In this episode of the Vital Health Podcast, host Duane Schulthess speaks with Steve Potts, CEO of Breakthru Medicine, to discuss how biotech financing, drug pricing policy, scientific infrastructure, and public trust are reshaping oncology innovation and U.S. biopharma leadership. Key Topics: Biotech Financing: Series A funding, early-stage platform headwinds, clinical asset momentum, academic funding strain. Small Molecule Shift: IRA incentives, NDA versus BLA timelines, oncology pipeline pullbacks, antibody drug conjugates. Orphan Cures and EPIC Acts: Orphan Cures Act, EPIC Act, patent life concerns, investor return requirements. Most Favored Nation (MFN) Pricing Risk: OECD reference pricing, European access delays, launch sequencing, global cost-sharing tensions. Science Policy Threats: NIH grant oversight, peer review risks, vaccine backlash, U.S. biopharma leadership. If biotech CEOs (or an executive delegate from the CEO) are interested in taking the first step toward being a policy voice on one topic in our ecosystem, contact Steve Potts on LinkedIn. The May 29 Office of Management and Budget sweeping regulatory change, which would shift grant funding decisions from scientists to politicians, is catastrophic for science, patients, and the biotech industry. Please read about what this proposal would do, and if you agree that it would forever tie political views to winning federal funding (and it will cut both ways), please sign this petition or others and speak out: https://fight2win.standupforscience.net/ Opinions expressed are those of the speakers. Recorded at ASCO 2026 on 6/1/26. The Vital Health Podcast is a production of Vital Transformation LLC © 2026. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Steve Potts: Policy Headwinds Are Reshaping Biotech Financing

Vital Health Podcast

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**Podcast:** Vital Health Podcast

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Welcome to this Vital Health Podcast. I'm Duane Schulthess and today I'm joined by my good friend, Steve Potts, who is now no longer the head of the stealth company, Biotech. You're now the CEO of the officially brought to the world breakthrough medicine. Congratulations on your Series A, Steve. Steve Potts Thanks, Dwayne. It's nice to be just continuing the process. Steve Potts So we're here at ASCO. Obviously you raised $60 million. Again, it's amazing in a Series A. How difficult has it been?

Steve Potts I mean, it's a great time for Biotech and there's some, I mean, even at this conference, some great news. I mean, there's some incredible things coming along for patients. I mean, we are all in the Biotech community really happy this year with what's happening, with the financings that are happening, with some of the transactions. Steve Potts It's a good time for the industry, but it is still hard to get, you know, to get financed. It did not just happen easily. There's a lot of good ideas out there that are still not getting financed, especially the early stage work.

Steve Potts People that are building early stage platforms. There's still a lot of money going to clinical assets. Like anything, getting a lot of gas in the tank is never easy. You have to really have a good team, a good plan, and the right things to come together. Steve Potts Very excited to be funded and to be moving things forward. But it is, I don't think people should underestimate the headwinds that we do have.

Steve Potts So you see some great clinical assets. Those have taken years to really come to fruition. While we are pretty excited about the state of the industry and what it's going to do for patients, I think there is still a reminder that all of these assets took a long time to get there. You know, years, sometimes a decade or more. So early stage, it's still tough getting funded. And then, of course, with the challenges with the government funding, the university-type funding, that makes it even harder on the earlier stage companies.

Steve Potts So we have a tradition now. I guess we meet at ASCO and bio and grouse about how terrible things are. You know, last year, we were very concerned about the state of small molecules and research. You know, we just released a study that shows unequivocally a 27% drop in lead asset small molecule oncology late stage. Steve Potts 27% drop in lead assets late stage oncology. Steve Potts Yeah, that doesn't fit. Steve Potts That fits.

Steve Potts Yeah. And because there's 4.7 follow-on studies per asset, you know, that axiomatically leads to what we're seeing a 35% drop in follow-on research also in small molecule. Steve Potts And a bigger hit on small molecules, NDA path and the BLA path. Steve Potts It's the only place we really see strict statistical significance aside from orphans and orphan oncology, which doesn't come as a shock. Are you seeing a dif...

Steve Potts: Policy Headwinds Are Reshaping Biotech Financing

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Steve Potts: Policy Headwinds Are Reshaping Biotech Financing

Transcript

Built for investment professionals

Every day you wait, your competitors are findingedge in conversations you're not hearing.

Every day you wait, your competitors are finding
edge in conversations you're not hearing.