The MedTech Podcast

Isaac Stoner, CEO of MindImmune Therapeutics, a drug discovery company pioneering a new class of medicines for Alzheimer's disease and other neurodegenerative conditions.
Isaac has built his career moving between the founder seat and the investor seat. He was the founding CEO of Octagon Therapeutics, the first team member at liquid biopsy company Firefly BioWorks and has evaluated life science companies for investment at Slater Technology Fund, PureTech Health, KdT and Action Potential Venture Capital. At MindImmune Therapeutics, he is chasing one of the boldest ideas in neuroscience: that Alzheimer's may in fact be an autoimmune disease that presents in the brain.
In this episode Isaac explains why the amyloid hypothesis that has dominated Alzheimer's research for 30 years has run its course, and why MindImmune is taking an immunology-first approach built on brain tissue donated by Alzheimer's patients. He breaks down the three biggest risk factors for the disease, how he pitched a 30 million dollar Series A on a condition where 99.9% of drugs have failed and what it would mean to develop a therapy bigger than the GLP-1 weight loss drugs.
We also get into the founder-to-investor-to-founder journey, why a brilliant scientific founder is often the wrong person to sit in the CEO seat and the hard truths every aspiring biotech founder needs to hear before striking out on their own.
Timestamps
[00:02:50] Why a Career Investor Keeps Getting Pulled Back Into Building
[00:05:25] Shutting Down Octagon Therapeutics and the Chip It Left Behind
[00:07:10] Why MindImmune Treats Alzheimer's as an Autoimmune Disease
[00:08:20] Why 30 Years of the Amyloid Hypothesis Has Run Its Course
[00:10:05] The Three Biggest Risk Factors for Alzheimer's and What You Can Do
[00:12:15] How He Raised a $30 Million Series A on the Hardest Disease in Medicine
[00:15:30] Why 99.9% of Alzheimer's Drugs Fail and What Makes This Different
[00:18:35] Why a Brilliant Scientific Founder Is Often the Wrong CEO
[00:22:20] Where MindImmune Goes Next: AMD, ALS and Beyond
[00:28:00] Final Advice: Get Into Biotech for the Right Reasons

Connect with Isaac - ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/isaacstoner/⁠
Learn more about MindImmune Therapeutics - ⁠https://www.mindimmune.com/⁠
Get in touch with Karandeep Badwal - ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/karandeepbadwal/ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠
Follow Karandeep on YouTube - ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.youtube.com/@KarandeepBadwal⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠
Medical device training courses delivered by Karandeep through Bywater - ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.bywater.co.uk/

Isaac Stoner, CEO of MindImmune Therapeutics, a drug discovery company pioneering a new class of medicines for Alzheimer's disease and other neurodegenerative conditions.
Isaac has built his career moving between the founder seat and the investor seat. He was the founding CEO of Octagon Therapeutics, the first team member at liquid biopsy company Firefly BioWorks and has evaluated life science companies for investment at Slater Technology Fund, PureTech Health, KdT and Action Potential Venture Capital. At MindImmune Therapeutics, he is chasing one of the boldest ideas in neuroscience: that Alzheimer's may in fact be an autoimmune disease that presents in the brain.
In this episode Isaac explains why the amyloid hypothesis that has dominated Alzheimer's research for 30 years has run its course, and why MindImmune is taking an immunology-first approach built on brain tissue donated by Alzheimer's patients. He breaks down the three biggest risk factors for the disease, how he pitched a 30 million dollar Series A on a condition where 99.9% of drugs have failed and what it would mean to develop a therapy bigger than the GLP-1 weight loss drugs.
We also get into the founder-to-investor-to-founder journey, why a brilliant scientific founder is often the wrong person to sit in the CEO seat and the hard truths every aspiring biotech founder needs to hear before striking out on their own.
Timestamps
[00:02:50] Why a Career Investor Keeps Getting Pulled Back Into Building
[00:05:25] Shutting Down Octagon Therapeutics and the Chip It Left Behind
[00:07:10] Why MindImmune Treats Alzheimer's as an Autoimmune Disease
[00:08:20] Why 30 Years of the Amyloid Hypothesis Has Run Its Course
[00:10:05] The Three Biggest Risk Factors for Alzheimer's and What You Can Do
[00:12:15] How He Raised a $30 Million Series A on the Hardest Disease in Medicine
[00:15:30] Why 99.9% of Alzheimer's Drugs Fail and What Makes This Different
[00:18:35] Why a Brilliant Scientific Founder Is Often the Wrong CEO
[00:22:20] Where MindImmune Goes Next: AMD, ALS and Beyond
[00:28:00] Final Advice: Get Into Biotech for the Right Reasons

