🧬 Neela Patel - Bonum Therapeutics - Part 3 | Developing Pipeline Strategy at Poniard Pharmaceuticals | Business & Corporate Development in Oncology | Transitioning from Abbott to AbbVie to Seagen

The Biotech Startups Podcast

Part 3 of 4:

Jon Chee hosts our latest guest, Neela Patel, Chief Business Officer at Bonum Therapeutics who are developing protein therapeutics to be used to treat a wide range of diseases. Neela is a seasoned scientist and business development executive with over 30 years of leadership experience in drug discovery and development.

Before her time at Bonum Therapeutics Neela worked as the CBO at Good Therapeutics, a biotech company that develops cutting edge protein-based drugs. Her impressive career also includes pivotal roles at Seattle Genetics, AbbVie, Abbott, and Genentech. Her extensive experience as both a scientist and business person give her unique insights you won’t want to miss.

Join us this week to hear about:

• Neela’s transition from Genentech to Poniard Pharmaceuticals
• Her collaboration with Greg Hageman on age-related macular degeneration
• Raising $37 million in Series A financing
• Neela’s role at Poniard developing pipeline strategy with the head of chemistry
• Her experiences at Abbott and AbbVie as Director of Global External Research and Search & Evaluation, respectively.

Please enjoy Jon’s conversation with Neela Patel!

Subscribe to the podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-biotech-startups-podcast/id1679591994

Find Our Guest, Neela Patel, at these links:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/neela-patel-84b144/

https://bonumtx.com/

Find Our Host, Jon Chee, at these links:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/jonchee

https://www.excedr.com

Excedr Socials & Website

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/excedr/

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@excedr

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/excedr_inc

Twitter: https://twitter.com/ExcedrInc

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/excedr

TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@excedr

Podcast Website: https://www.thebiotechstartupspodcast.com/

Enriched Notes:

Topics Mentioned:

Genentech: https://www.gene.com/

Poniard Pharmaceuticals: https://www.linkedin.com/company/poniard-pharmaceuticals/

Abbott: https://www.abbott.com/

AbbVie: https://www.abbvie.com/

Seattle Genetics (Pfizer): https://www.seagen.com/who-we-are/history

Patents Licensing in Biotech: https://www.excedr.com/resources/how-patent-licensing-works

IP Strategy for Biotechs: https://www.excedr.com/resources/intellectual-property-strategy-for-biotechs

Partnering with Big Pharma: https://www.excedr.com/blog/how-biotech-partnerships-support-research

Antibody Drug Conjugates (Prime Antibody): https://www.excedr.com/resources/primary-antibody

Corporate Development: https://corporatefinanceinstitute.com/resources/management/corporate-development-guide/

In Licensing and Out Licensing: https://www.excedr.com/blog/life-sciences-licensing-agreements-guide

Bootstrapping Your Biotech: https://www.excedr.com/resources/how-to-bootstrap-biotech-startup

People Mentioned:

Greg Hageman: https://medicine.utah.edu/faculty/gregory-s-hageman

Steve Dedinson: https://www.linkedin.com/in/steve-davidsen-0a65414/

Saul Rosenberg: https://www.linkedin.com/in/saul-rosenberg-638a6910/

Timestamps:

00:28 Intro

01:50 Starting a company after Genentech experience

02:36 Greg Hageman’s key gene discovery and securing Series A funding

05:32 Developing pipeline strategy at Poniard

06:43 Transitioning to BD (Search and Evaluation) at Abbott

12:31 Spinning out AbbVie, Neela’s continued focus on Oncology

14:58 Fostering innovation and external ideas at AbbVie

16:51 Evaluating small companies & the biggest challenge of Search and Evaluation

20:13 Key factors for startups looking to partner with big pharma

26:32 Transitioning to Seattle Genetics (Seagen) and Corporate Development

29:28 Neela’s CorpDev experience, navigating unique challenges

34:03 Understanding how to diversify revenue streams and navigate cycles

39:01 Outro

The Biotech Startups Podcast gives you a front-row seat to the business and science of building a biotech. Hosted by Jon Chee, CEO of Excedr, the show features honest conversations with founders, execs, and investors about their work, their companies, and how they got there. From scientific breakthroughs to startup lessons, each episode explores what it really takes to grow a life science company—from pre-seed to IPO.