GLP‑1 weight‑loss drugs started as diabetes medicines. Now they’re quietly becoming one of the most powerful tools in obesity treatment — and they’re still evolving. The science is advancing quickly. The harder question is whether access, cost, and policy will keep up.

Your first five hires will decide whether your “platform biotech” ever becomes more than a pitch deck. In the first 18 months you’re not building an org chart, you’re building an engine: one person who truly owns the platform, one who runs everything that isn’t science, one who turns data into a scalable system, an early regulatory voice to stop you tripping over yourself later, and a business partner who keeps capital and deals flowing.

If you read recent scientific reviews on artificial intelligence (AI) in the pharmaceutical industry, you get a clear message: AI is transforming drug discovery, clinical development, manufacturing, and safety.¹⁻⁵ However, if you talk to bench scientists, clinical teams, or data scientists over coffee, you often hear a more complicated story: pockets of impressive success, a lot of incremental improvements, and quite a few stalled pilots. Both perspectives are true. They’re j

Choosing where to set up in Europe is just the beginning. The real challenge — and the real competitive advantage — lies in finding, attracting, and retaining the right people in markets where the best talent has choices