In this episode, I talked with David Gauden, CEO of Blue Earth Therapeutics, about a career that started with a graduate job at Amersham in the late 1990s, long before radiopharmaceuticals were fashionable. David co-founded Blue Earth Diagnostics, helped sell it to Bracco in 2019, then stayed on to build a second company that treats prostate cancer instead of only imaging it.
David is open about both ends of the rollercoaster. He talks about reflecting on a yacht in San Diego after Axumin was approved in the US, and then about starting pivotal trials in February 2020, watching the world stop, and getting them moving again from a shed in his garden. We also get into why he got tired of committees in big company life, how lonely it can be to own the decisions as a CEO with nobody close by to reassure you, and whether Europe has the right conditions to turn great science into scalable companies before it gets squeezed between US capital and China’s speed.
We finish with the quick-fire questions, covering a recent research paper on biomarkers for PSMA radioligand therapy, the best career advice he has had, and the novel he keeps coming back to, Silas Marner.
Here’s What You’re In For
- How he landed a graduate job in radiopharmaceuticals before it was fashionable
- What big company life taught him about rigour, goal setting and connecting science to commercial reality
- Why he got tired of committees and wanted to be close to a project’s progress every day
- The San Diego yacht moment after Axumin’s US approval
- Starting pivotal trials in February 2020 and managing them remotely from a garden shed
- The part of being a CEO few people warn you about: owning big decisions with no one nearby to reassure you
- Why proof and clear differentiation matter when a small company goes up against an approved competitor
- Why a biotech CEO has to deliver the lead program and still keep building the next novel bet
- How to tell if someone is truly “driven and ambitious” beyond a quick yes in an interview
- Why Europe risks being the “squeezed middle” between US capital and China’s speed, and why more committees won’t fix it
Timestamps
00:05 Who is David Gauden, CEO of Blue Earth Therapeutics?
01:51 How did David Gauden get his first job in radiopharmaceuticals?
02:35 What did working at Amersham and GE Healthcare teach him, and why did he leave for a small company?
05:02 What were the highest and lowest points of his career?
07:00 What is the hardest part of being a CEO or founder?
08:27 What does Blue Earth Therapeutics do?
09:51 How does a small biotech compete with Pluvicto and still build a pipeline?
12:17 How is running a diagnostics company different from running a therapeutics company?
14:18 What is the culture like at Blue Earth Therapeutics?
15:53 What should we watch for from Blue Earth Therapeutics next?
16:45 What does Europe have going for it in radiopharma and biotech, and what could be better?
19:21 Do you have to move to the US to build a biotech career, and where does Europe fit next to China?
21:57 Can a biotech run several trials with a small in-house team?
23:01 What is David Gauden's favorite book, recent research paper and best career advice?
About David
David Gauden, is the CEO of Blue Earth Therapeutics, a clinical-stage radiopharmaceutical company developing next-generation radioligand therapies for prostate cancer. He has over 25 years of experience in radiopharmaceuticals, starting at Amersham and later working at GE Healthcare. In 2014, he co-founded Blue Earth Diagnostics, where he served as CSO and then CEO until its sale to Bracco Imaging in 2019. He then led the 2021 spinoff of Blue Earth Therapeutics, taking the same radiohybrid PSMA technology from imaging into treatment.
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About me
My name is Charles Spence and I lead Discera. After many years working in the life-science recruitment world, I decided to work for myself. Before doing recruitment I graduated with a biomedical degree, have worked in hospitals (including translation work in Seoul, South Korea), and also spent a year working in diabetes research in Stockholm. After doing research and travel, a career in business and science felt the most appropriate.
In 2023, I decided to launch my firm - Discera Search. A firm committed to solving the biggest talent needs of early clinical stage SME biotechs on the East Coast and DACH.
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Opinions and comments expressed by the guest do not represent the company and are fully their own.
