Moving from academia to biotech requires scientists to apply their expertise in a different environment. In this episode of The Emerging Biotech Leader podcast, Kim Kushner and Mattia Calissano, VP Medical at SSI Strategy, discuss moving from academic research into drug development, collaborating effectively, communicating scientific evidence to investors and adapting to the commercial realities of biotech.

In Brief

How can scientists successfully transition from academia to biotech?

Scientific expertise provides a strong foundation, but succeeding in biotech requires more than technical knowledge. Curiosity, critical thinking and collaboration are important, as is the ability to adapt and communicate scientific ideas clearly.

Mattia brings first-hand experience to the conversation, with over 10 years in academia. He spent nearly five years at the MHRA as a Medical Assessor working in pharmacovigilance and benefit-risk assessment, and then moved to Orchard Therapeutics where he progressed through drug safety/PV roles to Head of Pharmacovigilance.

Drawing on that journey, Mattia reflects on how academia and industry differ and how scientists can apply their existing skills in a new environment.

For biotech leaders, this raises another question: what should they look for when hiring someone directly from academia? Mattia points to strong scientific understanding, an openness to learning and a willingness to step outside their comfort zone.

What you’ll learn:

• How scientists can make the transition from academia to biotech
• Which academic skills can provide a strong foundation for working in biotech
• Why curiosity, adaptability and collaboration matter in biotech leadership
• How the scientific and commercial contexts of academia and biotech differ
• What biotech leaders can look for when hiring scientists directly from academia

Listen to the full episode to hear Mattia’s perspective on moving from academia into biotech, developing as a scientific leader and recognising the qualities that help scientists succeed in the biotech industry.

For scientific founders, moving from academia into a biotech startup means turning personal expertise into organizational capability.

In this episode of The Emerging Biotech Leader, Kim Kushner is joined by Samir Ounzain, co-founder and CEO of HAYA Therapeutics, to look at how the founder's role changes as the science becomes a company and the team grows around it.

One of the biggest changes for Samir was moving from the more open-ended nature of academic research to a much more deliverable-oriented way of working. In a biotech, the science ultimately has to become a product. That quickly takes you beyond any one person's expertise. The founder who is used to being an executor has to become a facilitator and enabler, bringing together the expertise needed to move the work forward.

Taking a scientific idea from research into a company requires conviction. You have to believe enough in the idea to build a company around it, without becoming so attached to it that you stop listening to what the evidence is telling you. HAYA itself grew from questioning established assumptions about biology, including the idea that much of the non-protein-coding genome was simply “junk.” The lesson carries beyond the science. Conviction still needs to respond to what the evidence tells you.

As the company grows, the CEO can't be involved in every decision. People need enough context to understand what they're working toward and enough autonomy to make decisions where the information actually sits. The idea is “context over control” and building a team that is “highly aligned but loosely coupled.”

In biotech, perfection is unrealistic. What you can build is an organization that learns quickly and keeps moving.

Listen to the full episode for the full conversation.

In this episode of The Emerging Biotech Leader, Kim Kushner sits down with Chris Kennedy, CEO of Pacific Genetech, to examine a different approach to building leadership teams in early-stage biotech: building organizations around program needs rather than fixed leadership structures.

Biotech companies are often built around a familiar assumption: identify the key leadership roles, hire the right people, and grow from there. Increasingly, that model is being challenged by the realities of early-stage development.

The question is not simply whether a role should be full-time or fractional. It is whether the company has access to the capabilities it needs at a given stage of development.

Early-stage companies rarely have the resources to build every capability in-house from the outset. Whether working with academic institutions, investors, scientific advisors, or operational leaders, progress often depends on bringing the right perspectives into critical decisions at the right time. Expertise becomes something companies can access as needs evolve, rather than something that must always exist as a permanent role.

That changes how leadership itself is viewed. Rather than filling an organizational chart as quickly as possible, companies can build access to expertise that evolves alongside the needs of the program. The question becomes less about which roles exist and more about what capabilities are needed next.

The challenge is often less about having every role in place and more about knowing when specific expertise needs to be brought in.

Listen to the full episode.