BioPhy is a company committed to transforming how promising drugs are identified, developed, and tested. Pulse 2.0 interviewed BioPhy co-founder and CEO Dave Latshaw II, Ph.D., to learn more about the company.
Dave Latshaw’s Background
What is Latshaw’s background? Latshaw said:
“I’m a multidisciplinary expert with extensive experience in artificial intelligence, biotechnology, and business innovation. I specialize in bridging these fields to address complex challenges in research and development. I began my journey in biotechnology at North Carolina State University, where I earned my Ph.D. in chemical and biomolecular engineering, studying neurodegenerative diseases through computational biophysics and machine learning. Upon graduating, I joined Johnson & Johnson’s (J&J) Advanced Technologies Center of Excellence as one of the youngest to lead a flagship AI program. I held a pivotal role in J&J’s commitment to providing a billion doses during the COVID-19 pandemic, enabling rapid scale-up of the novel manufacturing process.”
“During my tenure at J&J, I implemented over 20 AI-based programs across drug development, impacting nearly $16 billion in yearly sales, reducing costs by 20 percent, and increasing reliability by 50 percent. This work was specifically highlighted in the World Economic Forum’s September 2020 Global Lighthouse Network Report. Recognizing larger-scale inefficiencies in drug development, I pursued my MBA at Wharton Business School, where my co-founder, Steve Truong and I conceived the idea for BioPhy, a life sciences health tech company founded in 2020.”
Core Products
What are the company’s core products and features? Latshaw explained:
“At BioPhy we have two core AI technologies, predictive (identify) and generative (accelerate). BioLogicAI is our predictive intelligence technology that rapidly analyzes clinical and biological data to accurately forecast study outcomes, optimizing development and portfolio decisions across the most promising therapeutics.”
“BioPhyRx is our proprietary generative AI technology that provides on-demand scientific and operational guidance, allowing experts to enhance productivity across regulatory, quality, operational, and BD workflows – accelerating core drug development functions today, and can be fine-tuned for any organization. Our two technologies work in parallel to identify the highest potential candidates via validated predictive insights while dynamically generating the intelligence to accelerate them efficiently through each development stage. This end-to-end approach tackles roadblocks from pre-clinical through approvals and beyond.”
Challenges Faced
What challenges has Dave Latshaw and the team faced in building the company? Latshaw acknowledged:
“Although there are always technical challenges, the primary issue is the lack of local investors in life sciences and tech within the space compared to other sectors. This often forces businesses to seek funding and relocate elsewhere. Fortunately, we were able to partner with Chelsea Clinton and Caroline Kassie’s Metrodora Ventures, Audere Capital, and TRCM, as well as prominent figures in life sciences including Jeff Marrazzo, co-founder and former CEO of Spark Therapeutics, raising a total of $4.5 million in capital.”
Evolution Of BioPhy’s Technology
How has the company’s technology evolved since launching? Latshaw noted:
“Our technology has been validated to predict trial results across 35,000 trials and 1,600+ studies with over 80% accuracy, outperforming both human experts and other AI solutions. We aim to integrate our technology into these businesses to enhance their efficiency, particularly through the predictive ‘Identify’ and generative ‘Accelerate’ elements of our platform. Collaborating with exciting startups and big names in the generative AI space has driven our growth and as a result, we have secured strategic investments from exceptional partners.”
Significant Milestones
What have been some of the company’s most significant milestones? Latshaw cited:
“The company entered pilot and commercial agreements with several leading pharmaceutical companies and worked with biotech companies from rare diseases to novel cancer therapies. Some other significant milestones include our launch, new talent hires, and announcement with EveryCure, a nonprofit initiative on a mission to unlock the full potential of existing medicines to treat every disease. BioPhy’s AI technology was even recognized by Fast Company in its 2024 list of World Changing Ideas.”
Total Addressable Market
What total addressable market (TAM) size is the company pursuing? Latshaw assessed:
“BioPhy has a unique blend of experts in technology, life sciences, and finance. This allows us to consider how scientific feasibility influences value from a capital markets perspective. This positions us to use our technology to help early-stage firms articulate their competitive edge to investors.”
Differentiation From The Competition
What differentiates the company from its competition? Latshaw affirmed:
“BioPhy’s proprietary AI graphs continuously ingest millions of data sources to uncover new relationships. The predictive engines then provide actionable guidance to improve each stage of development using advanced simulations. This allows rapid experimentation and evidence generation exponentially faster and more effective than previous approaches. Ultimately completing in days, what took months or years. We fundamentally transform the alignment of science, data, and teams to accelerate the most promising therapies, maximizing patient impact.”
Future Company Goals
What are some of the company’s future company goals? Latshaw concluded:
“Our goal is to enable practical AI that enhances human intelligence in order to radically accelerate the development of life-changing therapies. Success means consistently producing data, decision-making, and resource allocation tools that permanently shift the value paradigm in drug development. We are confident that our technology and team will empower the next generation of biopharmaceutical innovation and are doing so by partnering with several of the leading pharmaceutical companies.”
