Career lessons and following curiosity

Synopsis: At the heart of JPM 2026’s biotech buzz, Alok Tayi sits down with Fred Aslan, CEO of Artiva, to explore how bold platform bets, scalable cell therapies, and autoimmune breakthroughs could reshape medicine. Fred traces his journey from medical school in Brazil to consulting at BCG, venture capital, and ultimately founding multiple companies—sharing why following curiosity, not rigid career ladders, shaped his path. Fred dives deep into the bottlenecks holding back traditional CAR-T therapies—manufacturing complexity, cost, hospitalization, and toxicity—and explains how Artiva’s off-the-shelf NK-cell platform aims to change the paradigm. The discussion explores why rheumatoid arthritis became Artiva’s lead indication, how immune “resets” could redefine autoimmune care, and what’s ahead in 2026 as the company prepares registrational trials and expands its basket studies across lupus, myositis, scleroderma, and more. The episode closes with rapid-fire takes on AI in drug development, China’s accelerating biotech engine, rare disease trial models, and the strategic principles founders should follow when choosing indications and building durable platforms. Biography: Fred Aslan, M.D., has a 20-year track record as an executive and investor in the life sciences industry. He was most recently President and CBO at Vividion Therapeutics, where he was responsible for business development, finance, alliance and project management, and operations. Dr. Aslan had the opportunity to lead Vividion’s Series B financing and $135M-upfront collaboration with Roche. Prior to Vividion, Dr. Aslan had a 12-year affiliation with Venrock. Initially he was an investor from 2006 to 2013, when he cofounded and served as a board member of Receptos Pharmaceuticals (acquired by Celgene for more than $7 billion). Dr. Aslan led Venrock’s investment in Zeltiq (acquired by Allergan for more than $2 billion) and was involved in the early formation of Fate Therapeutics. Subsequently as an entrepreneur from 2013 to 2018, he was CEO of Adavium Medical, a Brazilian medical device company, which he grew from zero to 350 employees, sales of over US$40 million, and fully integrated R&D, manufacturing, and commercial capabilities. Prior to Venrock, Dr. Aslan was Director of Business Development and Head of Investor Relations for CuraGen, a Nasdaq-listed oncology-focused biotech company. Prior to CuraGen, he was a consultant at Boston Consulting Group (BCG). Dr. Aslan holds a B.S. in biology from Duke University, an M.D. from Yale School of Medicine, and an MBA from Harvard Business School.