Explore every episode of the podcast Life Sciences DNA Podcast

Vertex senior director Amrit Moola sits down with Srivatsan Nagaraja to discuss what it takes to operationalize AI in pharma and biotech from early experiments to large‑scale transformation. He describes how to pick high‑impact use cases, re‑architect processes around agents and real‑time data, and align business operations on outcomes. The discussion ranges from CRO recruitment data and batch disposition in cell and gene therapy to guardrails, governance, and why you can’t blame the algorithm when something goes wrong.

Vikram Nair, chief information officer of Amneal Pharmaceuticals, joins Srivatsan Nagaraja to break down what it really takes to turn AI from boardroom buzz into real business impact. From early missteps and skeptical stakeholders to building smarter metrics, Nair shares lessons from the front lines of AI transformation—and introduces a practical control framework to help life sciences companies scale AI, manage risk, and evolve without losing control.  

Dennis Salotti, executive director and head of clinical outsourcing and innovation at Jazz Pharmaceuticals, joins Srivatsan Nagaraja to talk about what AI really looks like in day-to-inside a drug company. He explains how large language models and agentic tools can streamline contracting, budgeting, and risk management—mundane but high-impact work that speeds studies and improves trial-site experience. Salotti shares how to design narrow, high‑ROI pilots, build AI fluency, avoid “AI slop,” and turn AI into a thinking partner rather than a shortcut, stacking small wins that remove grunt work, capture lessons learned, and elevate people from doers to critical thinkers.

Tris Pharma Chief Commercial Officer Manesh Naidu sits down with Nagaraja Srivatsan to discuss how the small but growing specialty pharma company is pursuing a deliberately incremental AI strategy, focusing on its biggest pain points rather than chasing grand, enterprise-wide transformations. He explains how the team is using off-the-shelf and vendor tools where possible, rigorously managing data and compliance risk, and letting quick wins in discrete use cases pave the way for broader change. Naidu discusses what practical AI adoption looks like for Tris, how the company is applying the technology to high-value commercial challenges, and how it is reinventing sales training through virtual physician simulations.

Shweta Maniar, global strategy and market leader for life sciences at Google Cloud, sits down with Nagaraja Srivatsan to unpack what it takes to turn AI pilots into durable, enterprise-wide impact. A former biotech executive who now helps biopharma leaders modernize their data and AI strategy, Shweta argues that success starts with fixing fragmented data foundations and reshaping culture—not just deploying the latest model. She explains why AI should be treated as a strategic upgrade to de-risk science rather than a narrow tool for squeezing efficiency, why the hardest problems are less about model performance and more about data and organizational behavior, and how emerging multi-agent systems could compress timelines from discovery to patient access. You can download The ROI of AI in Healthcare and Life Sciences report referenced in the discussion here: https://cloud.google.com/resources/content/roi-of-ai-healthcare-life-sciences

Scotch McClure had a bold plan for Maxwell Biosciences to map and mine the roughly 3 percent of peptides circulating in human plasma. The company has harnessed AI to move from a massive and messy universe of human peptides to a small-molecule candidate that could offer a potential alternative to antibiotics, antifungals, and some antivirals. McClure, CEO of Maxwell, sat down with Nagaraja Srivatsan to discuss why he thinks AI is becoming the central engine that makes modern drug development not just faster but possible at all, how he sees AI as essential to filtering out the noise in vast datasets, and why organizations will need to surrender more of the scientific process to AI while constraining it with a clear vision and guardrails.

Drew McCormick, head of data and analytics at Eversana, sits down with Nagaraja Srivatsan to trace the company’s AI journey from classic predictive modeling in its data and analytics business to an enterprise-wide strategy. He describes how Eversana is building on a strong data foundation to tackle challenges such as patient identification, while also rethinking workflows, governance, and talent to ensure AI delivers value in a highly regulated environment.

