The Big Experiment
Ever wondered how technology start-ups, well, start-up? For most founder entrepreneurs, it is the biggest experiment they'll ever run. Like most experiments, the result isn't known beforehand and it often doesn't work first time. On a bigger scale, how do big tech companies turn innovative science into profit?
Mark Davison interviews founder scientists, executives, investors, communicators, and others in the technology start-up and corporate science ecosystems.
Learn how great ideas turned into thriving businesses (or not) from those who made it happen (or didn't). Get business tips, lessons learned, and life lessons straight from the people who know.
Inspiring, disastrous, funny: hear what life in a science-driven company is really like.
Straight-talking, no nonsense, but conversational style. All technical content is explained for the non-specialist - you don't need a PhD or fluency in jargon and technobabble.
The Big Experiment
Steve Harvey: Writing DNA, Building a company
What is the future of DNA and gene synthesis?
Before the covid pandemic, nucleic acids were mostly research tools. Terms like mRNA vaccines (nucleic acids as clinical agents) were relatively unknown. But since then, RNA and DNA have been thrust into the limelight for both the public and investors alike. How will the field evolve?
My guest in this episode, Steve Harvey, is working at the forefront of DNA synthesis, so who better to talk us through its evolution and future.
Steve is the CEO of Camena Bioscience, where they focus on improving DNA and gene synthesis. This enables biotechnologists to use more accurate and pure starting points, so their results aren’t held back by limited tools.
In this episode Steve discusses his career in laboratory research and the biotech space, from manual experiments in a classical wet lab environment through to the evolution of artificial intelligence. He also talks about the quality challenges faced within DNA and gene synthesis, and how Camena Bio addresses those.
Steve is just as committed to his people as to his science. He discusses the challenge of scaling a biotech company while keeping that all important dynamic and accountable culture.
You’ll hear about:
00:56 - Biotechnology and DNA-based therapies
07:29 – How AI is changing drug discoveries
12:26 – Steve’s biotech experiences
15:09 - DNA sequencing advancements and challenges
20:50 – The problems with storing digital information in DNA
29:47 – The evolution of DNA synthesis technology
33:56 - Company culture and growth strategies
38:57 - Scaling a biotech company with a dynamic culture
Follow Steve:
LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/steve-harvey-camenabio/
Twitter - https://twitter.com/camenabio
Camena Bioscience - https://www.camenabio.com/
Connect with Me:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/markdavison100/
Grant Instruments: https://www.grantinstruments.com/
Grant Instruments on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/grant-instruments-cambridge-ltd/
