Investing in Life Sciences

Summary

Podcast Summary: Bloomberg Businessweek – Investing in Life Sciences

Hosts: Carol Massar and Tim Stenovec
Guest: Jenny Rook, Founder & Managing Director, Genoa Ventures
Air Date: May 11, 2026

---

Episode Overview

This episode centers on the current landscape and future of investing in life sciences, with particular focus on biotechnology, advances in cancer research, the influence of artificial intelligence (AI), and the complex intersection of private capital and healthcare innovation. The hosts are joined by Jenny Rook, founder and managing director of Genoa Ventures, for an in-depth discussion about breakthroughs, challenges, and the incentives shaping the future of health and biotech.

---

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The State of Biotech & Life Sciences Investment

• On the Investment Landscape:
  • Major funds like Blackstone Life Sciences have committed billions to support late-stage biopharma and biotech innovation (02:47).
    • “Blackstone is investing $250 million in a biotech startup... It’s part of their strategy to own more cutting-edge drug makers.” – Tim Stenovec [02:47]
  • Genoa Ventures, led by Jenny Rook, focuses on early-stage companies expected to become public within 7–10 years (05:14).
  • The link between public market sentiment and venture capital flows is growing stronger:
    • When public markets show interest and capital, it boosts demand for biotech tools and AI-driven discovery (04:31).

2. Cancer Research: Progress, Challenges & Investment Logic

• Research Advances & Remaining Frustrations:
  • Cancer, though still difficult, is no longer a “death sentence” due to new therapies and robust ongoing investment (05:53).
  • Increasing lifespans mean a higher cancer incidence, shifting why so much capital still targets oncology:
    • “It’s becoming increasingly common for people as they live longer... Cancer is a disease of aging.” – Carol Massar & Jenny Rook [06:09–06:28]
• Complexity:
  • Cancer isn’t a single disease—even within one organ, it involves a host of molecular changes, making treatment and research complex.

3. Breakthroughs in Biology & Emerging Technologies

• The Rise of Proteomics:
  • Recent IPOs of companies like Alomar Bio signal public market appetite and the dawn of a new era—measuring the "protein layer" of biology (06:54):
    • “They make it possible to measure more proteins in a patient sample at a greater level of precision and sensitivity.” – Jenny Rook [07:11]
• Why Proteins Matter:
  • The central dogma: DNA → RNA → proteins, with proteins executing cellular functions and being the root of many pathologies (07:47).
• AI’s Impact:
  • AI is revolutionizing data analysis, but its power relies on the amount and quality of input data:
    • “AI is only as powerful as the quality and the amount of data you put into it.” – Jenny Rook [08:32]
  • The hunger for better, richer data to feed AI systems is accelerating biological discovery and innovation.

4. Data Ecosystems and Global Competition

• Building Better Data Sets:
  • Comprehensive data—like that of UK Biobank—combined with specific, disease-targeted data is the way forward (11:06).
  • The US is still competitive but faces growing questions about maintaining investment in data generation compared to global rivals, especially China (11:41).

5. Health System Incentives & the Path to Innovation

• Incentive Alignment Challenges:
  • The U.S. healthcare system is often structured to benefit when patients are sick, presenting challenges for investments focused on truly making people healthier:
    • “Our healthcare system makes money when people are sick.” – Carol Massar [12:17]
  • Jenny Rook notes the importance of aligning enough incentives to allow innovative solutions to reach the market (12:47).

6. Biotechnology Beyond Healthcare

• Jenny Rook hints at the broader role of biotechnology in security, defense, agriculture, and industry—suggesting future episodes will explore this (13:06).

---

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Frustration With Cancer Progress:
  • “I just want cancer to be cured… it’s very frustrating.” – Carol Massar [02:33 – 02:42]
• On Life & Cancer:
  • “In a sense, it is the flip side of the coin of living longer, healthier lives… Cancer is a disease of aging.” – Jenny Rook [06:22]
• On AI & Data:
  • “AI is only as powerful as the quality and the amount of data you put into it.” – Jenny Rook [08:32]
• On the Limits of Medical Understanding:
  • “How much out there is idiopathic… With all of the diagnostic testing that we have, there are still so many more questions.” – Carol Massar [08:49]
• On Health System Incentives:
  • “Our healthcare system makes money when people are sick.” – Carol Massar [12:17]
• On the Investment Chain:
  • “It’s very important to have these later stage funds validating that the segment itself is an important place to put capital.” – Jenny Rook [05:14]

