In this episode of the Emerging Biotech Leader podcast, hosts Kim Kushner and Ramin Farhood interview Keith Gottesdiener, President and CEO of Prime Medicine. They discuss Keith's unconventional career path, which spans roles as a physician, research scientist, drug development leader at Merck for over 16 years, and entrepreneurial biotech CEO at Rhythm Pharmaceuticals before joining Prime Medicine.

A key theme is Keith's approach of purposefully taking on new challenges outside his comfort zone at pivotal career junctures to expand his skills and experiences. He began as a practicing physician and research scientist, spending around eight years treating patients and conducting academic research. However, he found the slow pace of academia too limiting for his impatient, entrepreneurial mindset and what he wanted to achieve in life.

Keith talks about the transition to his first CEO role at Rhythm, where he had to quickly learn areas like fundraising, board management, and shaping the company culture despite his extensive pharma background. He emphasizes the criticality of building the right team with a collaborative, agile mindset suited for the biotech environment. Keith shares his philosophy that "People are really what makes a biotech great...you have the opportunity to form a culture that will allow biotech to succeed" and his methods for evaluating and recruiting talent aligned with the company's vision.

He contrasts the experiences of biotech company building versus his big pharma tenure at Merck, mentioning the need for flexibility and navigating funding challenges amidst the current constrained investment cycle while trying to rapidly scale Prime Medicine. The conversation also touches on Prime Medicine's new therapeutic approach via its proprietary technology, as well as Keith's perspectives on leadership and entrepreneurial mindsets.

Overall, the episode provides insights into the multifaceted skillset required to lead ambitious, transformative scientific endeavors as a biotech entrepreneur.

Are you leading a biotech and would like to share your experience with our podcast audience? We'd love to hear from you! Please reach out to us.