What the Health with Emily Casey

The A$2.2B Myricx Bio Deal, AI's Healthcare Land Grab and Preventive Health

Mon, 27 Jul 2026 06:00:00 +1000

Novartis has agreed to acquire Myricx Bio for up to US$1.5 billion, approximately A$2.2 billion, in a major outcome for a UK biotech company with deep Australian venture backing.

In the inaugural What the Health Wrap, host Emily Casey is joined by Dr Jackie Rabec, co-founder and Chief Product Officer at ThinkMD.ai, and Dr Prashanth Rajan, Associate at Brandon Capital, to work through what the fortnight's biggest healthcare stories actually mean.

Prashanth explains how Myricx Bio evolved from small-molecule science into a new class of antibody-drug conjugate payloads. He discusses why the proposed acquisition matters for cancer therapeutics, investors and Australia's biotech ecosystem, while cautioning that the ultimate test will still come through clinical development.

The conversation then turns to artificial intelligence. Jackie argues that healthcare companies need more than a powerful model. They need a genuine problem, sustainable economics, clinical workflow integration and the change management required for adoption. Prashanth applies the same test to AI drug discovery, where molecular designs must still survive laboratory testing and clinical trials.

The panel also examines proposed changes to Australia's R&D Tax Incentive. Under the current proposal, the offset would be refundable for eligible businesses younger than ten years and non-refundable for older businesses. Prashanth explains why that distinction could affect biotech companies just as expensive clinical programs begin to scale, potentially pushing investment, clinical activity and company growth offshore.

AdvanCell's US$315 million Series D offers a timely example of what sustained local support can produce. The company is advancing a Lead-212 targeted alpha therapy for metastatic prostate cancer while expanding its isotope supply and manufacturing infrastructure.

Finally, the panel asks whether preventive health and longevity represent the future of care or another layer available mainly to people who can afford it. Everlab's A$65 million Series A and Neko Health's US$700 million Series C demonstrate growing demand, but questions remain about equity and whether earlier intervention can reduce pressure on public healthcare systems.

Guests

Dr Jackie Rabec is co-founder and Chief Product Officer at ThinkMD.ai, which builds offline-capable clinical decision-support tools for frontline health workers. She previously worked at Google and was Head of Product at Heidi Health.

Dr Prashanth Rajan is an Associate at Brandon Capital and leads its activities in New South Wales. He has a background in bioinformatics, biochemistry and molecular biology.

Chapters

00:00 Introducing the What the Health Wrap

08:07 Myricx Bio's proposed US$1.5 billion acquisition

11:13 Antibody-drug conjugates and Australian biotech

15:35 AI in healthcare beyond administration

24:50 The promise and limits of AI drug discovery

28:46 Proposed changes to Australia's R&D Tax Incentive

35:22 AdvanCell's US$315 million Series D

42:25 Preventive health, longevity and primary care

53:28 Rapid fire: platform risk, companies to watch and useful resources

Links and resources

ThinkMD.ai: https://www.thinkmd.ai/

Dr Prashanth Rajan at Brandon Capital: https://brandoncapital.vc/team_member/prashanth-rajan/

Myricx Bio acquisition announcement: https://brandoncapital.vc/2026/07/06/brandon-capital-announces-agreement-for-novartis-to-acquire-portfolio-company-myricx-bio-to-advance-new-class-of-cancer-therapeutics/

Australian Treasury's R&D Tax Incentive proposal: https://treasury.gov.au/sites/default/files/2026-06/p2026-781365_0.pdf

Claude for Healthcare: https://www.anthropic.com/news/healthcare-life-sciences

Chai Discovery's US$400 million Series C: https://www.chaidiscovery.com/news/series-c

AdvanCell's US$315 million Series D: https://svhealthinvestors.com/news/advancell-closes-us-315-million-oversubscribed-series-d-financing-to-advance-targeted-alpha-therapies-and-expand-clinical-and-commercial-manufacturing-infrastructure

Everlab: https://www.everlab.com.au/

Neko Health's US$700 million Series C: https://www.nekohealth.com/se/en/press/neko-health-raises-usd700m-series-c-ahead-of-us-launch

About the host

Emily Casey is the founder of What the Health and host of the What the Health Wrap, making major developments in health technology and innovation easier to understand.

The What the Health Wrap is brought to you by What the Health in partnership with Tenmile Ventures.

What the Health is part of Day One Network, the podcast and media network from W2D1 Media: https://dayone.fm/

Introducing What The Health with Emily Casey | Official Trailer

Sun, 26 Jul 2026 06:00:00 +1000

Five years of health innovation coverage, millions of reads, and a community of 11,000+.

Now finally, What the Health has a podcast too — bringing the content to convos you can now listen to on the go and in video. Host Emily Casey brings the founders, clinicians, investors, operators, and policymakers shaping the future of health into the room for candid, useful, and occasionally unruly conversations.

This trailer offers a first taste of the questions the show will tackle. What happens when billions flow into biotech while policy struggles to keep up? How reliable are the latest AI health tools? What can at-home screening change for patients and the wider health system? And when everyone is talking about AI, where is the real advantage?

What The Health goes beyond the headlines to work out what is real, what is hype, what is worth paying attention to and why it matters.

Expect:

candid conversations with leading minds in health innovation
clear explanations without the health-speak
sharp takes backed by facts
practical context on the companies, ideas and policy shifts changing healthcare
a smarter way to stay ahead without drowning in noise

What The Health is more than a podcast. It is a newsletter, events platform and private community built for people who want to stay switched on to health and health tech.

Subscribe to the newsletter and join the What The Health community: https://www.whatthehealth.io/

Follow the show: https://dayone.fm/show/what-the-health-with-emily-casey/

Brought to you by Tenmile.

Tenmile partners with teams tackling major unmet needs in human health, helping turn bold ideas and breakthrough science into companies that can improve lives.

Learn more: https://www.tenmile.com/

What The Health is part of the Day One Network and produced by W2D1 Media.

This podcast is for general information and commentary and is not medical advice.

Introducing What The Health with Emily Casey | Official Teaser

Sat, 25 Jul 2026 06:00:00 +1000