argenx acquires Unnatural Products, adding a macrocyclic peptide discovery platform to complement its antibody engineering.
Commentary|Podcasts|February 10, 2026
Bets and Balances: Riding the Risk-and-Innovation Pendulum in Biotech
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Ken Banta and Andrew Hall share insights on leading through uncertainty—covering culture, capital, risk, and the regulatory headwinds influencing key decisions in drug development.
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In this Pharmaceutical Executive podcast, Ken Banta, founder and CEO of the Vanguard Network, and Andrew Hall, CEO of Consano Bio, discuss what effective leadership looks like in today’s volatile capital and regulatory climates for emerging biotechs. Part 1 of the conversation explores why Banta and Hall believe CEOs of these companies must act as stabilizers and translators—balancing risk with opportunity, being accountable for the bad and a “pass-through” for the good, and turning complex scientific innovation into clear strategy for investors, regulators, and employees alike.
Highlights of the discussion with Michael Christel, MJH Life Sciences group managing editor, include:
- The EQ imperative: leading through persuasion and influence, not dictates. “It’s not about the science; it’s about the people.”
- The best CEOs follow a four-core formula
- Early stage’s mindset mix (end-game vs journey)—and the rewards of “failing fast”
- Why Series A’s are the “lifeblood of biotech”
Hall previously led publicly traded biopharma IMV inc. Before that, he spent seven years at Celgene, where he led corporate development and pipeline strategy for immunology, as well as business development and strategic alliances, working deals from discovery through to commercialization.
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