Approved @approvedfm
Deep dives into biotech history and drug development. For founders, VCs, and the life sciences community. approved.fm Joined February 2026-
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This podcast is great! Like Acquired, but for biotech/pharma. Couple great episodes already!
Many of you have been asking us: "Who is Approved?" "Where is Approved?" and even, sometimes… "Why is Approved?" Rather than let this mystery haunt us any longer, here is our official breakdown of what this podcast covers. Check it out:
If you haven’t already please subscribe and listen to @approvedfm . It’s such an excellent podcast.
How did Botox go from an obscure treatment for lazy eye to a wrinkle drug? The answer may surprise you: a single perceptive patient!
One (of so many) highlights of this great ep of Approved=focus on von Hippel concept of "Field Discovery"-how many new indications (here, for Botox, but true more generally-classic ref, from 2006, is this: pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/16503712/ ) originated w observant clinicians. @alexkesin
Wow-another fantastic ep of "Approved" pcast w @alexkesin & Matthew Pech, this time focused on improbable story of botox, from bioweapon to strabismus med (1st indic!) to med for aesthetic & other uses: podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/all… (2y ago I rev'd fascinating bk on topic for WSJ)
Wow-another fantastic ep of "Approved" pcast w @alexkesin & Matthew Pech, this time focused on improbable story of botox, from bioweapon to strabismus med (1st indic!) to med for aesthetic & other uses: podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/all… (2y ago I rev'd fascinating bk on topic for WSJ)
Even outside of pharma, Botox is one of the world's strangest enduring businesses. The total amount of drug sold globally each year weighs about *two ladybugs* by mass; its biggest commercial moat runs on manufacturing secrets; and most famously, its biggest use case (cosmetics) was discovered by accident. So it's no wonder then that it's been fought over as much as it has (we get into that!) New on @approvedfm: the history of Botox and the company that made it, Allergan Pharmaceuticals.
Botox and Allergan Pharmaceuticals. Out Friday, September 18th on @approvedfm.
I'm biased but this is such a cool listen on the complexity and fun of drug discovery. Both Christoph and Alexis (2 of my Curie.Bio co-founders), plus a few other members of our team, talking about how they built Blueprint Medicines into a $9.5b M&A deal with a real meaningful approved medicine for patients. approved.fm/p/blueprint-me… podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/blu…
Huge kudos to @alexkesin and Matthew Pech for yet another captivating episode of Approved, this one about Blueprint Medicine & early days of @ThirdRockV podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/app… - really captures nuance, messiness, uncertainty, & gap between narrative & life so well!
Blueprint Medicines went from having under $100k in the bank to a $9.1B acquisition last year by Sanofi. All thanks to a "holy grail" kinase platform and a lucky pivot into mast cell disease. New @approvedfm + exclusive interviews with the founders and drug hunters, out now:
Finally got around to listening to the @approvedfm keytruda episode and I recommend it. It strikes the difficult balance between science and narrative. Lots of original material including interviews with Organon and Schering-Plough execs. More of this please.
@iskander Apple Podcasts podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/epi…
Best of luck @iskander! ICYMI, listen to our episode on Geron here:
Starting a newco around unlocking immortality and curing all cancer by modulating the Hayflick limit. Raising at $2b, send term sheets to DMs (yes, you should listen to Approved pod)
Nice to hear Roger's side of this question! In our latest episode of @approvedfm, we asked Roy Baynes - architect of Keytruda's clinical development at Merck, who followed Roger to Eikon - the same question. Here's what Roy had to say about China's emerging role in pharma:
𝐎𝐧 𝐂𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐚: Regarding the China debate that has been raging here, a phrase I've heard asked many times is: "What if the next Keytruda comes from China?" Well, this morning I posed this Q to the developer of Keytruda, who has also been in licensing drugs from China lately.
7/9 Another podcast you'll want to know about: Approved - sort of like @AcquiredFM (also recommended btw), but for @US_FDA-approved drugs. Hosted by @alexkesin & Matthew Pech; latest ep on Keytruda is excellent: podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/key…
@srikosuri is right — @ApprovedFM is instantly required listening for anyone in biotech. The Keytruda episode is wild. Discovered by accident from a failed RA antibody program. Almost out-licensed for nothing in 2010. Now Merck’s biggest drug ever at $30B+ a year. Interviews with the actual inventors and the former CMO. The kind of context you can’t get anywhere else. Stories like this stay with you because they’re the truth of how drugs actually get made — serendipity, stubbornness, and execution that refuses to break. We see it every day on the CDMO side with oncology biologics and complex mAbs.
So in love with this new podcast, Approved! It’s acquired for biotech and drugs. Amazing job @alexkesin and Matthew; really hope you keep it going.
So in love with this new podcast, Approved! It’s acquired for biotech and drugs. Amazing job @alexkesin and Matthew; really hope you keep it going.
Keytruda transformed cancer care and made Merck more money than any drug in history. It was also discovered by accident, and nearly out-licensed in 2010 for pocket change. New Approved + exclusive interviews with the inventors and the Merck CMO who ran development:
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