🧬 Big Pharma to Startup: Chasing a Patient‑Centric Future | Judy Chou (Part 4/4)
January 29, 2026
In this episode of The Biotech Startups Podcast, Dr. Judy Chou shares how she walked away from leading global biotech operations at Bayer to take a risky first‑time CEO role at AltruBio, transforming a struggling predecessor company—alongside a “Genentech mafia” of former colleagues—into a lean, patient‑centric startup built around a novel PSGL‑1 immune checkpoint mechanism aimed at restoring immune balance and breaking the remission ceiling in ulcerative colitis, all while navigating near‑bankruptcy, a 30‑day fundraising sprint that led to a record $225M Series B, launching a translational lab in Taipei, and drawing on formative experiences at Yale and MIT as a young mother and mentee to shape her gritty, values‑driven leadership philosophy.
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“I would say find your passion and stick to it. Don’t define your path by preset steps—just keep aligning your choices with that passion, and in the end you’ll have a story you feel good about and proud of.”
In this episode of The Biotech Startups Podcast, Dr. Judy Chou shares how she walked away from leading global biotech operations at Bayer to take a risky first‑time CEO role at AltruBio, transforming a struggling predecessor company—alongside a “Genentech mafia” of former colleagues—into a lean, patient‑centric startup built around a novel PSGL‑1 immune checkpoint mechanism aimed at restoring immune balance and breaking the remission ceiling in ulcerative colitis, all while navigating near‑bankruptcy, a 30‑day fundraising sprint that led to a record $225M Series B, launching a translational lab in Taipei, and drawing on formative experiences at Yale and MIT as a young mother and mentee to shape her gritty, values‑driven leadership philosophy.
​Key topics covered:
- Leaving Bayer: Why Judy walked away from a major promotion and historic leadership role to pursue work that felt truly aligned with her values.
- Founding AltruBio: How former Genentech executives recruited her to evaluate a failing pipeline, identify PSGL‑1, and build a “Genentech mafia” nucleus for the company.
- PSGL‑1 & immune balance: What makes PSGL‑1 a unique immune checkpoint regulator, how AltruBio’s mechanism differs from anti‑TNF, and why restoring immune homeostasis matters in UC and beyond.
- From near‑bankruptcy to $225M Series B: The 30‑day fundraising sprint that saved the company, and the strategy, execution, and grit behind closing one of the largest Series B rounds in biotech.
- Patient‑centric, lean biotech: Designing more convenient second‑generation molecules, building a lean but senior team, and using translational research in Taipei to own the PSGL‑1 space and expand into multiple indications.
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Subscribe to the Podcast:
Find our guest, Judy Chou at these links:
Website: https://www.altrubio.com/altrubio/en
Find our host, Jon Chee, at these links:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jonchee
Learn more about Excedr:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/excedr/
Website: https://www.excedr.com
Intro & Outro Songs Created by OkKyojin, Owned by Excedr:
Website: https://flow.page/kyojin
Resources & Articles:
Anti‑TNF Therapy in Autoimmune Disease (overview of mechanism and clinical use of drugs like Humira): https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3002580/
Humira (adalimumab) prescribing information and indications in inflammatory bowel disease: https://www.accessdata.fda.gov/drugsatfda_docs/label/2018/125057s410lbl.pdf
Ulcerative Colitis Treatment and Remission Rates (current standards of care and outcomes): Official journal of the American College of Gastroenterology | ACG
Explainer on Contract Development and Manufacturing Organizations (CDMOs): https://www.excedr.com/blog/contract-manufacturing-organizations
Contract Research Organizations (CROs): https://www.excedr.com/blog/contract-research-organizations
Companies, Universities, & People mentioned:
Genentech: https://www.gene.com/
Bayer: https://www.bayer.com/
Pfizer: https://www.pfizer.com/
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Steve Juelsgaard: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stephen-juelsgaard-27451b48/
Martha Constantine-Paton: https://www.linkedin.com/in/martha-constantine-paton-032475b7/
Timestamps:
00:00 Intro
02:18 Origin of AltruBio and Leaving Bayer
05:32 Identifying PSGL-1 as a Novel Target Beyond Humira
09:05 AltruBio's Mission: Patient-Centric Drug Development
13:48 PSGL-1 as an Immune Checkpoint Regulator
19:33 Building a Lean Medivation-Style Organization
23:35 Fundraising Philosophy and Record-Breaking Series B
27:45 Near Bankruptcy and 30-Day Turnaround
32:17 Looking Ahead: UC Data and Pipeline Expansion
35:47 Shoutouts
40:45 Outro
The Biotech Startups Podcast gives you a front-row seat to the business and science of building a biotech. Hosted by Jon Chee, CEO of Excedr, the show features honest conversations with founders, execs, and investors about their work, their companies, and how they got there. From scientific breakthroughs to startup lessons, each episode explores what it really takes to grow a life science company—from pre-seed to IPO.