In this episode of the EIS Navigator we get a great founder story. Despite not having a medical background, Clare Brenner founded Myogenes which specialises in pharmocogenetic testing. She has a very personal story about her motivation for initially focusing on mental health to begin with, as well as her experiences in starting in a new area.

In the discussion, Clare talks about:

• how she found a good area to work on
• the initial focus on clozapine
• why she seeks out the best people to work with
• the challenges of getting initial funding
• how patient advocacy is playing a role
• making a business case to convince the NHS
• moving into the US market
• where we are in developing personalised medicine

Clare's story is both inspiring and insightful, as well as being a great follow-on to the previous episode about female founders.

00:45 Clare introduces Myogenes

04:55 establishing proof of concept

06:40 how she found a test

08:30 how does the test work and the importance of working with doctors

11:50 finding the top people

15:00 why she focused on clozapine

18:00 how they developed the test

19:00 founding the company

21:00 marketing into the NHS: establishing cost/benefit and business impact models

25:00 progress with individual health trusts

28:00 the role of patient/family lobbying

29:00 getting funding for preventative medicine

32:30 moving into the US

37:10 where are we in personalised medicine

41:00 prospects for Myogenes

43:45 Favourite questions

Links

Myogenes website - https://www.myogenes.com/

Telephone - 020 8387 1266

Subscribe to the EIS Navigator podcast on most services here: https://the-eis-navigator.captivate.fm/listen

Suggested books and media

The Diary of a CEO by Steven Bartlett

Bio

Clare Brenner,

Founder & CEO, Myogenes

Clare Brenner, CEO & Co-founder Clare began her working career at the BBC, moving from radio to television and then to writing and producing.

Her interest in genetics started in 2010 working for a private hospital and launching their DNA testing programme. She started on her own in 2016 and has dedicated the last six years to becoming expert in the field of genetics and forming her own company Myogenes.