Biotech leadership looks a certain way from the outside: bold science, brave bets, and a clear-eyed founder charging toward a breakthrough. The reality is messier, more human, and frankly more interesting. Especially right now, when the funding landscape is shifting and the industry is navigating headwinds that are testing even the most seasoned leaders.
At this year’s State of Possible Conference, four biotech CEOs will sit down for a candid conversation about what it actually takes to lead a company at the cutting edge of therapeutic development, and to do so in this environment. The panel, “Biotech CEOs on the Frontlines,” brings together Jodie Morrison of Q32 Bio, Andy Orth of City Therapeutics, Kasper Roet of QurAlis, and Joanna Stanicka of Axonis for a rare, unfiltered look at the science, the setbacks, and the decisions that define this work. Endpoints News senior reporter Nicole DeFeudis will moderate.
The speakers bring distinct paths to the conversation. This won’t be a highlight reel.
Tempo is one of the core principles City Therapeutics CEO Andy Orth returns to—not speed for its own sake, but the disciplined calibration between pressing forward and slowing down to interrogate what the data is actually telling you. “Move too slowly and you lose momentum, talent, and opportunity,” he says. “Move too quickly and you may increase risk or miss opportunities to innovate.” When the path forward isn’t yet proven, he grounds his team in City’s mission to lead the next generation of RNAi therapeutics—a vision that serves as both a guide and an anchor. His framing for all of it: fast, not frantic.
Kasper Roet founded QurAlis to pursue treatments for ALS and related diseases and expected capital to be his biggest obstacle. If the science holds up, he’s found, the funding tends to follow. What he didn’t fully anticipate was the human factor. “Most companies fail not because of science but because of people,” he says. Getting the right people focused on the right things, at every stage and in every department, turns out to be the hardest part of the job. When conviction is hard to sustain and uncertainty is high, he returns to the patients themselves. They are the compass that keeps him oriented.
The vantage point Jodie Morrison brings is unusually wide. A serial CEO who has led companies through IPOs, mergers, and acquisitions, she also founded the CEO Forum—a peer network for executives navigating exactly the kind of challenges that don’t surface publicly. She’s seen this job from nearly every angle.
At Axonis, the scientific bet has been years in the making. Co-founder and CEO Joanna Stanicka, who closed a $115 million Series A in 2024, is building toward first-in-class treatments for spinal cord injury, chronic pain, and epilepsy—work rooted in research she began as a postdoctoral fellow at Harvard.
These are the conversations that don’t fit neatly into an investor deck. They’re the ones worth showing up for.
“Biotech CEOs on the Frontlines” takes place March 26 at 1:55 PM at the Omni Boston Seaport. Register today.