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a16z Bio + Health

Andreessen Horowitz

A myriad of AI, science, and technology experts explore the real challenges and enormous opportunities facing entrepreneurs who are building the future of health. Raising Health, a podcast by a16z Bio + Health, dives deep into the heart of biotechnology and healthcare innovation. Join veteran company builders, operators, and investors Vineeta Agarwala, Julie Yoo, and Jorge Conde, along with distinguished guests like Mark Cuban, Greg Verdine, Fei-Fei Li, and Suchi Saria, as they explore the intricacies of these technological advancements and how they can be built and effectively delivered. Together, we can rewrite the script. Welcome to Raising Health.

Raising Health

Drug discovery has doubled the flow of candidates, but approvals remain roughly flat. The constraint is development, not discovery. 

In this episode, a16z General Partner, Jorge Conde talks with Formation Bio cofounder and CEO Ben Liu about building a modern pharma company around clinical execution. They discuss Formation Bio’s hub-and-spoke model for acquiring and advancing assets, how AI compresses trial timelines and costs, picking winners, regulatory strategy, and what it would take to move from about 50 approvals a year to many more. They also touch on global competition and why clinical proof still drives value in today’s market.\

 

Timecodes: 

0:00 Introduction

0:38 Why Formation Bio? Origins and Mission

1:12 The Real Bottleneck: Clinical Development

4:56 Formation Bio’s Business Model

7:50 Picking Winners: The Art and Science of Drug Selection

11:54 First-in-Class vs. Best-in-Class Strategies

14:04 Overcoming Regulatory and Market Challenges

17:26 The Stakes: Can We Approve More Drugs?

19:07 How Formation Bio Cuts Cost and Time

21:43 AI’s Role in Drug Development

25:10 The Future: From 50 to 500 Drug Approvals?

35:18 Global Competition: The Rise of China

39:28 The Path Forward: Data, Regulation, and Access

41:47 Conclusion: Realizing the AI Revolution in Pharma

 

Resources: 
Find Ben on X: https://x.com/BenjamineYLiu

Find Jorge on X: https://x.com/JorgeCondeBio

 

Stay Updated: 

If you enjoyed this episode, be sure to like, subscribe, and share with your friends!

Find a16z on X: https://x.com/a16z

Find a16z on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/a16z

Listen to the Raising Health Podcast on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4fjb8YTzHDuPBgDXc3ElkR

Listen to the Raising Health Podcast Podcast on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/raising-health/id1529318900

Follow our host: https://x.com/eriktorenberg

Please note that the content here is for informational purposes only; should NOT be taken as legal, business, tax, or investment advice or be used to evaluate any investment or security; and is not directed at any investors or potential investors in any a16z fund. a16z and its affiliates may maintain investments in the companies discussed. For more details please see a16z.com/disclosures.

 
Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

How to Build This Generation's Big Pharma Company

Josh Weiner left Meta to return to CVS Health with two painful realizations: consumers don't manage their health—they expect it, and the healthcare market fundamentally violates every principle of economics. In this conversation with a16z's Julie Yoo, the CVS Senior VP explains why 50% of Americans can't afford a healthcare emergency, how CVS is becoming a platform to solve structural healthcare problems, and why the future depends on consumers finally controlling their own health data.

 

Timecodes: 

0:00 The Healthcare Market Isn't Functioning 

2:30 Consumers Don't Manage Health, They Just Expect It 

3:39 Why Consumer Playbooks Die in Healthcare

5:41 Motion vs Progress: The Innovation Illusion

8:46 Platform Philosophy: "It Takes a Village"

11:38 The Vaccine Paradox Under One Roof

19:37 The 40% Hidden Reality: Healthcare Is Caregiving

21:04 The Deductible Comprehension Crisis

22:10 "This Does Have an Expiration Date"

24:40 The Health Passport Future

 

Resources:

Find Josh on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/joshweiner2/

Follow Julie on X: https://x.com/julesyoo

 

Stay Updated: 

If you enjoyed this episode, be sure to like, subscribe, and share with your friends!

Find a16z on X: https://x.com/a16z

Find a16z on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/a16z

Listen to the Raising Health Podcast on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4fjb8YTzHDuPBgDXc3ElkR

Listen to the Raising Health Podcast on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/raising-health/id1529318900

Please note that the content here is for informational purposes only; should NOT be taken as legal, business, tax, or investment advice or be used to evaluate any investment or security; and is not directed at any investors or potential investors in any a16z fund. a16z and its affiliates may maintain investments in the companies discussed. For more details please see a16z.com/disclosures.

 
Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

CVS Health: Building Healthcare’s Consumer Platform

For the first time in human history, we can diagnose thousands of genetic diseases—often for under $1,000—but we still can't treat most of them. The problem isn't understanding what's broken; it's delivering the fix to the right cells.