---

Timestamps for Key Segments

• [02:18] – Biotech’s unexplored frontiers and the influence of AI
• [02:47] – Blackstone’s $250M funding in biotech; private equity’s growing role
• [04:31] – How public market volatility affects VC investment in biotech
• [05:35] – The persistent challenge and complexity of curing cancer
• [06:54] – Advances in proteomics and public market interest
• [08:32] – The critical role of high-quality data in AI-enhanced biology
• [11:06] – Building comprehensive and targeted health data sets
• [11:41] – US vs. China: The race to collect health data
• [12:13] – Structural incentives in the US healthcare system
• [13:06] – Expanding the conversation: biotech’s implications beyond health

---

Conclusion

This episode provides an insightful, nuanced look into today’s life sciences investing—from cutting-edge genetic and protein analysis to the practical realities of data, AI, and healthcare incentives. The conversation with Jenny Rook illuminates both the promise and the persistent obstacles of biotech, while giving listeners a sense of where the next breakthroughs and battlegrounds might lie.

For further context on biotech investment, AI, or the future of healthcare, this episode is a must-listen.

Transcript

[Microsoft Representative]

Okay, before we get into it, little side note for the IT leaders listening in. I was reading up on a Microsoft Commission survey the other day and learned that teams using Windows 11 Pro PCs report 62% fewer security incidents compared to Windows 10 PCs, including three times fewer firmware attacks. Pretty significant. With security built in, you'll have AI ready it. That sets you up for operational efficiency as well as long term resilience. Upgrade to Windows 11 Pro@Windows means business.com

[Cincinnati Insurance Representative]

if you follow markets, you know the value of long term thinking. You plan, you diversify, you prepare for volatility. But in life, even the best strategies can't prevent every bad day a fire, a loss, a disruption that demands immediate attention. When that happens, what matters isn't just what you planned. It's who shows up. That's where Cincinnati Insurance comes in. For more than 75 years, they've helped individuals and businesses navigate life's toughest moments with care, expertise, and personal attention. Together with independent agents, Cincinnati Insurance focuses on relationships, not transactions. Their approach is grounded in experience, follow through, and trust built over time. Bad days happen, and when they do, you deserve an insurance partner who understands risk, respects what you've built, and is ready to help you move forward. The Cincinnati insurance companies, let them make your bad day better. Find an independent agent@cin fin.com the thing

[IBM Representative]

about AI for business, it may not automatically fit the way your business works. At IBM, we've seen this firsthand. But by embedding AI across hr, IT and procurement processes, we've reduced costs by millions, slash repetitive tasks, and freed thousands of hours for strategic work. Now we're helping companies get smarter by putting AI where it actually pays off, deep in the work that moves the business. Let's create smarter business. IBM,

[Tim Stenovec]

Bloomberg Audio Studios Podcasts, radio news.

[Carol Massar]

You're listening to Bloomberg Business Week with Carol Massar and Tim Stenovec on Bloomberg Radio.

[Tim Stenovec]

What's the matter?

[Carol Massar]

You're thinking a lot about biotech.

[Tim Stenovec]

I love the biotech sector. I think. I still think that there's so much we have yet to learn about the body and how things work. Yeah. And I think with AI, there is this potential.

[Carol Massar]

I just want cancer to be cured.

[Tim Stenovec]

I just want cancer to be truly. I know, I know. I feel like it's the. The next big thing. We've got a lot of things.

[Carol Massar]

This idea of cancer. Moonshots. And it's just. I don't know, it's just like. It's very frustrating.

[Tim Stenovec]

Yeah, I know, I know, I know. So we talk about it a Lot we do. There's a lot of money going though at the world of pharmaceuticals and, and biotech and, and one story we wanted to point out, or Jerry Smith wrote this of Bloomberg, that Blackstone is investing 250 million in a biotech startup. It's Anagram Therapeutics. It's part of the private equity giant strategy to own more cutting edge drug makers. I mean it's called Blackstone Life Sciences. They have some 17 billion in a, um, typically investing in late stage Med, invented by biotech and pharma companies in exchange for royalty and future sales. That gets into the model. I think what's interesting to me is their latest Life sciences fund has 6.3 billion of commitments. It's the firm's biggest haul for backing clinical trials of medicines and technologies. I like to see where the money flows. I also think money can help make things happen and hopefully have a cure for cancer. We put it in one bucket, but there's hopefully lots of cures.

