A Dose of Reality with Charles Spence

In this episode, I talked with Ann-Charlotte Rosendahl, CEO of Sobrera Pharma, a clinical-stage Swedish biotech developing a novel combination treatment for alcohol use disorder. Ann-Charlotte brings close to 20 years in the pharmaceutical industry, including nearly 16 years at AstraZeneca where she ran the global Nexium brand, led the launch in Japan, and eventually became what she calls the "CEO of the molecule," running major cardiovascular brands with full P&L responsibility. From there she moved to Roche leading global launch excellence, then into the investor world with GU Ventures, before stepping into the CEO seat at Sobrera.
In this conversation, we discussed everything from how you learn to lead in Big Pharma to what you have to unlearn when building something from scratch. We talked about the realities of restructuring, what it actually means to be a commercially-minded CEO in a science-led company, and why science without commercial understanding rarely lands where it should. We also get into early warning signs of a launch going wrong, how she's approached hiring differently at Sobrera versus Big Pharma, and her honest take on when recruiters are worth it and when they're not.
Outside of work, Ann-Charlotte enjoys the Swedish summer — beaches, island hopping, and catching up with friends and family. She was also heading to BIO in San Francisco for the third time, a conference she knows gets easier every year.

Here's What You're In For
How a sales rep role at Merck became the start of a 20-year career in pharma
Why "share of voice" is the most overrated KPI in commercial strategy
How Ann-Charlotte approaches hiring in a small biotech, and what she keeps in-house versus outsources

Timestamps
03:16 – How she got her first job in pharma, a sales rep ad at Merck
04:29 – What Big Pharma teaches you and what you need to unlearn in biotech
06:09 – Career low point: navigating major restructurings at Big Pharma
07:57 – What Sobrera Pharma does and the alcohol use disorder space
10:33 – The science: targeting dopamine to reduce alcohol cravings
11:40 – Why Ann-Charlotte joined Sobrera: disease need, data, and founder alignment
13:12 – What the next 12–18 months look like: Phase 2, regulatory talks, and fundraising
14:25 – How hiring works in a small biotech vs. Big Pharma
17:00 – When to use a recruiter, and what they're actually worth
20:22 – What KPIs actually matter during a launch (and which get too much attention)
23:26 – What a commercial mind sees that scientists miss
24:54 – One commercial truth every first-time scientist-CEO needs to hear

About Ann-Charlotte
Ann-Charlotte Rosendahl is the CEO of Sobrera Pharma, a clinical-stage biotech based in Sweden developing novel treatments for addiction disorders, with a first focus on alcohol use disorder. She brings close to 20 years of pharmaceutical industry experience, including nearly 16 years at AstraZeneca, where she served as Global Commercial Director for Nexium and Global Product Vice President for major cardiovascular brands, and a further role at Roche as Global Head of Launch Excellence. She has also worked on the investment side with GU Ventures, advising and sitting on the boards of life science start-ups.
Outside of work, she enjoys beach trips, island hopping along Sweden's west coast, and spending time with friends and family during the Swedish summer.

Connect with Ann-Charlotte:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/anncharlotterosendahl
Sobrera Pharma: https://sobrera.com/

About Charles
My name is Charles Spence and I lead Discera. After many years working in the life-science recruitment world, I decided to work for myself. Before doing recruitment I graduated with a biomedical degree, have worked in hospitals (including translation work in Seoul, South Korea), and also spent a year working in diabetes research in Stockholm. After doing research and travel, a career in business and science felt the most appropriate.
In 2023, I decided to launch my firm — Discera Search. A firm committed to solving the biggest talent needs of early clinical stage SME biotechs on the East Coast and DACH.

Connect with me:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/charles-spence-clinical/
Website: https://www.discera-search.com/

Opinions and comments expressed by the guest do not represent the company and are fully their own.

In this episode, I talked with Pawel Szczepanski, CEO of JJP Biologics, a Polish biotech developing next-generation biologics in the personalized medicine space, to hear about his path from investment banking and management consulting into biotech leadership, and what it actually takes to build a clinical-stage company from scratch.
Pawel opens up about the phone call that changed the direction of his career, the proudest moment of his time as CEO, and a startup he tried to build with friends that never got off the ground. We also get into the three pieces of advice he gives every new CEO, why JJP built its culture around courage, and a trend in fundraising that he believes is quietly damaging trust across the industry. Pawel gives his honest take on what is still missing for Poland to produce a true global biotech success story.
Outside of work, he is a dedicated traveller who plans every family trip himself, a passion he is now passing on to his two children.
(Find out more in the episode.)

