Julie Yoo, who's a General Partner at the Menlo Park, California-based venture capital firm known as Andreessen Horowitz (known by the acronym "a16z") which was co-founded by Marc Andreessen, a man perhaps best known as one of the original co-authors of Mosaic, which was the first widely-used web browser, and subsequently Netscape. Mr. Andreesen later also co-founded Ning, which was the social platform upon which the old TuDiabetes (by Diabetes Hands Foundation) ran on for years. Before merging with the nonprofit Beyond Type 1 (BT1), TuDiabetes ultimately did migrate away from Ning to different software prior to combining with BT1.
Anyway, Julie Yoo works in a16z's biology and healthcare investment business within a16z at something called Bio+Health. One of Bio+Health's projects is a podcast called Bio Eats World that explores the intersection between biology, healthcare, and technology. In that podcast, Ms. Yoo recently interviewed Adam J. Fein, the President and CEO of a pharmaceutical consulting firm known as Pembroke Consulting, Inc. whose paying clients are primarily execs at manufacturers of biopharmaceuticals. In other words, Adam Fein's business depends on him being hired to help pharma navigate the dysfunctional U.S. prescription drug distribution system to maximize their own benefit from it. Adam Fein also operates another entity on the side which he calls the "Drug Channels Institute". As a result, he seldom gives interviews with third-parties (most of what he does are in channels he can control).
Dr. Fein's company website says his consulting work with healthcare products manufacturers typically precludes him from any business consulting assignments with wholesalers, distributors, pharmacy benefit managers, and dispensers of healthcare products and pharmaceuticals. Dr. Fein is also not generally available to speak with consultants, investors or other professional services firms.
That is perhaps one reason the Bio Eats World interview with Adam Fein particularly worth listening to. The reason is because a) the interviewer Julie Yoo can more hold her own with Adam Fein, and b) her work for a venture capital firm's biotech business makes her uniquely well-positioned to ask poignant questions of Adam Fein, which too often tends to be decidedly in favor of his paying clients' best interests.
They also briefly address another topic I've had particular interest in lately: the cash-only generic drug business called the Mark Cuban Cost Plus Drug Company.
Have a listen to the podcast at https://bio-eats-world.simplecast.com/episodes/the-consolidated-drug-channel-qtgWgYbZ.
...or listen below.
1 comment:
Thank you, "Scott"
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