#102 The End of the Amyloid Era with Isaac Stoner: Treating Alzheimer's as a Disease of the Immune System

Isaac Stoner, CEO of MindImmune Therapeutics, a drug discovery company pioneering a new class of medicines for Alzheimer's disease and other neurodegenerative conditions.Isaac has built his career moving between the founder seat and the investor seat. He was the founding CEO of Octagon Therapeutics, the first team member at liquid biopsy company Firefly BioWorks and has evaluated life science companies for investment at Slater Technology Fund, PureTech Health, KdT and Action Potential Venture Capital. At MindImmune Therapeutics, he is chasing one of the boldest ideas in neuroscience: that Alzheimer's may in fact be an autoimmune disease that presents in the brain.In this episode Isaac explains why the amyloid hypothesis that has dominated Alzheimer's research for 30 years has run its course, and why MindImmune is taking an immunology-first approach built on brain tissue donated by Alzheimer's patients. He breaks down the three biggest risk factors for the disease, how he pitched a 30 million dollar Series A on a condition where 99.9% of drugs have failed and what it would mean to develop a therapy bigger than the GLP-1 weight loss drugs.We also get into the founder-to-investor-to-founder journey, why a brilliant scientific founder is often the wrong person to sit in the CEO seat and the hard truths every aspiring biotech founder needs to hear before striking out on their own.Timestamps[00:02:50] Why a Career Investor Keeps Getting Pulled Back Into Building[00:05:25] Shutting Down Octagon Therapeutics and the Chip It Left Behind[00:07:10] Why MindImmune Treats Alzheimer's as an Autoimmune Disease[00:08:20] Why 30 Years of the Amyloid Hypothesis Has Run Its Course[00:10:05] The Three Biggest Risk Factors for Alzheimer's and What You Can Do[00:12:15] How He Raised a $30 Million Series A on the Hardest Disease in Medicine[00:15:30] Why 99.9% of Alzheimer's Drugs Fail and What Makes This Different[00:18:35] Why a Brilliant Scientific Founder Is Often the Wrong CEO[00:22:20] Where MindImmune Goes Next: AMD, ALS and Beyond[00:28:00] Final Advice: Get Into Biotech for the Right ReasonsConnect with Isaac - ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/isaacstoner/⁠Learn more about MindImmune Therapeutics - ⁠https://www.mindimmune.com/⁠Get in touch with Karandeep Badwal - ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/karandeepbadwal/ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Follow Karandeep on YouTube - ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.youtube.com/@KarandeepBadwal⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Medical device training courses delivered by Karandeep through Bywater - ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.bywater.co.uk/