Here's What You're In For
Moving from investment banking and consulting into biotech leadership.
The three pieces of advice he gives every new biotech CEO.
The trend of overpromising in fundraising, and why he believes it fails to build trust.

Timestamps
02:21 – How a phone call from a Polish Investor pulled him from consulting into biotech
04:31 – Career high point: the two-word text that changed everything, and the low point of a startup that didn't survive
07:08 – Lessons learned since becoming CEO, and the three pieces of advice he gives new CEOs
11:47 – What JJP Biologics does, and where the pipeline stands today
12:42 – Building a culture around courage, teamwork and purpose from day one
15:33 – What's next for JJP over the next one to two years
18:13 – The real challenge of scaling a young biotech while staying stable
20:06 – The trend of overpromising in biotech fundraising
23:09 – Balancing youth and experience when hiring as the company scales
26:28 – What makes the Polish life science sector unique, and what is still missing
34:26 – Why travel is his biggest passion outside of work
38:40 – The worst career advice he has ever received

About Pawel
Pawel Szczepanski is the Chief Executive Officer of JJP Biologics, a Polish biotech developing next-generation biologics in personalized medicine, focused on autoimmune disease and cancer. Before stepping into the CEO role, he spent years in investment banking, M&A advisory, and management consulting, eventually specializing in life sciences, and he currently sits on the boards of JJP Ventures and Polpharma Biologics. Pawel has a bi-profile education in Business and Law and is currently working towards a PhD in Economics, a non-scientist leading a science-driven company.
Outside of JJP, he is a petrolhead and avid traveller, passing those same passions on to his two children.

Connect with Pawel
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/pawelszczepanski
JJP Biologics: https://www.jjpbiologics.com

About Charles
My name is Charles Spence and I lead Discera. After many years working in the life-science recruitment world, I decided to work for myself. Before doing recruitment I graduated with a biomedical degree, have worked in hospitals (including translation work in Seoul, South Korea), and also spent a year working in diabetes research in Stockholm. After doing research and travel, a career in business and science felt the most appropriate.
In 2023, I decided to launch my firm - Discera Search. A firm committed to solving the biggest talent needs of early clinical-stage SME biotechs on the East Coast and DACH.

Connect with me:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/charles-spence-clinical/
Website: https://www.discera-search.com/

Opinions and comments expressed by the guest do not represent the company and are fully their own.

In this episode, I talked with Eliot Forster, CEO of Levicept, a neurophysiologist-turned biotech veteran with 30+ years of experience across Big Pharma and a series of CEO roles. We get into clinical failures, the realities of running a six-person company through a Phase 2 trial, and what it really takes to lead when the outcome is binary.
Eliot also shares his honest take on the state of European biotech, what he wishes he'd known before his first CEO role, and why he still rolls out of bed excited every single morning. And yes, he also runs a brewery, hosts his own podcast, and still finds time for cricket, golf, and the wildlife of Africa.

Here's What You're In For
Why getting your first break in pharma through atypical, non-linear routes can be more valuable than a straight path
What Big Pharma truly gives you, and what you need to unlearn before it stifles you
The emotional reality of closing a company after a drug failure, and what it means for the people who trusted you
Why biotech employees take existential career risks while Big Pharma employees with nothing to lose are paradoxically more risk-averse
How a six-person team took a novel OA drug successfully through a 520-patient Phase 2 study
The lean biotech model: when it works, when it breaks down, and how to decide what stays in-house
What Eliot looks for in a recruiter, and why understanding the business is the bare minimum
Why EU biotech is not as broken as people think, but what three structural gaps are still holding it back
How CEOs of early-stage companies should think about commercial positioning from day one
Why forming trust with investors early - rather than treating them as adversaries - is one of the most important lessons in the CEO toolkit

Timestamps
05:08 – How Eliot got his first job: neuroscience PhD, sabbaticals at Merck and Parke-Davis, and landing at Glaxo in 1992
07:55 – What Big Pharma at Pfizer and GSK taught him — leadership, trusting teams, and what "good" looks like
11:18 – Career low point: closing Solace Pharmaceuticals after a failed Phase 2 trial and the personal weight of that moment
15:02 – Why biotech employees take bigger career risks than Big Pharma employees who have nothing to lose
16:46 – Levicept: the company, Leve-04, and the successful Phase 2 outcome in osteoarthritis
18:11 – How Eliot joined Levicept and Simon Westbrook's transition from CEO to CSO
24:19 – Running a six-person company through CROs and consultants — and why most investors are surprised it works
28:06 – How to decide what to keep in-house versus outsource
30:40 – What Eliot expects from recruiters and how trust-based relationships are built in small biotech hiring
33:21 – What's coming next for Levicept: IND in the US, long-term dosing studies, and joint replacement deferral
35:48 – The state of European biotech: where it's improving and the three structural gaps still holding it back
40:39 – Advice for seed-stage CEOs: start with the end in mind and live three to five years ahead
42:23 – What Eliot wishes he'd known before his first CEO role

