Smart Biotech Scientist | The CMC and Bioprocessing Podcast for Process Development and Manufacturing Leaders
The go-to CMC and biomanufacturing podcast for bioprocess development scientists and CMC leaders scaling biologics into regulatory-ready therapies with less trial and error.
Practical, execution-focused, and strategic guidance on CMC development, tech transfer, scale-up, GMP readiness, CDMO partnerships, and manufacturing economics for biologics, cell and gene therapies, cultivated meat, and biomaterials.
Hosted by Dr. David Brühlmann, CMC strategist, former Bioprocess Innovation Manager at Merck, PhD in glycoengineering, and close to 20 years of biomanufacturing experience. Smart Biotech Scientist delivers actionable insights for the people doing the hard work of turning promising molecules into scalable, regulatory-ready therapies.
This podcast is for you if:
- You are a process development scientist or CMC lead managing a technology transfer, scale-up, or CDMO partnership
- You are a biologics developer working on upstream or downstream process development, cell culture optimization, or GMP manufacturing readiness
- You are a biotech founder preparing for an IND filing or Series A fundraise, and need a CMC strategy that holds up under investor and regulatory scrutiny
- You are building or advising an early-stage biopharma team and need to make smart manufacturing decisions with limited resources
What you will learn:
CMC strategy and regulatory planning, bioprocess scale-up from lab to clinical and commercial manufacturing, cell culture process development and media optimization, technology transfer best practices, CDMO selection and partnership management, hybrid modeling, manufacturing economics, continuous manufacturing, digitization, and Industry 4.0 in biopharma.
Top 10 life sciences podcast with 200+ episodes and guests from Merck, FUJIFILM Irvine Scientific, Cytiva, KBI Biopharma, Eppendorf, and biotech innovators worldwide.
New episodes released weekly. Subscribe and join 400+ biotech leaders already using these insights to accelerate development, reduce manufacturing costs, and de-risk scale-up.
Next Steps:
Visit the Website: https://smartbiotechscientist.com
Email us: hello@bruehlmann-consulting.com
Smart Biotech Scientist | The CMC and Bioprocessing Podcast for Process Development and Manufacturing Leaders
268: Why Affordable Insulin Is a Money Problem, Not a Science Problem with Eric Moyal - Part 2
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Why does life-saving insulin cost hundreds of dollars a month for patients, when manufacturing costs are just a fraction of that price? What if the nonprofit model could change everything for affordable access?
In the pharmaceutical industry, affordability and access remain two of the biggest hurdles for patients, especially when the economics of essential medicines seem stacked against them.
Eric Moyal, founder of Project Insulin, is rewriting the rules of biosimilar development. Coming from a fundraising and nonprofit background rather than the pharma inside track, Eric built Project Insulin not to chase profits, but to deliver an essential therapy at a price real people can afford.
Topics covered:
- Key differences between nonprofit and for-profit models in biotech, especially around fundraising, incentives, and revenue (00:02)
- The intricate balance between development costs, operating expenses, and setting an affordable price point (00:06)
- Innovative distribution models to eliminate price inflation by middlemen, including direct-to-patient and clinic partnerships (00:08)
- Major roadblocks in reinventing drug distribution and the importance of building the right partnerships early on (00:10)
- Advice for founders and scientists exploring solutions to drug affordability, including corporate structure, fundraising, and perseverance (00:12)
- Lessons learned after five years building Project Insulin, emphasizing the value of assembling the right team and listening to feedback (00:13)
- Realistic expectations for Project Insulin’s next five years and the primary goals on the horizon (00:16)
- The broader need for affordable generic drugs and the broken promise of the current patent system (00:17)
- How to connect with Project Insulin and support its mission (00:18)
Smart insight: Generic medicines should be affordable. Ensuring low-cost, accessible generics is essential to restoring the original balance between pharmaceutical innovation and public access, and it requires collective effort beyond any single player.
If you enjoyed this episode, you might want to listen to these within a broader set of discussions on biologics affordability, CMC strategy, and bioprocessing realities — from the economic barriers blocking patient access and regulatory decision-making for biosimilars, to CDMO selection for resource-constrained teams:
- Episode 136: 5 Roadblocks to Affordable Biologics (And How to Overcome Them)
- Episodes 57 - 58: Crafting a Solid CMC Strategy: Key Factors and Common Pitfalls with Matthias Müllner
- Episodes 103 - 104: One-Stop Shop vs. Specialist CDMO: A Scientist's Guide to CDMO Selection with Sigma Mostafa
Connect with Eric Moyal:
- Email: emoyal@projectinsulin.org
- Website: www.projectinsulin.org
- Instagram: www.instagram.com/projectinsulin
- LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/82500193
- TikTok: www.tiktok.com/@project.insulin
- YouTube: www.youtube.com/@ProjectInsulin
Next step: If you enjoyed this episode, please leave a review on Apple Podcasts or your favorite podcast platform. By doing so, we can empower more scientists like you. Stay tuned for more inspiring biotech insights in our next episode.