This week on BioTech Nation, Robert Blum, CEO of CytoKinetics, joins me to talk about the company’s decades-long mission to keep hearts beating stronger and longer. With one heart drug under FDA review and more in the pipeline, CytoKinetics is working to address the full spectrum of heart failure, from weak hearts to overactive ones, and even exploring muscle health beyond the heart to support healthy aging. 

This week on BioTech Nation, BioSTEM Technologies CEO Jason Matuszewski explains how donated placental tissue is being used to treat chronic wounds that just won’t heal, from diabetic ulcers to pressure sores. With millions affected and traditional care often falling short, BioSTEM’s approach offers a new way to support healing and reduce scarring. 

This week on BioTech Nation, Biotech Entrepreneur, Dr. Jake Glanville, Founder, Chair and CEO of Centivax, gives us the insider’s view of this Biotech Breakthrough – from the first telephone call through each significant step, all leading to the first breakthrough generalized antivenom vaccine in 125 years.  

This week on BioTech Nation, Dr. Daniel Kraft, Tech Nation Health Chief Correspondent, returns with highlights from the 2025 NextMed Health conference. From AI-powered health agents to voice-based disease detection, hear what’s emerging at the intersection of medicine, technology, and global health equity. 

Dr. Peter DeMuth, Chief Scientific Officer of Elicio Therapeutics, discusses the revolutionary approach of detecting cancer at its earliest stages through circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) tests. Highlighting their innovative treatment method, which aims to train the body's immune cells to recognize and destroy cancer cells, the episode explores the potential transition from treatment to vaccine, offering hope for more effective and durable solutions.

This week on BioTech Nation, Dr. Cory Nicholas, CEO of Neurona Therapeutics, returns for part two. With early results now in from Neurona’s first clinical trial, patients with severe epilepsy are seeing dramatic improvements, including seizure reductions of over 90 percent, and even full remission in some cases. This one-time treatment delivers new brain cells that help calm seizure activity without the side effects of traditional medications or the risks of surgery.

This week on BioTech Nation, Dr. Cory Nicholas, Co-Founder and CEO of Neurona Therapeutics, discusses their groundbreaking success in treating drug-resistant epilepsy. With a single, targeted delivery of lab-grown brain cells, Neurona is offering not just symptom control but the possibility of long-term seizure relief. This is Part 1 of a two-part series exploring the future of regenerative medicine in neurology.

This week on BioTech Nation, we explore a new approach to cancer treatment that could help patients manage pain without compromising their care. Dr. Lorin Johnson, CSO of Glycyx Therapeutics explains how a new once-daily pill could help patients manage pain without blocking their treatment.

This week on BioTech Nation, Sameer Sabir, CEO of Brixton Biosciences, shares how their breakthrough injectable cold therapy, Neural Ice, could offer lasting relief for osteoarthritis pain. With a drug-free, nerve-targeting approach currently in clinical trials, this innovation may change how we treat joint pain without pills or repeated steroid injections.

This week on BioTech Nation, Luminary Therapeutics CEO Jeff Liter shares how his team is working to make advanced cell therapy easier to access and more affordable. Instead of using each patient’s own cells, they use healthy donor cells that are ready to go. This approach could help more people get treated for cancer and autoimmune diseases like lupus, with just a single dose. 

This week on BioTech Nation, Sean Ainsworth, CEO of ImmuSoft, explains how modifying the body’s own B cells to produce therapeutic proteins could revolutionize drug delivery. From improving treatment for rare diseases like Hurler syndrome to potentially replacing injections for autoimmune and metabolic conditions, this new approach opens the door to long-term, patient-specific solutions.

This week on BioTech Nation, Dr. Thomas Chen, Director of Neuro-Oncology at USC and Founder of NeOnc Technologies, shares treating glioblastoma by delivering a drug directly to the brain through nasal inhalation changes the drug delivery game, bypassing the blood-brain barrier. This technique is achieving results in clinical trials.

This week on BioTech Nation, I speak with Dr. John Cumbers, founder and CEO of SynBioBeta, the annual synthetic biology conference. We discuss how biology, AI, and technology are transforming industries, covering tracks on human health, planetary health, and hyperscale biology. SynBioBeta 2025 will take place in San Jose, CA, from May 5 to 8.

This week on BioTech Nation, Ossium Health co-founder and CEO Kevin Caldwell shares how their breakthrough approach is changing bone marrow transplants. By cryobanking marrow from organ donors, Ossium is reducing wait times, improving access, and preparing for future emergencies. With support from BARDA and promising clinical trial results, this new system could help thousands more receive lifesaving transplants—right when they need them. 

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. Daniel Kraft explores how smarter design can make healthcare easier, less stressful, and more effective. From hospitals built for patient comfort to medical apps that adapt to your needs, the way we experience healthcare is evolving. Learn how design thinking and empathy are shaping the future of medicine. 

This week on BioTech Nation, Catalyst Pharmaceuticals CEO Rich Daly discusses the complexities of treating epilepsy and rare diseases. From the challenges of polypharmacy—where patients need multiple drugs to manage a single condition—to the hurdles of diagnosing and treating ultra-rare diseases. 

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, Dr. Daniel Kraft explores the discovery of "dark" proteins, thousands of previously unknown proteins in the human body. Scientists believe these hidden proteins could be the key to detecting diseases earlier and developing new treatments. 

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.