About Eliot
Eliot Forster is the CEO of Levicept, a UK-based clinical-stage biotech developing Leve-04, a neurotrophin 3 inhibitor for the treatment of osteoarthritis. A neurophysiologist by training, Eliot spent the first half of his 30+ year career at Big Pharma - including Pfizer and GSK - before transitioning into a series of biotech CEO roles. He also serves on multiple boards, including at Ematics, and splits his time between the UK and South Africa.
Outside work, Eliot runs a brewery, hosts the LifeSci Fantastic podcast, and still makes time for cricket, golf, and the wildlife of Africa.
Connect with Eliot:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/eliot-forster-5a6ba63/
Levicept: https://levicept.com/
The Life Sci Fantastic: https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/the-life-sci-fantastic/id1846575448

About Charles
My name is Charles Spence and I lead Discera. After many years working in the life-science recruitment world, I decided to work for myself. Before doing recruitment I graduated with a biomedical degree, have worked in hospitals (including translation work in Seoul, South Korea), and also spent a year working in diabetes research in Stockholm. After doing research and travel, a career in business and science felt the most appropriate.
In 2023, I decided to launch my firm - Discera Search. A firm committed to solving the biggest talent needs of early clinical stage SME biotechs on the East Coast and DACH.
Connect with me:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/charles-spence-clinical/
Website: https://www.discera-search.com/

Opinions and comments expressed by the guest do not represent the company and are fully their own.

In this episode, I talked with Michael Zaiac, Medical Affairs Lead for Oncology across Europe and Canada at Daiichi Sankyo — a trained surgical oncologist who walked away from the operating table, moved through clinical development, bone health at P&G, GSK, and Celgene, and eventually landed at the centre of one of the biggest oncology stories in recent memory: the HER2 ADC wave. Michael has spent over 30 years hiring people in pharma and brings some of the most grounded, no-nonsense views I've come across on what the job actually demands — and what most people aren't told before they take it.
We covered the rapid build-out of Daiichi Sankyo's medical affairs team off the back of their ADC pipeline, what Michael now wishes he'd prioritized when hiring in the early days, how the function needs to reinvent itself over the next decade, and the honest conversation that rarely gets had — about hours, stability, and what life in this industry really looks like. Michael trained and studied in Berlin, has family roots in London, and brings the kind of directness you'd expect from someone who spent years making high-stakes decisions in an operating room.

Here's What You're In For
The one global role he calls his "only real disaster" in the industry — and why he takes full ownership of it
What Michael looks for in a CV: agility, humility, and the ability to lead without authority
The honest truth about working hours, stability, and what industry life really looks like vs. what candidates are sold

Timestamps
02:24 – Why he left surgery and how he landed his first pharma role
05:43 – Career highlights: reshaping a compound's development, Imatinib UK market access, and building regional teams
07:47 – The global role that didn't work — and why he takes full responsibility for it
09:42 – What Daiichi Sankyo is, where it came from, and how they cracked the ADC problem
17:02 – What Michael looks for in a CV — and what he's really testing for in the interview room
22:17 – The biggest shift in pharma hiring over 30 years: from technical knowledge to agility
26:03 – The hard skill gaps coming: data literacy, AI fluency, and legal frameworks around data
28:41 – How medical affairs will evolve — and what "double personalization" means in practice
34:15 – The honest truth about working hours, stability, and what industry life actually looks like
36:25 – How companies and individuals can do better for female talent trying to climb beyond the MSL level
38:03 – What Michael would tell his younger self about ego, cooperation, and learning faster

About Michael
Michael Zaiac is the Medical Affairs Lead for Oncology across Europe and Canada at Daiichi Sankyo. He trained as a surgical oncologist, specialising in breast cancer, sarcoma, melanoma, and other malignancies. Motivated by a desire to bridge science with patient care and broaden treatment options for cancer patients, he transitioned into industry research and has since led teams of varying sizes across clinical research, development, commercial functions, and medical affairs. His work has supported the development and launch of therapies spanning oncology, immunology, cardiovascular disease, transplantation, and infectious diseases across companies including P&G, GSK, Celgene, and now Daiichi Sankyo.