Connect with Isaac - https://www.linkedin.com/in/isaacstoner/
Learn more about MindImmune Therapeutics - https://www.mindimmune.com/
Get in touch with Karandeep Badwal - ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/karandeepbadwal/ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠
Follow Karandeep on YouTube - ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.youtube.com/@KarandeepBadwal⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠
Medical device training courses delivered by Karandeep through Bywater - ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.bywater.co.uk/

Shai Policker, Co-Founder and Managing Partner at Edge Medical Ventures, a medtech venture studio and fund focused on developing and investing in medical devices that address unmet clinical needs. With a BSc in Electrical Engineering from the Technion, an MBA from Columbia Business School and over 25 years building medical device companies, Shai has founded or scaled 18 companies across cardiovascular care, surgery and respiratory health, filing more than 40 patents along the way.
In this episode, Shai cuts straight to something most investors won't say out loud: that even a great technology with strong clinical data can still fail. Not because the product is wrong but because the process takes too long and the funding runs out. He breaks down the fragmented decision-making landscape in healthcare, why physicians loving your product means almost nothing if the payer isn't on board and why reimbursement is the real gatekeeper that kills more companies than bad science ever will.
We also explore what makes Edge Medical Ventures different from a traditional VC fund. Shai explains how their venture studio model starts from validated unmet needs with a strategic partner already at the table and how their hands-on go-to-market support continues well past the R&D phase. A combination that helped one portfolio company go from zero to FDA approval with distribution agreements and paying customers on just $2.5 million. We also get into the Israeli startup mindset, the right way to think about IP and patents and how to know when a founder should step aside.
Timestamps
[00:00:17] What Pulled an Electrical Engineer Into MedTech 25 Years Ago
[00:01:48] What 18 Companies Taught Shai That One Never Could
[00:03:04] How to Know If the Problem Is Painful Enough to Build Around
[00:04:56] Why 80% of MedTech Startups Fail Even With Great Technology
[00:07:53] What a Venture Studio Actually Is and How It Differs From a VC Fund
[00:10:51] The $2.5 Million Company That Got FDA Approval and Started Selling
[00:13:54] Why Israeli Startups Move Faster Than Everyone Else
[00:17:28] How to Think About Patents Without Becoming Obsessed With Them
[00:23:44] Balancing Speed and Discipline Without Creating Expensive Mistakes
[00:26:20] Final Advice: What Shai Wishes Every MedTech Founder Knew

Connect with Shai - https://www.linkedin.com/in/shai-policker-b8760a3/
Learn more about Edge Medical Ventures - https://edgemed.vc/
Get in touch with Karandeep Badwal - ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/karandeepbadwal/ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠
Follow Karandeep on YouTube - ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.youtube.com/@KarandeepBadwal⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠
Medical device training courses delivered by Karandeep through Bywater - ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.bywater.co.uk/

