Tal Zaks

Well, in a nutshell, I'm a physician scientist who spent all of my life figuring out how to translate the wonderful innovations of science in our era into better medicines for patients. I was fortunate to have been trained by some of the best. I trained for more years than I would recommend anybody. in the sense of having done an MD, a PhD, a postdoc, a residency, a fellowship, two internships.

Well, in a nutshell, I'm a physician scientist who spent all of my life figuring out how to translate the wonderful innovations of science in our era into better medicines for patients. I was fortunate to have been trained by some of the best. I trained for more years than I would recommend anybody. in the sense of having done an MD, a PhD, a postdoc, a residency, a fellowship, two internships.

I mean, you get the picture. And then I finally went out to do something in the world and spent the first part of my career in drug development, mostly as an oncologist and oncology drug development. And then the second good chunk of time at Moderna as the chief medical officer, developing that as a platform as opposed to any one medicine.

I mean, you get the picture. And then I finally went out to do something in the world and spent the first part of my career in drug development, mostly as an oncologist and oncology drug development. And then the second good chunk of time at Moderna as the chief medical officer, developing that as a platform as opposed to any one medicine.

And for the past several years, I've moved over to the investor side to help Aligning the translation of science into medicine with actually a return on investment of realizing how important it is to get those two in alignment to do good in the world.

And for the past several years, I've moved over to the investor side to help Aligning the translation of science into medicine with actually a return on investment of realizing how important it is to get those two in alignment to do good in the world.

I think we're overall in a good place. I'm optimistic because the advances in science and technology have been so robust and amazing. Now, that is tempered, I think, by two opposing forces, if you will. The first is the translation of all that wonderful science into medicine is probably as challenging as it ever was in terms of the unpredictability of what makes a good medicine.

I think we're overall in a good place. I'm optimistic because the advances in science and technology have been so robust and amazing. Now, that is tempered, I think, by two opposing forces, if you will. The first is the translation of all that wonderful science into medicine is probably as challenging as it ever was in terms of the unpredictability of what makes a good medicine.

And we'll come back to that. But also in terms of the public perception and the willingness to pay for innovation, which I think are a... challenge in the current political environment that is dampening, I think some of the prospects, if you will, or optimism of what is possible.

And we'll come back to that. But also in terms of the public perception and the willingness to pay for innovation, which I think are a... challenge in the current political environment that is dampening, I think some of the prospects, if you will, or optimism of what is possible.

I was invited to give a short talk at one of the panels of the National Academy of Science, Medicine, and Engineering back in the middle of 2024. And it's a panel that asks, how do we better align investment and innovation with the unmet need? And so they asked me, okay, given your intersection, what can you tell us? And one of the points I made to them is that

I was invited to give a short talk at one of the panels of the National Academy of Science, Medicine, and Engineering back in the middle of 2024. And it's a panel that asks, how do we better align investment and innovation with the unmet need? And so they asked me, okay, given your intersection, what can you tell us? And one of the points I made to them is that

Investment in innovation requires a return on the investment. And I stated this publicly. I said, you guys use the term reimbursement. Reimbursement is what I do when I put in my expenses to get paid for a meal or a flight. We don't do this for reimbursement.

Investment in innovation requires a return on the investment. And I stated this publicly. I said, you guys use the term reimbursement. Reimbursement is what I do when I put in my expenses to get paid for a meal or a flight. We don't do this for reimbursement.

We do this, A, because those of us in the trenches really believe in the mission, but B, because there is a need to return capital to shareholders. And in a funny way, I've been with this VC firm OrbyMed for a little over three years. And one of the executives from a large pharma who shall go unnamed, he was at a much more prestigious role than anybody would ever offer me.

We do this, A, because those of us in the trenches really believe in the mission, but B, because there is a need to return capital to shareholders. And in a funny way, I've been with this VC firm OrbyMed for a little over three years. And one of the executives from a large pharma who shall go unnamed, he was at a much more prestigious role than anybody would ever offer me.

He came in, knocked on our door. He wanted a role to be a venture partner with us. And on the interview, he tells me about his background. And at a certain point, I asked him, I sit back and said, let's call him John. John, what is it that you think we do here? And John looks at me and says, well, you know, you do clinical trials, phase one, phase two, increased value, dah, dah, dah.

He came in, knocked on our door. He wanted a role to be a venture partner with us. And on the interview, he tells me about his background. And at a certain point, I asked him, I sit back and said, let's call him John. John, what is it that you think we do here? And John looks at me and says, well, you know, you do clinical trials, phase one, phase two, increased value, dah, dah, dah.

And he looks at me and he sees my face and he says, well, clearly I didn't exactly answer your question, so where did I go wrong? And I said, look, on the tactics, what you're saying is right, but the answer to what we do here is very simple. People give us money, and a number of years later, we need to give them more money back. Otherwise, we're not gonna be doing what we're doing.

And he looks at me and he sees my face and he says, well, clearly I didn't exactly answer your question, so where did I go wrong? And I said, look, on the tactics, what you're saying is right, but the answer to what we do here is very simple. People give us money, and a number of years later, we need to give them more money back. Otherwise, we're not gonna be doing what we're doing.