15 min teaser episode. Listen to the full episode in EP56 (Full).
Today we're diving into a biotech story that should be on every venture capitalist’s radar: Amplify Therapeutics. This is a company that’s shaking up drug development for neurodegenerative diseases—think ALS, Parkinson’s, frontotemporal dementia—not by throwing money at the problem, but by building smarter, faster, and more efficiently.
Founded by Thomas Kirkegaard Jensen—yes, the same scientific mind behind the legacy of Orphazyme—Amplify is zeroing in on lysosomal function and proteostasis, two mechanisms that hold huge promise across multiple disease areas. But here’s the kicker: they’re doing it lean. They’ve built a capital-efficient model, using validated targets and real-world biomarkers to reduce risk and speed up timelines.
This isn’t a moonshot—it’s a well-designed, data-driven platform with serious scalability. And with their first program heading into the clinic, Amplify is already primed for partnerships, licensing deals, and smart funding. Add a leadership team with deep regulatory experience and a proven track record of exits, and you’ve got a company that’s not just ready for the next phase—it’s ready to lead.
For VCs looking for high-impact biotech with serious upside, this is one worth watching. Stay tuned—Amplify is just getting started.
Timestamp and Shownotes:
00:00:41 – Thomas shares his entry into biotech via Orphazyme
00:02:00 – Thomas emphasizes the importance of trust-based and healthy team culture for high-performance in biotech environments.
00:02:09 – Thomas explains Amplify’s mission: to develop medicines for genetically defined neurodegenerative diseases by targeting lysosomal biology.
00:03:00 – Discussion on whether Amplify is a platform-based company or asset-driven. Thomas describes their diversified small-molecule approach grounded in deep lysosomal expertise.
00:04:00 – Thomas shares how he reacquired assets from Zevra after Orphazyme's dissolution and spun them into a new company, Amplify Therapeutics.
00:06:00 – Licensing + Foundation of Amplify
00:06:33 – Thomas outlines how he secured a startup grant from BioInnovation Institute (BII) in Copenhagen while finalizing the licensing deal.
00:07:51 – Early Team Building
00:08:33 – Thomas discusses balancing speed, flexibility, and internal know-how through selective in-house work.
00:09:41 – Thomas explains their hybrid approach: outsourcing standard assays, while keeping complex, specialized biology assays in-house for better agility and knowledge retention.
00:11:12 – Current Pipeline Overview Amplify’s portfolio includes three projects:
Lead program with multiple chemistries
Oxford University collaboration
Potential Danish Cancer Society program
00:12:14 – Amplify is preparing for a fundraising round to scale operations and advance pipeline development
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