Episode Overview

Podcast: Brew Markets
Host: Ann Berry
Episode Title: How Immuneering’s Journey Highlights Biotech’s Market Complexity
Date: March 20, 2026

In this episode, host Ann Berry sits down with Ben Zeskind, founder and CEO of Immuneering (NASDAQ: IMRX), to demystify biotech investing by exploring the company’s journey, scientific innovations, and the volatile nature of public biotech markets. The discussion focuses on Immuneering’s novel approach to cancer therapeutics, particularly for pancreatic cancer, and the challenges young biotech firms face in translating scientific breakthroughs into long-term shareholder value.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Challenge of Biotech Investing

• Complexity & Volatility: Ann Berry sets the stage by highlighting why biotech stocks are often intimidating—dense scientific jargon and long commercialization cycles create knowledge barriers and high volatility.
  • “Most investors struggle to feel smart enough on the healthcare technology sector... with high cash burn rates and long, complicated, highly regulated paths to commercialization, young biotech stocks often see outsized volatility…” (03:04)

2. Immuneering’s Breakthrough: Deep Siglec Inhibitors

• Scientific Innovation Explained:
  • Immuneering has developed a new class of cancer medicines called deep Siglec inhibitors, aimed at overcoming the tricks cancers use to evade treatments.
  • Their lead candidate, atebimetinib, in combination with chemotherapy, showed a 64% one-year survival in pancreatic cancer patients (compared to 35% for standard care).
  • Ben Zeskind:
    • “We invented a new category of cancer medicines called deep sicklec inhibitors. And what we announced in January is a 64% overall survival at 12 months in...pancreatic cancer patients.” (04:02)
    • “The standard of care, GNP chemotherapy, it's 35% survival at 12 months...with ours... it's about a two thirds chance of getting past a year.” (05:06)
• Quality of Life Benefits:
  • The new drugs target cancer cells more selectively, reducing harsh side effects and breaking the traditional trade-off between efficacy and tolerability.
  • “We were able to invent with the technology behind deep sickling inhibition was to basically sort of break that link. So you can...have really good tolerability and you can be very effective in shrinking tumors.” (06:45)

3. Distinctive Approach: Starting With Survivors, Not Just Tumors

• Reverse Engineering Longevity:

  • Instead of only trying to kill tumor cells, Immuneering studied long-term survivors to identify what helped them live longer, aiming to replicate those mechanisms more broadly.
  • “Most...try to kill the cancer as potently as possible...We said, let's study the small group of patients who actually do really well on existing cancer therapies.” (09:35)

• Inspirational Analogy:

  • Ann Berry draws a parallel to the WWII fighter plane analysis—sometimes real innovation comes from flipping the usual perspective.
  • “I'm just reminded of you speaking about how just inverting the way you look at something can lead to real creativity.” (11:39)
  • Ben Zeskind: “Exactly. Yeah. I think that's a great, great analogy.” (12:10)

4. The Long Road to Innovation and Commercialization

• Timeline & Funding Evolution:
  • Immuneering’s 18-year journey split into two phases: first, consulting and building computational know-how; then, creating their own therapies.
  • Funded by revenue and later private investment before IPO; public capital enabled human trials.
  • “It sort of took us 10 years to invent the technology...then using that...another eight years to...invent the...drugs, the Deep Siglec inhibitors.” (16:01-16:44)

5. The Biotech Market Paradox: Why the Share Price Doesn’t Match Progress

• Market’s Short-Termism:
  • Immuneering’s share price has fluctuated wildly, despite promising phase two data—“high 20 bucks” down to under $6.
  • The market is conditioned to prize fast-acting drugs with dramatic tumor shrinkage, often overlooking long-term survival and tolerability.
  • “For 50 years, blame Nixon. Right? For 50 years, since the war on cancer was declared, everyone…has had this tunnel vision where it's just kill the tumor now.” (20:00)
  • “If you think of the old fable the tortoise and the hare, the whole field has been set up to root for the hare…the way deep cycling inhibitors shrink tumors, it's slower, but it's more durable, and the patients feel much better.” (21:15-21:37)

6. Competition, AI, and Protecting Innovation

• Fears of Being Leapfrogged by AI?
  • Berry challenges Zeskind on whether he’s worried next-gen competitors with better AI could catch up faster.
  • Zeskind argues that while AI is helpful, true innovation in drug discovery requires more—expertise, IP, and deep domain knowledge.
  • “AI...great at summarizing information...but it's not great at innovating.” (22:55)

7. The Pipeline and What’s Next

• Phase 3 and Beyond:
  • Atebimetinib to start a pivotal phase 3 trial in newly diagnosed (first-line) pancreatic cancer by mid-2026.
  • If data remains strong, approval could be around 2029.
  • “We're taking atebetinib into a phase three study…we've guided to dosing the first patient...mid year.” (25:00-25:35)
• Expansion to Other Cancers:
  • Plans for a phase 2 trial in lung cancer (in partnership with Regeneron).
  • “The signaling pathway that a tabimetinib targets drives about half of all cancers. So pancreatic cancer is just the beginning.” (27:50)
  • Well-tolerated drugs can be paired more flexibly with other therapies.

8. Business Model & Reimbursement

• How Will Revenue Flow?
  • Once approved as standard of care, insurance payers are expected to cover treatment.
  • “...once drugs are approved and they become standard of care, you know, then generally the payers, the insurance companies pay for it.” (27:03)
• Capital Position:
  • As of year-end 2025, Immuneering reported nearly $220 million in cash—sufficient runway into 2029.
  • Berry reminds listeners that biotech investing is for the patient, long-term investor.
  • “...just a reminder to investors, these are long term investments to make. So there's a lot of short term volatility, but this is one sector where it's a...longer stretch to hold these things...” (29:40)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Changing the Standard of Care:

  • “No one should be dying of cancer in 2026. Right? With everything that we understand, with all the research that's been done...”
    — Ben Zeskind (04:02)

• On Innovation:

  • “To change that, up until we invented the deep cyclic inhibitors, there was just this trade off… The better the treatment was, the more side effects.”
    — Ben Zeskind (06:05)

• On Investor Mindset:

  • “For 50 years…everyone…has had this tunnel vision where it's just kill the tumor now…with really not a lot of regard to the durability…”
    — Ben Zeskind (20:00)

• On AI and Competition:

  • “AI...is not great at innovating. And so the things that we had to do to really come up with this...developing the informatics...AI has been around...but that's not our concern.”
    — Ben Zeskind (22:55-23:30)

• On the Big Picture:

  • “The signaling pathway...targets about half of all cancers. So pancreatic cancer is just the beginning.”
    — Ben Zeskind (27:50)

Important Segments with Timestamps

• Biotech Market Complexity & Immuneering’s Background: 03:04–04:02
• Deep Siglec Inhibitors, Survival Data, and Quality of Life: 04:02–09:03
• Immuneering’s R&D Philosophy (“reverse engineering” survival): 09:35–12:10
• Commercialization Timeline & Funding: 16:01–18:26
• IPO Aftermath & Market Misunderstandings: 18:26–21:37
• AI, Competition, and Defensive Moats: 22:00–24:36
• Advancing the Clinical Pipeline: 24:52–27:50
• Reimbursement Model & Investor Perspective: 27:03–29:40

Conclusion

This episode offers an accessible yet deeply informed look at the complexities of biotech investing through the lens of Immuneering’s journey. Ben Zeskind’s insights illuminate both the scientific and strategic innovations in cancer therapy—and why these don’t always translate to immediate market returns. For investors intrigued by healthcare, patience, and an understanding of the industry’s timelines, this conversation is essential listening.