[Carol Massar]

Yeah, these are things that Jenny Rook thinks a lot about because this is an area that she does invest in. She's the founder and managing director of Genoa Ventures. She's back here in our Bloomberg Interactive broker studio. Your portfolio has investments in new culture, Redux Bio, Fellow bond, pet foods and more. Good to have you back with us. It's been, gosh, since January when we last spoke. How are you?

[Jenny Rook]

I'm doing well. How are you?

[Tim Stenovec]

Nothing's happened, right?

[Jenny Rook]

It's been pretty chill so far.

[Carol Massar]

Yeah.

[Jenny Rook]

This year.

[Carol Massar]

Well, well, you know, what's the connection between the public markets and, and sort of what you see in your world of venture capital and VC investing? Is there any connection to volatility that we saw in March, increase in sentiment, you know, positive sentiment we saw in April? Does that affect your world at all?

[Jenny Rook]

It does, and maybe even more than I probably originally realized getting into venture. But it's exactly as you're just saying, Carol, is that when you have in the public markets the interest, the capital, the emphasis on driving these later stage businesses forward, getting medicines out into, through the clinic and into the market, that drives a lot of the underlying layer of demand for tools, the application of AI to the discovery of biology, making you less frustrated about what we don't know in medicine. So it really is driving, I think, both the right attention and the right investment.

[Tim Stenovec]

Jenny, when there's a big player like Blackstone, is that good for the market? Is it more competitive than for you? These are late stage. I think you're earlier, right?

[Jenny Rook]

That's right. So At Genoa Ventures, we exist to lead first rounds and companies that are hopefully going to be public in seven to 10 years being part of the venture asset class. But it's very important to have these later stage funds validating that the segment itself is an important place to put capital and is driving returns later as well.

[Carol Massar]

So let's get to curing cancer.

[Jenny Rook]

Okay.

[Tim Stenovec]

Please.

[Carol Massar]

Why is it so difficult and our company's still working on this, given that we've seen, we've talked about this with you in the past, I mean, you know, in the past 18 months or so about research funding drying up at some universities. But are companies still putting money?

[Jenny Rook]

Oh, very much so. I would say if you, if you look at the therapeutic space generally and where investment is going, that is still the oncology is still one of the leading segments for investment in innovation. If you. Yes, there's work still to be done, but it is no longer a death sentence today.

[Carol Massar]

Like it's not. But one scary thing about the reason why I think so much money is going into oncology is because it's becoming increasingly common for people as they live longer.

[Jenny Rook]

That's right.

[Carol Massar]

So more people are getting it because more people are living longer. And also there are other types of cancers that younger people are now getting.

[Tim Stenovec]

Right.

[Jenny Rook]

Like colorectal cancer rising. That's exactly right. So in a sense, it is the flip side of the coin of living longer, healthier lives. Some have called cancer disease of aging. Right. So we are now living long enough to encounter it. It's also very complex. It's not one thing. It's not even just one thing in a given organ. It's many different kinds of molecular changes.

[Tim Stenovec]

So talk to us about what's interesting that's going on in terms of biology. What are you seeing?

[Jenny Rook]

Right. Well, something that's been really exciting in this past quarters. You've seen we've started to see the public markets opening up. We've had a couple of IPOs in the biotech space. Surprising and delightful to us as investors in the infrastructure and the tool chain. One of those was not therapeutics at all, but proteomics company. So Alomar Bio came out on nasdaq, oversubscribed, has traded up since then and the months since then. And what they do is they make it possible to measure more proteins in, for example, a patient sample at a greater level of precision and sensitivity than ever possible. And the hunger for being able to measure what's happening in the protein layer, which is in some sense the business end of biology, is Necessary for the next phase of understanding cancer biology, diagnostics, and even kind of engineering of drugs in all of those spaces.

[Tim Stenovec]

Why is that? Yeah, like understanding that layer.

[Jenny Rook]

Now, the. I think you probably know, you've probably heard the dogma, as we say, genes, DNA make RNA make proteins, and it's proteins that circulate, interact with each other. It's kind of the network of what's happening in the body and between cells, and it's often proteins, something going on with the proteins that go. Goes wrong when we're talking about disease, pathology. And so we need to be able to measure that.