Scott Cenci, chief information and data officer for Acadia Pharmaceuticals, sits down with Nagaraja Srivatsan to discuss how generative and agentic AI are reshaping biopharma throughout the enterprise from R&D and clinical development to the commercial field. He discusses how it is changing the roles of people like medical writers into medical editors, why every knowledge worker will soon manage AI agents as part of their job; and the hard problems leaders face in prioritizing AI investments, avoiding experiment fatigue, governing enterprise data, and building a culture of continuous learning.​

Karthik Raman, co-founder and CEO of Persist AI, sits down with the Nagaraja Srivatsan to discuss how robotics, AI, and cloud tech are supercharging drug formulation to address a bottleneck in pharma R&D. He explains how robots outperform humans in consistency and scale, igniting a flywheel of faster prototyping, richer data, and AI-orchestrated workflows that will propel biopharma innovation amid rising drug complexity.

Gabi Tarcic, vice president of product for Evogene, sits down with Srivatsan Nagaraja about applying AI to small molecule drug discovery, the cultural and operational changes required for researchers to adopt these tools, and how AI-driven platforms can improve the efficiency of pharma R&D.

Anita Modi, CEO and founder of Peer AI, joins Srivatsan Nagaraja to discuss the transformative impact of agentic AI on document creation for pharmaceutical companies. She discusses the cultural challenges of integrating AI into a traditionally cautious industry, the need for change management, and why it’s critical to embed human judgment alongside machine intelligence.​

Ronel Veksler, co-founder and CEO of PromiseBio, sits down with Amar Drawid to discuss the company’s AI-enabled proteomics platform, and how post-translational modifications of proteins represent a new frontier for precision medicine in autoimmune diseases; and how AI is enabling deep profiling of the epiproteome for better disease subtyping, improved prediction of drug response, and more personalized therapeutic strategies.

Aaron Cohen, Head of Research Oncology, Clinical Data for Flatiron Health, sits down with Amar Drawid to discuss Flatiron’s use of large language models to extract and analyze unstructured data from electronic health records. Cohen discusses how AI‑extracted data can replicate human‑curated outcomes across multiple cancer types, paving the way for faster, richer insights to guide both clinical decision‑making and drug development.

Manfred Stapff, founder and principal of Candid Advisory, sits down with Amar Drawid to discuss the potential of real-world data to accelerate drug development and improve regulatory strategies. He discusses why real-world data can provide insights may miss, shed light on treatment effects once approved, and how it may one day reshape the drug approval process.

Stephen Pyke, chief clinical data and digital officer at Parexel, sits down with Srivatsan Nagaraja to discuss the adoption of AI technologies in clinical development. He highlights the importance of workflow integration, the challenges of change management, and how to prepare organizations for an AI-driven future.

Mohan Uttarwar, CEO 1Cell.Ai, sits down with Amar Drawid to discuss how his company is transforming cancer diagnostics and care by combining cutting-edge molecular science with advanced AI. He talks about how the company’s single-cell multi-omics platform provides real-time, precision insights, enhances patient selection in clinical trials, and delivers actionable information for oncologists.

Amar Drawid, vice president and global head of data analytics, insights, and AI for BioNTech, sits down with Nagaraja Srivatsan to discuss the evolution, adoption, and challenges of AI in the biopharma sector. He discusses the real-world implementation challenges of generative AI, the iterative process of developing business solutions, and the necessity of effective change management for organizational adoption.

Dimitris Agrafiotis, director of digital analytics and AI at Arsenal Capital Partners sits down with Nagaraja Srivatsan to discuss the current state of AI in clinical trials, the potential for AI to streamline operations, and the importance of user experience and change management in driving adoption of the technology.

Sunil Talathi, senior director and head of data insights, data sciences, and analytics for BeOne Medicines; sits down with Nagaraja Srivatsan to discuss his experience implementing AI in a biopharmaceutical company. He discusses cost considerations, prompt engineering, and the need for collaboration between humans and AI systems.

Craig Lipset, advisor and founder of Clinical Innovation Partners, sits down with Nagaraja Srivatsan to discuss how AI can bring greater predictability to clinical trials, how organizations can adopt the technology effectively, and the importance of having a culture of experimentation.

Ariel Katz, co-founder and CEO of H1, sits down with Amar Drawid to discuss how his company’s AI platform allows pharmaceutical companies to identify the right healthcare providers for their clinical trials, medical affairs, and commercial activities. He discusses the company’s unique datasets, the problem it solves for biopharmaceutical companies, and some unexpected ways the platform has been used.