Connect with Michael:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/michael-zaiac-45ab191/
Daiichi Sankyo: https://www.daiichisankyo.com

About Charles
My name is Charles Spence and I lead Discera. After many years working in the life-science recruitment world, I decided to work for myself. Before doing recruitment I graduated with a biomedical degree, have worked in hospitals (including translation work in Seoul, South Korea), and also spent a year working in diabetes research in Stockholm. After doing research and travel, a career in business and science felt the most appropriate.
In 2023, I decided to launch my firm - Discera Search. A firm committed to solving the biggest talent needs of early clinical stage SME biotechs on the East Coast and DACH.

Connect with me:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/charles-spence-clinical/
Website: https://www.discera-search.com/

Opinions and comments expressed by the guest do not represent the company and are fully their own.

In this episode, I talked with Dr. Juho Jalkanen, CEO of Faron Pharmaceuticals — a publicly listed Finnish biotech building novel immunotherapies for blood cancers. Juho's path is unlike most you'll hear in biotech: trained vascular surgeon, PhD in molecular biology, business school graduate, and father of five. He eventually left the operating table to join his parents' company, Faron, where his mother's decades of university immunology research became the foundation for what is now one of the most exciting programs in high-risk MDS. We covered the Traumakine Phase 3 failure, the deep frustration of being completely ignored during COVID when he believed they had the right drug, and how Faron rebuilt itself from a respiratory trial company into a serious oncology player. We also got into the board structure he's deliberately built to be unlike most you'll see, and what it really takes to scale a company when the pharma ecosystem around you is still finding its feet.
We wrapped things up with a quick round of mystery questions Juho hadn't seen coming. Outside of running a listed biotech and raising five kids, he recharges the Finnish way — out in nature with his family.

Here's What You're In For
Why a vascular surgeon walked away from the operating table to run a biotech
The family origin story behind Clever-1 and Faron Pharmaceuticals
How a Phase 3 failure set the stage for what came next
The COVID frustration: having the right drug and nobody willing to listen
What Clever-1 is, why it matters, and why the biology can't be shortcut
The MDS data turning heads at ASCO, ESMO, and ASH — and what comes next
What a CEO actually thinks about when moving from early to the pivotal stage
The CMC blind spot that catches most biotechs off guard
How Juho built a board that mirrors the C-suite — and why that logic matters
Why CMOs and CSOs can get onto boards, but have to start in the right place

Timestamps
01:49 – Origins of Clever-1 and the family story behind Faron Pharmaceuticals
05:35 – Career highpoint: caring for a dying father-in-law and what it means to fight cancer
06:50 – Career lowpoint: Traumakine Phase 3 failure and two years of being ignored during COVID
12:53 – Faron's elevator pitch: what the company does and why it exists
14:42 – Bexmarilimab (BEX) and why macrophages are the hidden driver of treatment resistance
16:30 – The Phase 1/2 results: 64% response rate and 14.5-month survival in high-risk MDS
19:36 – Next 12–18 months: €40M raised, Phase 2b underway, investigator-led trials in sarcoma and beyond
23:12 – What CEOs have to think about at late stage: CMC, fundraising, and clinical navigation
27:42 – Mirroring the C-suite and deliberately avoiding the VC-heavy default
34:33 – Quick-fire questions: books, interferon biology, and what keeps him sane in Finland

About Juho
Dr. Juho Jalkanen is the CEO of Faron Pharmaceuticals, a publicly listed clinical-stage Finnish biotech developing novel immunotherapies for blood cancers, with a lead asset, bexmarilimab, targeting Clever-1 on immunosuppressive macrophages. He holds an MD (vascular surgery), a PhD in molecular biology, and a business school degree — and transitioned from active surgical practice into leading Faron, a company built on his mother's immunology research and spun out by his father from the University of Turku. His work sits at the intersection of deep biology and late-stage oncology drug development. Outside of leading a publicly listed company and raising five kids, Juho recharges in the Finnish outdoors — in nature with his family.
Connect with Juho:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/juho-jalkanen-md-phd-2176a83/
Faron Pharmaceuticals: https://faron.com/

About Charles
My name is Charles Spence and I lead Discera. After many years working in the life-science recruitment world, I decided to work for myself. Before doing recruitment I graduated with a biomedical degree, have worked in hospitals (including translation work in Seoul, South Korea), and also spent a year working in diabetes research in Stockholm. After doing research and travel, a career in business and science felt the most appropriate.
In 2023, I decided to launch my firm - Discera Search. A firm committed to solving the biggest talent needs of early clinical stage SME biotechs on the East Coast and DACH.
Connect with me:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/charles-spence-clinical/
Website: https://www.discera-search.com/

Opinions and comments expressed by the guest do not represent the company and are fully their own.