🧬 Cyriac Roeding - Part 4 | Revolutionizing Cancer Detection & Therapy | Harnessing Synthetic Biology to Reshape Diagnostics | Solving Biotech’s Toughest Problems

The Biotech Startups Podcast

Part 4 of 4: My guest today is Cyriac Roeding, founder, investor, and CEO of Earli, a company on a mission to transform cancer into a manageable condition. Using innovative gene therapy approaches, Earli’s technology forces cancer cells to produce a synthetic, non-human biomarker—overcoming the limitations of relying on naturally occurring biomarkers that cancer may or may not provide.

Cyriac is a serial entrepreneur and investor who has created ventures at the intersection of physical and digital worlds. He has invested in startups like OpenAI and served as CEO of Shopkick, which was acquired for $250 million. His current focus, Earli, has raised nearly $60 million from top investors. Cyriac's journey from launching his first startup at 15 to being named a World Economic Forum Tech Pioneer showcases his valuable insights into building successful startups.

In this episode, you’ll hear about:

• How a Thanksgiving article about Dr. Sam Gambhir inspired the founding of Earli
• Earli’s groundbreaking approach to revolutionizing cancer detection using synthetic biology
• The challenges of translating scientific discoveries into real-world clinical applications
• Overcoming obstacles and achieving breakthroughs in diagnostics and therapeutics
• Cyriac’s unwavering commitment to transforming cancer into a manageable condition

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Subscribe to the podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-biotech-startups-podcast/id1679591994

Find Our Guest, Cyriac Roeding, at these links:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/cyriacroeding/

https://www.earli.com/

https://www.joinrewind.com/

Find Our Host, Jon Chee, at these links:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/jonchee

https://www.excedr.com

Excedr Socials & Website

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/excedr/

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@excedr

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/excedr_inc

Twitter: https://twitter.com/ExcedrInc

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/excedr

TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@excedr

Podcast Website: https://www.thebiotechstartupspodcast.com/

Enriched Notes:

Topics Mentioned:

Earli: https://www.earli.com/

Stanford University: https://www.stanford.edu/

Andreessen Horowitz: https://a16z.com/

Marc Benioff: https://www.linkedin.com/in/marcbenioff/

Khosla Ventures: https://www.khoslaventures.com/

Lab Equipment List, Synthetic Biology Research: https://www.excedr.com/blog/lab-equipment-list-for-synthetic-biology-research

How to Bootstrap Your Biotech Startup & Scale: https://www.excedr.com/resources/how-to-bootstrap-biotech-startup

When & How to Pivot a Biotech Startup: https://www.excedr.com/blog/when-how-to-pivot-a-biotech-startup

How to Craft a Pitch Deck for Biotech Investors: https://www.excedr.com/resources/how-to-craft-a-pitch-deck-for-biotech-investors

Top VC Firms for Biotech in 2024: https://www.excedr.com/blog/top-vc-firms-for-biotech

Biotech Startup Support Resources: https://www.excedr.com/resources-category/biotech-startup-support

People Mentioned:

Dr. Sam Gambhir: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sanjiv_Sam_Gambhir

David Suhy: https://www.linkedin.com/in/davidsuhy/

Jorge Conde: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jorge-conde-4099225/

Jim Allison: https://faculty.mdanderson.org/profiles/james_allison.html

Pam Sharma: https://faculty.mdanderson.org/profiles/padmanee_sharma.html

Phil Greenberg: https://www.fredhutch.org/en/faculty-lab-directory/greenberg-philip.html

Timestamps:

00:00 Intro

02:08 How a Thanksgiving article about Dr. Sam Gambhir inspired Earli’s founding

05:43 Meeting Dr. Gambhir and learning biology as a non-scientist entrepreneur

09:02 Discovering the “one idea” that led to Earli’s revolutionary synthetic biology approach

12:54 Earli’s mission to transform cancer detection and diagnostics

17:30 Overcoming major challenges and achieving breakthroughs in diagnostics accuracy

21:54 The emotional and scientific legacy of Dr. Gambhir and its impact on Earli’s vision

26:28 Earli’s innovative approach to bridging diagnostics and therapeutics

30:05 The business potential of Earli’s platform for cancer and other diseases

33:04 Cyriac’s advice on taking the road less traveled as an entrepreneur

35:41 Outro

The Biotech Startups Podcast gives you a front-row seat to the business and science of building a biotech. Hosted by Jon Chee, CEO of Excedr, the show features honest conversations with founders, execs, and investors about their work, their companies, and how they got there. From scientific breakthroughs to startup lessons, each episode explores what it really takes to grow a life science company—from pre-seed to IPO.