Pioneering Public-Private Partnerships to Tackle Complex Health Issues: Dr. Julie Gerberding, FNIH, Dr. Jay Bradner, FNIH & Jim Weiss, Real Chemistry

·55 min·3 clips

During COVID, the FNIH, NIH, FDA, and private partners screened 800 compounds and moved 33 into trials.

Healthcare progress is moving fast, while the experience of getting care can still feel stuck. That is the tension Jim White brings into this conversation with Dr. Julie Gerberding and Dr. Jay Bradner. FNIH gives the episode its frame. Gerberding is introduced as FNIH president and CEO, with earlier roles at Merck and as the first woman to direct the CDC. Bradner brings the lab and company side, shaped by Novartis research leadership, Dana-Farber clinical work, and five biotech startups. The useful word here is collaboration. Bradner explains that small biotech companies can chase one problem with real intensity, while larger organizations may have broader expertise and data that others cannot easily reach. For patients, that mix can matter. Partnerships create the kind of physical and intellectual closeness where scientists have permission to work across usual lines. Data gets a practical treatment too. Bradner points to company-created data sets from precious human samples, where academics may ask questions that companies would not put first. His NIH story makes the system feel concrete. He recalls seeking a RAID grant for his first company, a topical soft drug for skin disease that aimed to avoid broader body damage. NIH and NCI drug developers helped push that work toward a clinical candidate. Jim closes on optimism, while admitting that optimism is not always the default mood. The Real Chemistry thread is clear: investment only starts the work. The bonds between institutions, scientists, companies, and patient needs are what give it a shot at becoming real health progress.

As heard by us

A clear look at how partnerships turn science into patient impact.

This episode makes a clear case for public-private partnerships as more than a slogan. Dr. Julie Gerberding and Dr. Jay Bradner give the argument shape with practical examples about data access, complementary expertise, and the value of being close enough, intellectually and…

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