🧬 Big Pharma to Startup: Chasing a Patient‑Centric Future | Judy Chou (Part 4/4)

The Biotech Startups Podcast • January 29, 2026 • Solo Episode

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In this episode of The Biotech Startups Podcast, Dr. Judy Chou shares how she walked away from leading global biotech operations at Bayer to take a risky first‑time CEO role at AltruBio, transforming a struggling predecessor company—alongside a “Genentech mafia” of former colleagues—into a lean, patient‑centric startup built around a novel PSGL‑1 immune checkpoint mechanism aimed at restoring immune balance and breaking the remission ceiling in ulcerative colitis, all while navigating near‑bankruptcy, a 30‑day fundraising sprint that led to a record $225M Series B, launching a translational lab in Taipei, and drawing on formative experiences at Yale and MIT as a young mother and mentee to shape her gritty, values‑driven leadership philosophy.

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