Eric Kelsic, CEO of Dyno Therapeutics, joins a16z's Jorge Conde to explain how AI-designed protein shells are solving gene therapy's delivery crisis. They explore why Huntington's patients can now get 15 extra years of healthy life, how Dyno inverted the liver-to-brain delivery ratio by 1000x, and why capsids evolved by nature are now being designed by machine learning models trained on millions of variants.

Eric introduces the concept of genetic agency—humanity's first-ever ability to take action at the DNA level—and details why solving delivery for common diseases will make ultra-rare disease treatments economically viable. Plus: what happens when gene therapy requires neurosurgery today but could be a simple injection tomorrow, why recent deaths in clinical trials prove we need better technology now, and how genetic medicine could become as routine as surgery within our lifetimes.

 

Resources:

Follow Eric on X: https://x.com/ekelsic

Follow Jorge on X: https://x.com/JorgeCondeBio

Learn more about GATC 2025: https://www.dynotx.com/gatc2025

 

Stay Updated:

If you enjoyed this episode, be sure to like, subscribe, and share with your friends!

Find a16z on X: https://x.com/a16z

Find a16z on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/a16z

Listen to the a16z Podcast on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5bC65RDvs3oxnLyqqvkUYX

Listen to the a16z Podcast on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/a16z-podcast/id842818711

Follow our host: https://x.com/eriktorenberg

Please note that the content here is for informational purposes only; should NOT be taken as legal, business, tax, or investment advice or be used to evaluate any investment or security; and is not directed at any investors or potential investors in any a16z fund. a16z and its affiliates may maintain investments in the companies discussed. For more details please see a16z.com/disclosures.

 

 
Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Dyno Therapeutics: Empowering Patients with Genetic Agency

Cancer care in the U.S. costs over $250 billion each year, and nearly 2 million Americans receive a new diagnosis annually, yet too often the journey begins with silence: no call, no plan, no guide.

In this episode, a16z’s Vineeta Agarwala and Jay Rughani talk with Thyme Care leaders Robin Shah (cofounder and CEO), Bobby Green, MD (president and CMO), and Brad Diephuis, MD (president and COO) about rebuilding oncology around the patient. They cover where the system breaks, how navigation plus value-based contracts align incentives, how AI can extend clinicians, and what scale looks like today, more than 83,000 active patients. A concise blueprint for truly patient-centered cancer care.

 

Timecodes: 

0:00 Introduction 
1:47 Personal Stories & Early Days of Time Care
5:27 Building the Team & Mission
7:07 The Patient Journey: Where the System Fails
9:58 Why Tech Hasn’t Solved Cancer Care (Yet)
15:45 Scaling Impact: Growth & Partnerships
17:45 How Time Care Works: Value-Based Care Explained
23:15 Technology, AI, and the Human Touch
37:06 Building for the Future: Generational Impact

 

Resources: 

Find Robin on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/robin-shah-8072bb35

Find Bobby on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/drbobbygreen/

FInd Brad on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bdiephuis/

Find Vineeta on X: https://x.com/vintweeta

Find Jay on X: https://x.com/JayRughani

 

Stay Updated: 

If you enjoyed this episode, be sure to like, subscribe, and share with your friends!

Find a16z on X: https://x.com/a16z

Find a16z on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/a16z

Listen to the Raising Health on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4fjb8YTzHDuPBgDXc3ElkR

Listen to Raising Health on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/raising-health/id1529318900

Please note that the content here is for informational purposes only; should NOT be taken as legal, business, tax, or investment advice or be used to evaluate any investment or security; and is not directed at any investors or potential investors in any a16z fund. a16z and its affiliates may maintain investments in the companies discussed. For more details please see a16z.com/disclosures.

 
Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Value-Based Oncology at Scale: Inside Thyme Care

In this episode, Julie Yoo and Jay Rughani are joined by Thatch cofounders Chris Ellis and Adam Stevenson to explore why ICHRA—a more recent policy innovation—might quietly revolutionize employer-sponsored health benefits. Unpacking the surprising history of how U.S. healthcare became entangled with employment, they make the case for a defined-contribution future that mirrors the rise of the 401(k) and HSA. Tailored especially for today’s distributed and fast-moving workforce, ICHRA allows employers to offer tax-free health dollars employees can spend how—and where—they choose.

 

For healthcare entrepreneurs, the conversation provides a blueprint for navigating a rapidly shifting payer landscape, including insight into how fintech infrastructure, policy tailwinds, and carrier ecosystem integrations unlock market readiness.

 

This episode was originally published in October of 2024. The conversation remains relevant today. 