Cristiano Fontana, founder and CEO of Three Bridges, a Milan-based advisory firm helping early-stage MedTech companies navigate the full journey from innovation to market. With over 25 years in the industry starting in the family warehouse handling surgical drains and prostheses as a teenager, Cristiano has a perspective on this business that very few people can match.
In this episode, we kick things off with something a little different: a conversation about dressing well, the discipline behind it and why confidence is as much about how you present yourself as what you know. From there, we get into something both of us have strong opinions on. Cristiano breaks down why the conference ROI is so hard to measure, why ghosting has become an epidemic in the industry and why the real payoff from an event can take three years to materialise. He also delivers one of the most honest assessments you'll hear: that early-stage MedTech is just 3% of the industry and that the 97%, the commercial machine that actually drives revenue, is largely invisible to the innovation bubble.
We also explore what a better event model could look like, why trust beats value proposition every single time in a crowded advisory market and what innovators consistently get wrong when they think one conference pitch will change everything.
Timestamps
[00:00:33] Why Dressing Well Is a Form of Discipline, Not Vanity
[00:05:00] From the Family Warehouse to 25 Years in MedTech
[00:07:48] The 97% vs 3% Split That Nobody in Early Stage Wants to Hear
[00:08:37] What MedTech Conferences Are Getting Wrong
[00:09:35] The Ghosting Epidemic and What It Reveals About Human Nature
[00:10:14] Why Conference ROI Can Take Three Years to Show Up
[00:12:30] You Don't Sell on Value Proposition, You Sell on Trust
[00:13:17] The Uncomfortable Truth About So-Called Investors at Events
[00:20:42] What a Better, More Targeted Event Model Would Look Like
[00:30:41] Final Advice: Fill Your Gaps Fast and Stop Seeing Experts as a Cost

Connect with Cristiano - ⁠⁠⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/cristiano-fontana-medtech-businessdevelopment/
Learn more about ThreeBridges - ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.threebridges.it/
Get in touch with Karandeep Badwal - ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/karandeepbadwal/ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠
Follow Karandeep on YouTube - ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.youtube.com/@KarandeepBadwal⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠
Medical device training courses delivered by Karandeep through Bywater - ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.bywater.co.uk/

Dr. Manish Patel, co-founder and CEO of Jiva.ai and Chair of the AI Subcommittee at the BIA, where he advises the UK Government on AI policy, data privacy and healthcare applications. With a PhD in Modelling of Complex Systems from UCL and nearly a decade building algorithmic trading systems in investment banking, Manish brings a rare depth of perspective to the most overhyped term in healthcare right now.
In this episode, we cut through the noise on AI. Manish challenges the very language we use, explaining why most of what gets called "AI" is really machine learning, why large language models are fundamentally not intelligent and why that distinction has very real consequences when lives are on the line. We look at where AI genuinely adds value in healthcare, from radiology to NHS administrative workflows, and where it is being dangerously overhyped, including some very pointed thoughts on using consumer-grade LLMs to make clinical diagnoses.
We also explore how clinicians should think about AI as an augmenter rather than a replacement, why the productivity gains are real and where Manish believes the biggest untapped opportunity in healthcare actually sits. He closes with a frank take on what impressive AI looks like in a real clinical environment versus a polished demo and why the world is heading toward a very small group of people who truly understand what is happening under the hood.
Thanks for tuning in to Episode 99. Don't forget to subscribe and check the show notes to learn more about Manish's work at Jiva.ai and his advisory role shaping UK AI policy in healthcare.
Timestamps
[00:00:28] From the Human Genome Project to Machine Learning: Manish's Academic Origins
[00:02:09] AI Has Been Around Since the 1950s: The History Most People Don't Know
[00:04:09] Why Tacking "AI" onto Your Product Name Is a Problem
[00:05:24] Where Healthcare AI Really Is: Step Three Not Step 100
[00:06:06] Why Using Grok for Medical Diagnosis IsDangerous
[00:09:48] Should Clinicians Be Scared AI Will Take Their Jobs?[00:12:18] How to Actually Start Learning About AI: Where to Begin
[00:14:01] Writing the Book on AI Agents in 2011
[00:18:04] The Biggest Untapped Opportunity: Administrative AI Not Diagnostic AI
[00:20:40] What Real Clinical AI Success Looks Like vs a Polished Demo
Connect with Manish- ⁠⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/manish-patel/
Learn more about Jiva ai - ⁠⁠⁠https://jiva.ai/
Get in touch with Karandeep Badwal - ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/karandeepbadwal/ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠
Follow Karandeep on YouTube - ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.youtube.com/@KarandeepBadwal⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