Typically, the starting dose in a Phase 1 trial is too low to show efficacy. For CDR Life, observing immunological activity and biomarker improvement in their very first patient was a rare and remarkable event that provided the first tangible sign their scientific platform could become a real therapeutic.

Create's strategy is not limited to a single cell type. They view success in solid tumors as requiring the programming of all immune cells. Their platform can specifically engineer myeloid cells, T-cells, and NK cells in vivo, orchestrating a coordinated, multi-pronged attack on cancer.

Despite pancreatic cancer being notoriously difficult, Actuate prioritized it as a lead indication for strategic reasons. Strong preclinical data allowed the company to bypass later-line trials and move directly into a first-line setting, a 'leapfrog' maneuver that significantly accelerates the drug's overall development and regulatory path.

The future of medicine isn't about finding a single 'best' modality like CAR-T or gene therapy. Instead, it's about strategic convergence, choosing the right tool—be it a bispecific, ADC, or another biologic—based on the patient's specific disease stage and urgency of treatment.

Peptilogics shifted from the challenging general antibiotic market to a niche with massive unmet needs after an orthopedic surgeon collaborator called their drug "the greatest thing I've ever seen" for prosthetic joint infections, an application the CEO hadn't even considered.

When starting out, CDR Life had no intellectual property, data, or significant money. CEO Christian Leisner credits their success to the founding team's powerful and unwavering belief that they could succeed, which made finding a path forward a manageable challenge.

Create Medicines chose LNP-delivered RNA for its in vivo platform to give physicians control. Unlike permanent lentiviral approaches, repeatable dosing allows for adapting to tumor antigen escape and managing durability and safety over time. This flexibility is a core strategic advantage for complex diseases like solid tumors.

Beyond a supportive ecosystem, CDR Life's CEO highlights Switzerland's dense concentration of well-trained life science professionals from big pharma, biotech, and top universities as its most critical advantage. This makes it easier to hire and retain the specialized talent essential for a biotech's success.

While success is celebrated publicly, some of the best leadership happens privately when a CEO makes the tough, candid call to shut down a program or company due to unfavorable data. This "truth-seeking" decision, often against their personal interest, is a hallmark of excellence.