BoB@JPM: Ron Cooper, enGene

BoB@JPM: Ron Cooper, enGene

Author: Ben Comer January 26, 2026 Duration: 55:57

We love to hear from our listeners. Send us a message.

On this week's episode of the Business of Biotech -- on location at the J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference -- we're speaking with Ron Cooper, CEO and Board Member at enGene, to unpack how he scaled Albireo from a small research shop to a global commercial company, and why he’s now betting on nonviral gene therapy at enGene to help patients with non-muscle invasive bladder cancer keep their bladders. Cooper talks about the importance of keeping development, financing, and hiring in sync as biotech companies grow, his experiences surviving near-death cash deficits, the importance of investing early in CMC, and what to expect in 2026.  

Access this and hundreds of episodes of the Business of Biotech videocast under the Business of Biotech tab at lifescienceleader.com.

Subscribe to our monthly Business of Biotech newsletter.

Get in touch with guest and topic suggestions: ben.comer@lifescienceleader.com

Find Ben Comer on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bencomer/



Navigating the complex journey from a promising scientific idea to a commercially viable therapy involves far more than lab work. Business Of Biotech, hosted by Ben Comer, exists in that crucial space where scientific ambition meets real-world execution. This podcast speaks directly to the founders, executives, and visionaries steering emerging biopharma companies, offering a grounded conversation about the non-scientific hurdles that define success. You'll hear detailed discussions on the organizational, financial, and operational realities of the industry-from securing funding and building a team to managing clinical trials, manufacturing, and regulatory pathways. Each episode leans on the hard-earned wisdom of accomplished guests who share commentary and practical best practices. The focus is consistently on the multifaceted challenges leaders face while trying to bring a company from its earliest stages to impact in the clinic and the market. For anyone involved in building a life sciences company, this podcast provides an essential, candid look at the entire ecosystem, making the daunting path of biotech entrepreneurship feel a bit more navigable and a lot less lonely.
Author: Language: English Episodes: 100

Business Of Biotech
Podcast Episodes
An Unanticipated Biotech Startup With OS Therapies' Paul Romness [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 49:12
We love to hear from our listeners. Send us a message. Becoming a biotech CEO wasn't on Paul Romness' bingo card. He'd forged his place in the biopharma industry as a foremost public and policy affairs expert. Thirteen y…
Obesity Tx End-Around With Skye Bioscience's Punit Dhillon [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:02:41
We love to hear from our listeners. Send us a message. While the trend toward CB1 inhibition for obesity took a small hit with the release of Novo Nordisk's small molecule oral cannabinoid receptor (CB1) inverse agonist…
Biotech C-Suite Construction With Allan Shaw [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 51:34
We love to hear from our listeners. Send us a message. Allan Shaw is back with us this week to dig into the complexities of strategic hiring in biotech. We cover strategies for the step-wise assembly of effective executi…
The Peptide Promise With NervGen's Mike Kelly [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 59:19
We love to hear from our listeners. Send us a message. Mike Kelly faced a self-reckoning before he took the job as CEO at NervGen, a company developing peptide therapeutics targeted specifically at central nervous system…
Biotech Course Correction With Treehill Partners' Ali Pashazadeh [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:17:16
We love to hear from our listeners. Send us a message. It wouldn't be accurate to say that surgeon-turned-healthcare investment banker and consultant Dr. Ali Pashazadeh traded his scalpels for spreadsheets. In fact, he s…
An AI Awakening With Profluent Bio's Hilary Eaton, Ph.D. [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:14:26
We love to hear from our listeners. Send us a message. Hilary Eaton, Ph.D. was a self-described AI skeptic, particularly as it relates to using the tool in drug discovery. Then, a series of professional and deeply person…
Picking Biotech Jockeys With SR One's Simeon George, M.D. [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 54:03
We love to hear from our listeners. Send us a message. SR One Capital Management CEO Simeon George, M.D. has a seemingly innate ability to pick winning biotech builders. Early on, he and his firm got behind CRISPR's Sama…
Embracing Biotech Chaos With Memo's Erik van den Berg [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 54:05
We love to hear from our listeners. Send us a message. Erik van den Berg is CEO and board member at Memo Therapeutics, and he's a student of biotech chaos. In fact, he's been embracing it with intention for the past 30 y…
Pivoting To RNA With Circio's Dr. Erik Digman Wiklund [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:04:47
We love to hear from our listeners. Send us a message. This week, it’s another “Business of Biotech-meets-Business-of-RNA” takeover with Circio CEO Erik Digman Wiklund, Ph.D. and guest co-host Anna Rose Welch of Advancin…