[Tim Stenovec]

Got it.

[Jenny Rook]

And, you know, we've made bets in

[Tim Stenovec]

that space too, I think, before we got going. I still feel like I just. That we still don't know so much about the body and, and what the body can be used. I think we're doing. We're learning more with immunotherapy. Right. And how to use the body to help cure what ails us.

[Jenny Rook]

That's right. But all of this depends on. And actually that AI revolution is fueling hunger for more and better data.

[Tim Stenovec]

Yeah.

[Jenny Rook]

You probably know that AI is only as powerful as the quantum quality and the amount of data that you put into it.

[Tim Stenovec]

Right.

[Jenny Rook]

And so we've known, as you say, Carol, there's so much we still don't know. But now there's reasons to get that complexity of DNA because we can interact with it with AI tools.

[Carol Massar]

To your point, Carol, I think what surprises me so much in talking with friends who are doctors is how much out there is idiopathic. It's the idea that, okay, we recognize that the symptoms exist, we see your symptoms, we just have no idea what causes them. Like, that's in 2026 with imaging, with blood testing, there's still lots of questions. With all of the diagnostic testing that we have, there are still so many more questions.

[Tim Stenovec]

So how do we get to those really great data sets? Because, I mean, are health facilities competing for the data because that gives them more value, or is there going to be some comprehensive data set so that we all benefit off of it?

[Jenny Rook]

I think what we've seen so far with AI generally this is outside of health care. But AI is most powerful when one can close the loop between generation of exactly the right data set at a quality to answer the question you want to answer. So in the healthcare space, closing the loop between turning biology into data, feeding that into better and better AI models, generating insights and then doing it again. And so that pace of learning with the AI support is only accelerating have

[Carol Massar]

we seen any of that proven out yet?

[Jenny Rook]

Yeah, I think you see it in one of the other kind of big news in the space is Roche, Roche's acquisition of Path AI.

[Tim Stenovec]

Right.

[Jenny Rook]

And I think for people who are interested in the space and trying to understand how AI is affecting healthcare, that's a pretty great one stop example or case study. Because Path AI solutions include generation of data on samples, visualization, like you were saying, and then the AI tools to understand it as well as workflow improvements. Because it all matters. What matters is can you deliver it to patients in the healthcare system.

[Tim Stenovec]

But you know what, that's going back to the data. Like who is going to be the accumulator? Like I do. We've had a guest on somebody I talked to at Bloomberg Investors about this whole idea, agentic AI, but talking about data sets that are very specific to a different industry. And her point really was that, you know, you're not going to need all these LLMs accumulating everything. You're going to need these.

[Jenny Rook]

That's right now, very focused.

[Tim Stenovec]

Right. So who, like let's take, I don't know, colon cancer, like will there be an accumulator taking in data from global so that you really get a great data set or does everybody have their own?

[Jenny Rook]

The answer ends up being both. So you end up with large comprehensive data sets. For example, like the UK Biobank is a very rich data set with a lot of longitudinal information about patients and their health care and then the ability to access that and add to it the layers of specific data sets that, for example, a company trying to develop a diagnostic in a particular cancer might add a proteomics layer or a glycoproteomics layer around a particular test.

[Tim Stenovec]

Is the US still accumulating great data with the administration and some of the cuts and so on and so forth. Are we still accumulating smart data?

[Jenny Rook]

We. This is a really important question. A lot of the conversation this year that I've been in has been what is our relative investment in generating more data at high quality and how does that compare to other geographies like China? We have to talk about China.

[Carol Massar]

I want to go in a different direction than China, but because we have

[Jenny Rook]

to talk about China another time.

[Carol Massar]

Are our incentives aligned for in our health care system to make people healthier?

[Jenny Rook]

It's honestly easier to talk about China than our health care system. But because.

[Carol Massar]

Because our health care system makes money when people are sick.

[Cincinnati Insurance Representative]

Yeah.

[Carol Massar]

If you think about some of the biggest hospitals, insurance and insurance companies, some people argue insurance companies serve as a check on some health care facilities because they're only going to pay for X and they kick you out after a certain number of days. Are the incentives misaligned in our society?

[Jenny Rook]

And you're quite right to talk about the incentives, and this is well above my pay grade as a venture investor,

[Carol Massar]

but that must cross your mind when you're doing the calculus and when you have the spreadsheet out.

