The New Alchemist / Audio

The podcast.

Long-form stories about the people and experiments that change biology.

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Organoids, designed proteins, biological datasets and the next generation of vaccines.Explore the working briefs

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The company histories.

THE NEW ALCHEMIST

Amgen

PODCAST / EPISODE 02Biology. Medicine. AI.

Image details

Scientists in a basic research laboratory

Bill Branson / National Cancer Institute. Public domain.

A basic research laboratory, 1989. Used as an illustration.

Source image · Public domain — NIH/NCI work; reuse restrictions none

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Episode 02 / Available now

Amgen: How a Biotech Startup Became Big Pharma

Amgen built its business around EPO, a hormone that stimulates red blood cell production. Deeya and Rohan trace the experiments behind Epogen, the Johnson & Johnson deal that helped fund the company, and the expansion into Neupogen and Enbrel. They also examine the safety evidence that challenged EPO’s use and the business of drug pricing.

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THE NEW ALCHEMIST

Eli Lilly

PODCAST / EPISODE 01Biology. Medicine. AI.

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Views in the Lilly Still Room

Eli Lilly and Company. Courtesy of Science History Institute. Public domain.

Views in the Lilly Still Room, from Hand Book of Pharmacy and Therapeutics, circa 1919. Used as an illustration.

Source image · Public Domain Mark 1.0

Resized for the web; cropped and combined with typography for this layout. Some layouts use a monochrome treatment.

Episode 01 / Available now

Eli Lilly, Part 1

Discovering insulin left a second problem: making enough of it, consistently. This episode follows Lilly’s early history and its role in turning pancreatic extracts into a dependable medicine. It looks at the scientists, manufacturing work and commercial decisions behind that change, and how insulin helped shape the company.

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Coverage in development