Dr. Scott Brun: From Leading Global R&D Teams to Funding Startups

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Scott Brun, MD, began his long career in pharma R&D leadership in the late 1990s, holding key roles at Abbott and AbbVie. Had he picked up a pencil with his right hand, his career may have taken a completely different turn.

Dr. Brun earned his medical degree at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and completed a residency in ophthalmology at the Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary. A leftie, Dr. Brun ultimately decided not to become ambidextrous. Instead, he joined Abbott as a pharmaceutical physician and began a fruitful career leading development across multiple therapeutic areas.

With OIS Podcast host Sophia Pathai, MD, PhD, Dr. Brun looks both forward and ahead, sharing stories from his time at Abbott and AbbVie as well as his insights on promising developments in ophthalmology.

At venture capital firm Abingworth, Dr. Brun currently helps young biopharma leaders turn their visions into reality. He’s also running his own consulting company and helping Horizon Therapeutics build its internal pipeline.

Listen to the podcast today to hear Dr. Pathai and Dr. Brun talk about:

• Dr. Brun’s background, from medicine to industry to consulting and VC work.
• Pivotal events across therapeutic areas during his tenures at Abbott and AbbVie.
• How Dr. Brun fostered teamwork, motivation, and engagement among large teams within large pharmaceutical companies, especially in times of failure.
• The differences between managing a team of six and leading an organization of 2,000 people across 40-plus countries.
• The success of Opthea and how it illustrates the need for VCs to think globally.
• How the current bear market will test early-stage biopharma and biotech, and how these startups can survive current economic challenges.
• The road ahead. What areas of development look most promising? Gene therapy for dry age-related macular degeneration? Ganglion cell regeneration? Something else?

Click “play” to listen.