Ep. 16: Cancer - A Scientist Turned Entrepreneur Embarks On A Battle Against A Disease, and A Kafkaesque Medical System Holding Back Innovation w/ Yendou CEO Zina Sarif

Niklas speaks with Zina Sarif, the Founder and Managing Director of Yendou, a company on a mission to accelerate clinical research and make it universally accessible to patients, clinicians, and scientists.

Zina starts by talking about her familial experiences with cancer during her upbringing in Morocco, and how it motivated her to dedicate her life to combating cancer.

During her career as.a cancer scientist in Germany, Zina experienced the inefficiencies and bureaucratic obstacles to bringing solutions from the science to market.

It takes 12 years and $800m in cost to bring a new treatment to market, and the shortened patent life cycle pushes for non-patient-centric incentives.

"We are currently not winning the war against cancer," so Zina.

However, Zina has identified hope for patients.

Clinical trials contain the most innovative treatments for cancer, and they typically take place in large hospitals with great infrastructure and care options for patients,

Yet only 8% of cancer patients globally are participating in clinical trials, and it takes 18 months to get access - often too long to have a chance at survival

With Yendou, Zina aims to reduce the time to access new treatments from 18 to 4 months and enable more patients to access them.

But this is only the beginning. Long-term, Yendou aims to reduce the time for clinical trials from 12 to 7 years and reduce costs from $800m to $300m.

We learn in the conversation how medical innovation in oncology is held back by a Kafkaesque bureaucracy, a frustrating reality that takes a toll on innovators.

Yet, Zina is bent on overcoming seemingly insurmountable obstacles and encouraging hope that the war against cancer is not over.

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