nation, Dr. Mark Kendall, CEO of WearOptimo, tells us about progress with their new wearable. You could be dehydrated and not even know it … And exactly how hydrated are you right now, anyway? The old “if you’re thirsty, drink something” turns out to be a little too late. 

Tech Nation Health Chief Correspondent Daniel Kraft reports in on the BioTech Nation session from NextMed Health 2025

This week on BioTech Nation, Dr. Steve Harr, CEO of Sana Biotechnology, talks about their progress in Type I diabetics, in particular. The New England Journal of Medicine publishes early success with Sana Biotechnology's engineered insulin-producing cells without immunosuppressant drugs.