Venky Iyer, director of data strategy and automation at Pfizer, sits down with Nagaraja Srivatsan to discuss the transformative role of AI and machine learning in the pharmaceutical industry. They discuss Iyer’s journey in implementing AI solutions to enhance operational efficiency at Pfizer. They talk about the importance of engaging operational teams, managing change effectively, and focusing on the value of AI adoption in improving drug development processes.

Scott Chetham, co-founder and CEO of Faro Health, sits down with Amar Drawid to discuss how AI transforms clinical trial design and drug development. He talks about how AI can enhance patient selection, feasibility assessments, and protocol writing to accelerate drug development cost-effectively.

Kannan Natarajan, senior vice president at Pfizer, discusses the potential of generative AI to streamline pharmaceutical documentation processes and improve efficiency, what he’s learned about implementing AI solutions, and the cultural challenges of adopting new technologies.

Vinod Das, Pharma R&D, Drug Innovation & AI Scouting for Bayer; sits down with Nagaraja Srivatsan to discuss the integration of generative AI in drug discovery and clinical development. He discusses the journey of AI adoption, the importance of prompt engineering, and the complexities of implementation.

Vijayalakshmi Ramshankar, professor and head of the Department of Cancer Biology and Molecular Diagnostics at Cancer Institute (WIA) sits down with Nagaraja Srivatsan to discuss the cancer research landscape in India, the work she is doing to leverage AI to improve diagnosis and outcomes, and the future of AI in oncology

Manoranjan Das, director of global drug development IT for Bristol Myers Squibb, sits down with Nagaraja Srivatsan to discuss his work to implement AI in clinical development, the importance of change management, and the lessons learned from various AI projects he’s led.

Aman Thukral, director of Clinical Systems And Digital Operations at AbbVie, sits down with Nagaraja Srivatsan to discuss the evolving landscape of clinical trials with the integration of AI, why change management is essential for successful implementation, and the need for a long-term investment approach in AI initiatives.

Tobias Guennel, senior vice president of product innovation and co-founder of QuartzBio, joins Nagaraja Srivatsan to discuss his insights on leveraging AI and advanced analytics to improve clinical trial efficiency, the integration of AI in precision medicine, and the use of AI agents to automate clinical trial operations.

Bhaskar Sambasivan, CEO of Saama, sits down with Nagaraja Srivatsan to discuss the transformative role of AI in clinical development, why AI adoption will be a CEO mandate, and why the future of AI in drug development will be about autonomous decision-making.

Mike Nally, CEO of Generate Biomedicines, sits down with Amar Drawid to discuss the innovative use of generative AI in drug discovery, how the company’s platform integrates machine learning with biological engineering to create new therapeutic proteins, and the potential of generative AI to create more effective therapies for cancer and infectious diseases.

Kannan Raman of Amazon Web Service sits down with Amar Drawid to discuss the role of AI in transforming life sciences and the importance of data strategy being tied to business outcomes. They explore the challenges of data strategy, the importance of cultural shifts within organizations, and the monetization of data as a product.

The increasing demand for AI talent in the life sciences industry is presenting a challenge for biopharma HR departments. Companies must compete for skilled workers not only against their competitors but also against tech firms that often offer more attractive compensation packages. Steve Swan, CEO of The Swan Group, sat down with Amar Drawid to discuss the current recruitment landscape for AI talent in the life sciences sector, the challenges companies are encountering, and why the mission of drug developers might give them a competitive advantage over tech companies in appealing to certain candidates.

Monoclonal antibodies have been an important addition to the biomedical arsenal, but these therapies have limited ability to target a group of cell surface receptors known as GPCRs. Aikium is developing a new class of therapies known as SeqR proteins that offer an alternative to antibody-based drugs and can bind to intrinsically disordered regions of targeted GPCRs that were previously considered undruggable. Venkatesh Mysore, co-founder and CTO of Aikium, sits down with Amar Drawid to discuss how the company is using AI and synthetic biology to discover SeqR protein therapeutics to treat cancer, auto-immune diseases, and neuro-inflammatory disorders.

Rick Lloyd, founder and senior healthcare advisor of Range Health Advisors, sits down with Amar Drawid to discuss the intricacies of market access in the pharmaceutical industry, the importance of data analytics and AI in navigating the complexities of pricing and reimbursement, and how real-world evidence may help address the challenges faced by patients and healthcare providers in accessing medications.

