Molecule to Market: Inside the outsourcing space

In this episode of Molecule to Market, you’ll go inside the outsourcing space of the global drug development sector with 20+ CEO/c-suite leaders from the CDMO space, who discuss the optimism levels for the pharmaceutical and biotechnology space for 2026.

 

Guests include:

Christiane Bardroff, Chief Operating Officer (COO) at Rentschler Biopharma SE

Philip Macnabb, Chief Executive Officer at Curia

Kaan-Fabian Kekec, Partner at Simon-Kucher‘s Healthcare & Life Sciences division

Dirk T. Lange , Chief Executive Officer at Pyramid Pharma Services Bruce Thompson, CTO at Kincell Bio

Bill Vincent, Biotech Entrepreneur, CEO, Board Member

Derek Hennecke - founder, investor, board member

Matthew Bio, CSO at Cambrex & President, Snapdragon Chemistry Stephen Dilly, CEO at Sonoma Biotherapeutics,

Bill Humphries, Chief Executive Officer at Medpharm

Elisabeth Stampa, CEO at Medichem SL

Philip Lee, CEO at GeneFab

Kerstin Dolph, SVP of Manufacturing at Charles River Labs

Eric Edwards, Chief Executive Officer at Phlow-USA

Peter DeYoung, CEO at Piramal Pharma

Ian Tzeng, Managing Director at L.E.K. Consulting

Adam Siebert, Managing Director at L.E.K. Consulting

J.D. Mowery, President CDMO Division Bora Pharmaceuticals

Peter Belden President, US, Tjoapack

 

Molecule to Market is also sponsored by Bora Pharmaceuticals and Charles River Laboratories, and supported by Lead Candidate. Please subscribe, tell your industry colleagues and join us in celebrating and promoting the value and importance of the global life science outsourcing space. We’d also appreciate a positive rating!

In this episode of Molecule to Market, you’ll go inside the outsourcing space of the global drug development sector with Selin Kurnaz,  Co-Founder and CEO at Massive Bio,

 

Your host, Raman Sehgal, discusses the pharmaceutical and biotechnology supply chain with Selin, covering:

 

How a cancer diagnosis in her family led Selin down a path of accidental entrepreneurship, fundraising, and the application of AI in drug development.

The major pivots in Massive Bio’s journey that transformed it into a broker of access between patients and pharmaceutical companies.

Her views on the misallocation of capital in market access enablers versus research and development.

How gaining traction with advocates inside big pharma helped ensure investors took notice.

Why the influence of AI on clinical trials and real world evidence will continue to grow as part of the patient journey.

 

Selin Kurnaz graduated from Boğaziçi University in Turkey, where she had a dual major in industrial engineering and mechanical engineering. She then continued her education in the United States, where she obtained two masters degrees and a doctorate in mechanical engineering at the University of Michigan. Following her education, Selin served as an executive consultant on strategy, operations, and company trading for a decade. In 2015, she co-founded Massive Bio.

 

 

Molecule to Market is also sponsored by Bora Pharmaceuticals and Charles River Laboratories, and supported by Lead Candidate. Please subscribe, tell your industry colleagues and join us in celebrating and promoting the value and importance of the global life science outsourcing space. We’d also appreciate a positive rating!

In this episode of Molecule to Market, you’ll go inside the outsourcing space of the global drug development sector with Jim Gale, Founding Partner & Managing Director at Signet.

 

Your host, Raman Sehgal, discusses the pharmaceutical and biotechnology supply chain with Jim, covering:

The origins of growth equity in private equity and how it led to the founding of Signet, a fund built on deep domain expertise.

Why private equity is a growing asset category but still remains undervalued and under appreciated.

How the nature of the companies Signet invests in has evolved over the last twenty five years, while the fundamental principles of building a strong business remain the same.

How the “picks and shovels” strategy of investing in tools, services and infrastructure has consistently served them well.

Jim’s assessment criteria when evaluating new opportunities after seventy deals, including the key question… can we institutionalise an entrepreneur led business.

How higher interest rates and economic uncertainty constrain biopharma and biotech, and how that impacts investment dollars flowing into pharma services, along with deal flow, valuation and structure.

James “Jim” Gale is the Founding Partner and Managing Director of Signet Healthcare Partners, a New York based healthcare growth equity firm specialising in pharmaceutical services, specialty pharma and medical technology. With more than thirty five years of investing and finance experience, Jim has built a deep track record backing companies involved in formulation, development, manufacturing and commercialisation across the world.

 

At Signet, Jim has led investments across the pharma services value chain, including platforms in sterile fill finish, complex formulations, biologics development and specialty generics. His current and recent board roles include Ascendia Pharmaceutical Solutions, NorthX Biologics, RK Pharma, Bionpharma, Chr Olesen Synthesis, Pharma Nobis, Juno Pharmaceuticals and Lee’s Pharmaceutical. He also serves as Chairman of Bionpharma and is a director of Knight Therapeutics.

 

Jim holds an MBA from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business.

 

Molecule to Market is also sponsored by Bora Pharmaceuticals and Charles River Laboratories, and supported by Lead Candidate. Please subscribe, tell your industry colleagues and join us in celebrating and promoting the value and importance of the global life science outsourcing space. We’d also appreciate a positive rating!

As we draw close to the end of 2025, our host Raman Sehgal talks about the top 5 episodes of the year.

 

Molecule to Market is also sponsored by Bora Pharmaceuticals and Charles River Laboratories, and supported by Lead Candidate. Please subscribe, tell your industry colleagues and join us in celebrating and promoting the value and importance of the global life science outsourcing space. We’d also appreciate a positive rating!

In this episode of Molecule to Market, you’ll go inside the outsourcing space of the global drug development sector with Thomas Dobmeyer, medical, entrepreneur and investor at ekwithree.

 

Your host, Raman Sehgal, discusses the pharmaceutical and biotechnology supply chain with Thomas, covering:

Choosing to freelance and consult as a medic after qualifying in medicine.

Co-founding a niche regulatory affairs firm and growing it into a 3,000-person multinational pharmaceutical solutions organisation.

Expanding into new countries, acquisitions, and domains to build scale and credibility in biopharma — with culture as the secret weapon.

Why lawmakers and regulators became his best salespeople, and how increasing complexity, internationalisation, and market growth ultimately led to a $1.4B exit to Cencora.

Life after the sale as an active investor and mentor — and the key trends Thomas sees shaping the future of drug development.

Dr. Thomas Dobmeyer is a physician, researcher, and entrepreneur currently serving as a partner at ekwithree GmbH, a growth investment firm specializing in technology-driven B2B service providers. In this role, Thomas plays a key part in driving the organizational success of ekwithree and its diverse portfolio of companies.

 

With over two decades of extensive experience in the pharmaceutical and medical technology industries, Thomas was founder and CEO of PharmaLex GmbH. There, he spearheaded the transformation of a startup consulting boutique into a globally recognized unicorn company operating in 40 countries with 3,500 employees. His strategic expertise was instrumental in shaping and executing the company’s business strategies, overseeing leadership team formation, advising on strategic matters, and ensuring the implementation of robust business plans to achieve corporate objectives. Under his leadership, PharmaLex successfully completed nearly 40 mergers and acquisitions, significantly expanding its global business model and footprint.

 

Molecule to Market is also sponsored by Bora Pharmaceuticals and Charles River Laboratories, and supported by Lead Candidate. Please subscribe, tell your industry colleagues and join us in celebrating and promoting the value and importance of the global life science outsourcing space. We’d also appreciate a positive rating!