Joshua Wang: Reprogramming Cancer, Biotech’s Funding Shift & Why AI Will Rewrite Biology – E628

"I actually think that cancer tries to evolve, it tries to trick the body. Going about it one way is not the best way, we should have a tool of arsenals. That’s why we are really excited about this approach, because the mechanism and the way we are doing it is so different. It is meant to be useful on its own but also potentially complementary to whatever is out there. Our goal is not to make another approach redundant. What we are trying to do is create this extra vertical option that could be complementary with other treatments in the future against cancer." - Joshua Wang, Founder and CEO of VerImmune

Jeremy Au and Joshua Wang reunite after three years to explore how biotech startups navigate scientific breakthroughs, funding challenges, and leadership growth. They discuss Joshua’s work at VerImmune on repurposing the immune system to treat cancer, the shift in early-stage global biotech financing from founder-led ventures to the “professionalization of entrepreneurship” via venture studio models, and the lessons learned about resilience, communication, and leadership under pressure. Their exchange also touches on early detection, cultural attitudes toward disease, and how AI is reshaping biology into an engineering-driven field.