Tal Zaks

And so framing the potential in terms of return on investment, for me, has become the focus of this phase of my career, because without it, all this wonderful progress will be for naught. And it's not by chance, I think, that the modern armamentarium of medicine has come from the United States.

And so framing the potential in terms of return on investment, for me, has become the focus of this phase of my career, because without it, all this wonderful progress will be for naught. And it's not by chance, I think, that the modern armamentarium of medicine has come from the United States.

I think it's a combination of the infrastructure we set up on the public side, the National Institutes of Health Basic Research, as well as the infrastructure we set up on the commercial side and the ability to garner return on investment. And the part that is often lost on the public and the people who debate this return is the very long tail of benefit to society that what we do brings.

I think it's a combination of the infrastructure we set up on the public side, the National Institutes of Health Basic Research, as well as the infrastructure we set up on the commercial side and the ability to garner return on investment. And the part that is often lost on the public and the people who debate this return is the very long tail of benefit to society that what we do brings.

I happen to be on the board of directors of Teva, and I'm very proud of that because Teva is one of the largest and the highest quality generics manufacturer. And people forget that once the brand price erodes and we're in generics land, that now is a benefit to society, all of society across the globe at scale.

I happen to be on the board of directors of Teva, and I'm very proud of that because Teva is one of the largest and the highest quality generics manufacturer. And people forget that once the brand price erodes and we're in generics land, that now is a benefit to society, all of society across the globe at scale.

My father, who passed away a few years ago, he was diagnosed when he was 50 with his first MI, and he lived to his mid to late 70s. And he did that because of a generation of drugs that even in his time half were generic, but today all of them are generic.

My father, who passed away a few years ago, he was diagnosed when he was 50 with his first MI, and he lived to his mid to late 70s. And he did that because of a generation of drugs that even in his time half were generic, but today all of them are generic.

And so the benefit that we bring in what we do is not just the short term during the patent period where all the angst is about pricing and it's legitimate and I get it, but somehow society has to also take into account the tail effect of what it is we're doing that is leaving for the next generations.

And so the benefit that we bring in what we do is not just the short term during the patent period where all the angst is about pricing and it's legitimate and I get it, but somehow society has to also take into account the tail effect of what it is we're doing that is leaving for the next generations.

It's a question I've been asking myself quite intensely, as you can imagine, for the past few years. In fact, I joined the venture community because of the excitement around where that branch of technology has the potential to bring us.

It's a question I've been asking myself quite intensely, as you can imagine, for the past few years. In fact, I joined the venture community because of the excitement around where that branch of technology has the potential to bring us.

But one of the things that I think is often lost is the difference in the predictability and the nature of investment in biotech versus some of the other technologies, tech and its various manifestations. The challenge is that it's still hard for us to predict what is going to work. And so if you look at what makes a return on investment, it's basically three things.

But one of the things that I think is often lost is the difference in the predictability and the nature of investment in biotech versus some of the other technologies, tech and its various manifestations. The challenge is that it's still hard for us to predict what is going to work. And so if you look at what makes a return on investment, it's basically three things.

It's how much money you are required versus what you can get at the end, how long it takes you to actually get there, and what is the probability that you will actually arrive at that destination. And that's basically what determines your return.

It's how much money you are required versus what you can get at the end, how long it takes you to actually get there, and what is the probability that you will actually arrive at that destination. And that's basically what determines your return.

Now, that's where biotech and tech are very different, and we can come back to that, but in biotech, you have to account for two variables that are extremely hard to predict. One of them is whether the biology will pan out, and the other is whether the pharmacology will pan out. Now, biology, it means, is this protein that I think is involved in disease, is it actually involved in disease?

Now, that's where biotech and tech are very different, and we can come back to that, but in biotech, you have to account for two variables that are extremely hard to predict. One of them is whether the biology will pan out, and the other is whether the pharmacology will pan out. Now, biology, it means, is this protein that I think is involved in disease, is it actually involved in disease?

And the pharmacology is, okay, yeah, it is. Now I'm going to change that protein's function. Am I actually able to do it with the drug I have at hand? Does it get to the right place in the body? Does it do its effect? Is it tolerable from a safety perspective? And so those risks of biology and pharmacology are very hard to predict.

And the pharmacology is, okay, yeah, it is. Now I'm going to change that protein's function. Am I actually able to do it with the drug I have at hand? Does it get to the right place in the body? Does it do its effect? Is it tolerable from a safety perspective? And so those risks of biology and pharmacology are very hard to predict.