 
Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

The Consumer Becomes the Payor: How ICHRA Unlocks a New Era in Healthcare

In this episode, Sprinter Health co-founders Max Cohen and Cameron Behar sit down with Julie Yoo to unpack how their home-based care model reaches underserved populations and reintegrates “the unengaged” into the healthcare system. From starting with blood draws in living rooms to scaling a high-complexity, tech-enabled logistics platform, they share how operations, empathy, and human connection power their success. The duo reflects on the constraints and regulatory nuance of healthcare, revealing how humility, intentional culture-building, and pragmatism give tech-native founders an edge. Listeners will walk away with tactical advice on balancing scrappiness with long-term scalability, architecting tech-clinical collaboration, and applying AI to augment—not replace—human-delivered care. For healthcare entrepreneurs navigating systems transformation without deep domain roots, this candid conversation is both roadmap and reality check.

 • Learn more about 
a16z Bio+Health • Learn more about & Subscribe to 
Raising Health • Find a16z Bio+Health on 
LinkedIn • Find a16z Bio+Health on 
X
 
Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Engaging the Unengaged at Home with Max Cohen and Cameron Behar

In this episode, Tennr cofounder and CEO Trey Holterman sits down with a16z’s David Haber and Jay Rughani to unpack one of healthcare’s most overlooked pain points: patient referral logistics. When a patient is referred to a specialist and told that the specialist will follow up with them, what happens next? A convoluted system sometimes involving dozens of staff and multiple portals, all of which may or may not result in the specialist actually following up. 

Trey shares how Tennr leverages AI to automate the complex, unstructured workflows that delay patient care and burden frontline staff. Tennr's goal is to meaningfully increase patient conversions—ensuring more people get the treatment they need, faster. 

 • Learn more about 
a16z Bio+Health • Learn more about & Subscribe to 
Raising Health • Find a16z Bio+Health on 
LinkedIn • Find a16z Bio+Health on 
X
 
Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Streamlining the Patient Referrals Chain with Trey Holterman

What if one of healthcare’s most complex administrative challenges—revenue cycle management—was reframed as a data science problem? In this episode, Malinka Walaliyadde, cofounder and CEO of AKASA, joins Julie Yoo to unpack how large language models have the potential to transform hospital revenue by automating highly nuanced coding and billing workflows. 

Malinka discusses how AI is finally making it possible to extract simplicity from a sea of clinical complexity and unstructured data, simplifying the flow of dollars through the healthcare system and freeing staff to focus on patients.

Plus:

 • Learn more about 
a16z Bio+Health • Learn more about & Subscribe to 
Raising Health • Find a16z Bio+Health on 
LinkedIn • Find a16z Bio+Health on 
X
 
Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

From Chaos to Clarity in Data with Malinka Walaliyadde

What if we stopped trying to cure disease and started preventing it instead? In this episode, Eric Topol, founder and director of the Scripps Research Translational Institute and a cardiologist, scientist, and author, joins a16z general partner Vijay Pande to unpack the future of aging, prevention, and precision health—as explored in Eric's new book, Super Agers: An Evidence-Based Approach to Longevity.

Together, they discuss AI-driven risk prediction and next-gen immunotherapies — a roadmap for how we could eliminate age-related diseases before they begin. From the transformative potential of GLP-1 drugs to organ-specific aging clocks, this episode is about the innovations with the potential to expand healthspan, not just lifespan.

 • Learn more about 
a16z Bio+Health • Learn more about & Subscribe to 
Raising Health • Find a16z Bio+Health on 
LinkedIn • Find a16z Bio+Health on 
X
 
Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Superaging with Eric Topol

Arif Nathoo, cofounder and CEO of Komodo Health, joins Jorge Conde and Jay Rughani to explore the transformative potential of healthcare data in reshaping biotech and healthcare innovation. Arif reflects on a decade-long journey of unlocking the power of fragmented healthcare data, delving into Komodo Health’s “full-stack thesis” — a strategy that combines rich datasets, advanced analytics, and AI to enable life sciences companies, payors, and providers to make better decisions at scale.

Together, the three also discuss leveraging predictive AI to identify undiagnosed patients and optimize care delivery. Arif also shares actionable advice for founders, from picking the right partner to staying steadfast in the vision.

 

Plus:

 • Learn more about 
a16z Bio+Health • Learn more about & Subscribe to 
Raising Health • Find a16z Bio+Health on 
LinkedIn • Find a16z Bio+Health on 
X
 
Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Fueling Innovation with Data with Arif Nathoo

Together, Margaret and Julie chatted about Margaret’s background — and how she taught herself to program — her time at Devoted, and the advice she gives to healthtech CEOs.

Join Margaret and Julie as they discuss building a developer-friendly environment in healthcare, introducing engineers to the complexity of the industry, and how AI might affect engineering in healthcare.

 
Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

The Path of a Healthtech CTO with Margaret McKenna

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