[Jenny Rook]

So you have to think about is a solution that is based on innovation coming to market in a way that can at least align enough of the incentives to get there to be used.

[Carol Massar]

That's the question. Okay, next time China.

[Tim Stenovec]

Next time China.

[Jenny Rook]

Next time China.

[Tim Stenovec]

No, I really do want to talk because we were talking about China with solar. Like, I mean you have to.

[Jenny Rook]

Well, yeah, and we have to also talk about how that intersects with biotechnology beyond healthcare as a technology layer or general purpose technology for security, for defense, for agriculture and food, for industrials. You were talking earlier about critical minerals. Yeah, it's a space where we're looking, where bio can have an impact as well.

[Tim Stenovec]

See, you always leave us wanting more. Jenny Rook My pleasure. Be well, be well. Have a good weekend. Thanks for thanks for swinging by. Jenny Rook She's Founder Managing Director of Genoa Ventures. What if you could have even more and more and more help to pursue your goals?

[LPL Financial Representative]

At LPL Financial, we offer more ways for advisors and their clients to thrive. So what if you could Paid Advertisement Investing involves risk, including potential loss of principle. LPL Financial LLC member finra, SIPC and pause really quick.

[Microsoft Representative]

Wanted to also mention that not Only is Windows 11 Pro designed to help unlock operational efficiency and build long term advantage for your business, it can seriously level up your team's productivity. And since I know you all love stats, guess what? I got Microsoft commissioned stats. Compared to Windows 10 PCs, Windows 11 Pro users reported on average 50% faster workflows and collaboration, 42% faster completion of demanding workloads, and on average 61% longer battery life. Windows 11 Pro chip to Cloud security is designed to help employees stay protected and uninterrupted at the office, at home, the coffee shop, wherever they work. Speaking of uninterrupted, you IT managers are going to love this one. The Microsoft Commission survey also reported Windows 11 Pro PCs having a 62% drop in security incidents compared to Windows 10 PCs. Because Windows Windows means business upgrade to Windows 11 Pro at windows means business.com

[Public Investing Representative]

support for the show comes from Public, the investing platform for those who take it seriously. On Public, you can build a multi asset portfolio of stocks, bonds, options, crypto and now Generated Assets which allow you to turn any idea into an investable index with AI. It all starts with your prompt. From renewable energy companies with high free cash flow to semiconductor suppliers growing revenue over 20% year over year, you can literally type any prompt and put the AI to work. It screens thousands of stocks, builds a one of a kind index and lets you back test it against the S&P 500. Then you can invest in a few clicks. Generated assets are like ETFs with infinite possibilities, completely customizable and based on your thesis, not someone else's. Go to public.com podcast and earn an uncapped 1% bonus when you transfer your portfolio. That's public.com podcast paid for by Public Investing Brokerage Services by Open to the Public Investing Inc. Member FINRA and SIPC Advisory Services by Public Advisors, llc. SEC Registered Advisor Generated Assets is an interactive analysis tool. Output is for informational purposes only and is not an investment recommendation or advice. Complete disclosures available at public.com disclosures okay

[Microsoft Representative]

tech leaders, Word on the street is security incidents are dropping way down with Windows 11 PCs built in security for the win. Upgrade to Windows 11 Pro at windows means business.com Paramount plus is now the

[Paramount Plus Announcer]

home of all your bet favorites.

[Tim Stenovec]

What?

[Paramount Plus Announcer]

Yes, with all new episodes of Tyler Perry's Divorce Sisters you've always liked a little drama, plus a whole new world of movies like Gladiator 2.

[Jenny Rook]

Now I will control an Empire original

[Paramount Plus Announcer]

series like the Shy.

[IBM Representative]

Just make sure we protect each other

[Paramount Plus Announcer]

in live sports like ufc.

[Jenny Rook]

Welcome to the history books.

[Paramount Plus Announcer]

New home, same family. Your BET favorites are now on Paramount Plus. Subscribe now.

[LPL Financial Representative]

Aging is real, and so are the benefits of adding vital proteins collagen peptides to your daily routine. Because around the age of 30, your body needs backup to keep your collagen up to help support healthy hair, skin, nails, bones and joints. Available in the classic Collagen peptides, collagen and protein shakes and new vital proteins collagen sparkling waters so you can stay vital. Stay you. Visit vitalproteins.com to learn more and where to buy these statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease.