Scientific innovation happens every day and has the power to create lasting change in the world. However, change only happens when that knowledge is applied to a real-world problem. There are a lot of daunting problems that face us, many of which require audacious and ambitious solutions. What prevents scientific leaders from delivering our most-needed solutions? What about a great story compels us to solve our most demanding challenges?
Explore the importance of storytelling as a leadership tool to power scientific innovation and drive transformative change. Join two entrepreneurs – Dani Stoltzfus and Will Riedl – as we interview innovators, trailblazers, and rulebreakers who seek to transform the world through scientific advancement.
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Ep. 33 How Lytix Biopharma Reimagined Host-Defense Peptides as Oncolytic Molecules for Immunotherapy
In this episode of Spark Time!, we speak with Øystein Rekdal, co-founder and CEO of Lytix Biopharma, about how the company reimagined host-defense peptides as a new class of oncolytic molecules for cancer immunotherapy.
Øystein shares the full arc of Lytix's development, from an academic discovery in Norway to a clinical-stage platform built around locally administered oncolytic molecules designed to activate the immune system where standard treatments fall short. We explore how Lytix isolated and engineered naturally occurring peptides into drug candidates with clinical momentum, and why this approach differs fundamentally from both traditional cytotoxic agents and oncolytic viruses.
The conversation dives into how Lytix's lead program induces immunogenic cell death, exposes tumor antigens, and initiates a broad immune response that extends beyond the treated lesion. We also discuss the company's strategic focus on combination and neo-adjuvant settings, its rationale for intratumoral delivery, and how this platform is positioned to address non-responsive solid tumors.
A thoughtful discussion for biotech leaders, investors, and partners interested in differentiated immunotherapy platforms and the strategic decisions required to translate novel biology into real clinical relevance.
2 Dec 2025
Ep. 32 Alzheimer's Breakthrough? Recall Thinks Restoration Is Possible
What if an Alzheimer's therapy did not just slow decline, but restored memory and physical health back to baseline?
In this episode of Spark Time, we sit down with Dan Salain, President and CEO of Recall Therapeutics, and Dr. Atul Chopra, Co-founder and CSO, to unpack one of the boldest ideas in neuroscience today: RTX-100, a gene therapy designed to restore cognition and systemic health in Alzheimer's disease. Dan and Atul walk us through the science behind targeting memory circuits rather than just clearing amyloid, how a liver-expressed protein naturally crosses the blood–brain barrier, and why their preclinical data show full recovery of associative, recognition, and spatial memory in advanced mouse models.
We also explore the overlooked systemic side of Alzheimer's cachexia, sarcopenia, frailty, UTIs, pneumonia and how RTX-100 appears to normalize body weight, muscle strength, endurance, and fluid balance alongside cognitive recovery. From serendipity in the lab to regulatory strategy and potential paths to market, this conversation opens up a very different vision for what treating Alzheimer's and even aging itself could look like.
7 Nov 2025
Ep. 31 Zero G, Crystals and Keytruda: Space MD Builds the New Frontier of Drug Design
In this episode, we have a, high-energy conversation with Molly Mulligan and Ken Savin from Space MD about how space-made crystals is changing drug development on Earth. Their team grows protein crystals on the International Space Station because in zero gravity, the structures form more perfectly, revealing details that scientists can't see on the ground. One of their first successes was Keytruda, where space-grown crystals helped refine molecular structures that shaped a blockbuster therapy. We also cover running experiments in orbit, scaling the model for everyday pharma, and what happens when microgravity becomes just another R&D tool. It's biotech, but cosmic.
Who has been a guest on Spark Time!
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Ardian Latifi
Steve McIntyre
Cameron Smith
Mike Burfield
Jessica Owens
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Podcast Authority Score: 34 / 100
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