121 - Bench Scientist to Commercial Leader, Amgen in the early days, Challenges in Commercialization, Working in Startups vs. Large Companies, and Silos with Sayed Badrawi

Let's Combinate · 31 Jan 2024 · 33m

What this episode covers

Sayed Badrawi, a Pharma/MedTech investor and former CEO of PDS Life Sciences, discusses his career transition from a bench scientist at the early-stage biotech company Amgen to commercial leadership roles at large pharmaceutical firms like Eli Lilly and Abbott Laboratories. He explains that commercialization in pharma requires rigorous clinical studies to prove safety and efficacy not just to regulators, but to payers and physicians, emphasizing the high risk and low success rates of drug development. Badrawi highlights the dangers of organizational silos in large companies versus the broad exposure in startups, advising professionals to first become deep experts in a specific area before pivoting careers or joining high-risk small companies.

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