Anastasia Christianson, AI and data analytics senior consultant and strategic advisor to life sciences and healthcare companies, sits down with Amar Drawid to discuss the integration of AI in the pharmaceutical industry, the importance of organizational models, and why its important for teams across an organization to co-create rather than to work in isolation.

Markus Gershater, chief scientific officer and co-founder of Synthace sits down with Amar Drawid to discuss Synthace’s AI-based platform that enables drug developers to design complex experiments, run them, and capture and analyze the data all in an automated way.

Brendan Frey, founder and chief innovation officer of Deep Genomics, sits down with Amar Drawid to discuss how the company is using deep learning to leverage massive RNA biology datasets to drive the development of new therapies.  

Ankit Gupta, the head of AI and Senior Director of Machine Learning Research for Ginkgo Bioworks sits down with Amar Drawid to discuss bioengineering beyond healthcare, how the company is using generative AI and large language models to accelerate bioengineering, it expects this to revolutionize the field.

Subodha Kumar, professor of statistics, operations, and data science and the founding director of the Center for Business Analytics and Disruptive Technologies at Temple University’s Fox School of Business, sits down with Amar Drawid to discuss how AI will improve operational efficiency in healthcare, enable mass customization for patients, and free providers up to focus on high-value decision making.

Mati Gill, CEO of AION Labs, sits down with Amar Drawid to discuss how the AI venture studio works with its Big Pharma partners to define the biggest drug development hurdles the industry faces; and how it holds challenges to attract academics, entrepreneurs, and life sciences professionals with the best solutions to build new companies.

Noam Solomon, co-founder and CEO of Immunai, sits down with Amar Drawid to discuss how the company is using machine learning to take a multi-omics approach to understanding the complexities of the immune system, how it is constructing an atlas of immune cells, and how it is leveraging this to develop the next generation of immunomodulatory drugs.

Behavioral health is one area of medicine that has lagged in the move towards precision medicine, in part because of a lack of high-quality evidence to drive decision-making. Holmusk is working to change that by using AI and real-world data to transform mental health care. Eze Abosi, chief growth officer for Holmusk, sits down with Amar Drawid to discuss the need for standardized ways to measure symptoms for behavioral health conditions. They talk about how Holmusk is unlocking much-needed evidence to guide the successful development of new therapies, how its platform technology works, and why he believes it is charting a path for bringing precision medicines to people with mental health conditions.

Healthtech and AI Executive Advisor Christian Hein sits down with Amar Drawid to discuss the use of generative AI in the life sciences, its transformational potential, and the current challenges that need to be addressed.

Samantha Dale Strasser, co-founder and chief scientific officer of Pepper Bio, sits down with Amar Drawid to discuss how her company is leveraging AI to get a deeper understanding of disease biology through the use of transomics. We spoke to Strasser about the challenges studying complex diseases, why it’s critical to have the right data to separate signal from noise, and Pepper Bio's dual strategy for balancing partnerships with its own development pipeline.

Nagaraja Srivatsan, founder of the consulting firm Vidya Seva, sits down with Amar Drawid to discuss the application of data analytics and AI to healthcare and the life sciences, how it has evolved, and why it will be a competitive differentiator for companies that successfully capitalize the potential of these technologies.

Jen Nwankwo, CEO of 1910 Genetics, sits down with Amar Drawid to discuss her company’s approach to AI drug discovery, how it is seeking to address big challenges that plague the industry, and why the company is agnostic to drug modality. 

In this episode Tuvik Beker, CEO of Pangea Biomed, sits down with Dr. Amar Drawid to discuss the evolution of precision medicine, the challenges in matching the right drugs to the right patient, and how Pangea uses AI to analyze expression data and gene interaction maps to select the most effective drugs for individual patients.

Data analytics has evolved significantly in the pharmaceutical industry, providing sales professionals with better insights and decision-making capabilities. On this episode, Dr. Amar Drawid sits down with 40-year biopharmaceutical industry veteran Jonathan Blutfield, principal consultant with TriRadial Solutions, to discuss the evolution of data analytics for commercial teams, how sales reps play a vital role in personalizing interactions with healthcare professionals, and how companies can enhance the effectiveness of data analytics tools and integrate them into their sales strategies.