The NPLB
Biotech Fellowship

"It was really eye opening to understand so many common misconceptions within the biotech industry."

"Being able to read comments and discussions between fellows and Peter provided me more perspective on this topic. This fellowship provided me new ideas to think through, arguments that align with and contradict my own arguments, and a community that is invested in spending time towards challenging popular views and assessing them on first-principles thinking."

"I have been engaging with the materials and have learned so much just in the first few days. To be honest, I think this fellowship was very well run thanks to the prompt and motivated team. I really valued the live sessions, so if we can have more of them from different members of the healthcare industry (doctors, lobbyists, government officials, patients, etc.), it would be nice to hear their perspectives too."

"The experience has been absolutely amazing, nothing short of my expectations going into it. I have learned tons, and this has even led me to change direction slightly on my career plans going forward."

"The most rewarding part of the fellowship was to be connected with people who have similar interests to me, yet are enrolled in different graduate programs (MD, MBA, PhD) and have a variety of experience across the healthcare/biopharma space. I love the diversity of perspective."

"Before this fellowship, I always thought that the Biopharma industries were the villains, making out of pocket premiums extremely high and draining US citizens of their money. As both my parents own their small businesses, our health insurance has a very high deductible and insurance barely covers the cost of live saving therapies. After learning more about the true value of medicines and the ir value (which is often underestimated). I learned that the villain is not the biopharma industry but the insurance companies and other countries free-riding the U.S’s extensive research and development. I now can explain to my friends and family about the whole system in meaningful conversations that help open their mind to the truth."

The NPLB Fellowship was a transformational experience that made me reflect on many new aspects of biotechnology and medicine. It also made me want to broaden my coursework from mostly pure science to fields like patent law and health economics. He also previously wrote: Also want to take the opportunity to share my appreciation for the fellowship and your work, so far it has been really interesting!

Being a Fellow at NPLB this summer was extremely rewarding. As a medical student who feels frustrated because of lack of education on drug affordability and profitability within the medical curriculum, this was the perfect fellowship to bridge the gap between my medical education and pharmaceutical/biotechnological innovation!

The NPLB Fellowship challenged my preconceptions about the pharmaceutical industry by emphasizing the critical link between incentivizing innovation while maintaining affordability.

The most rewarding aspects of my experience with the No Patient Left Behind Biotech Fellowship were the engaging content and interactions with other fellows and industry leaders. Also, one of the highlights was Peter Kolchinsky's invaluable real-life examples and feedback on Slack, which he provided despite his extremely busy schedule. His insights were incredibly helpful and added a unique depth to the learning experience. Overall, the program has not only deepened my understanding of the nuances of the biotech landscape – especially resulting from some of the provisions in the IRA – along with providing me with invaluable insights and skills that I will carry forward.

The NPLB fellowship is an extremely rewarding experience that provides insights that are valuable for any career in biotechnology. I was ignorant of many of the discussed topics before the fellowship, and I really appreciated the hands-on learning experience with active discussions in the slack community.

This fellowship was an amazing opportunity to engage with a community of individuals from across the healthcare ecosystem and discuss policy solutions for mitigating the challenge of high out of pockets costs for medicines while preserving innovation - it helped shed light on a complex and widely misunderstood market and gave me hope that the next generation of leaders are well equipped to solve the current challenges.

The No Patient Left Behind Fellowship provided an unparalleled opportunity to deeply engage with healthcare advocacy and policy, empowering me to make a tangible impact on drug accessibility. Through hands-on experience and collaboration with experts, I gained invaluable insights into the complexities of pharmaceutical pricing and patient access. This fellowship not only expanded my knowledge but also fueled my passion for driving meaningful change in healthcare.

The fellowship was a great way to engage with a great community of biotech specialists with diverse perspectives. Our current biotech policy views were challenged and we developed more comprehensive and nuanced outlook on how biotech policy has and continues to shape drug development in the US and worldwide. Diving into the biotech social contract and challenging each other in discussions throughout the fellowship was a unique and rewarding experience.

Medicine is a necessity, yet receives less attention than what show is currently trending. The NPLB fellowship is exactly the place to get to know more about how much value medicine is worth, but also how we can help other people see this issue.

As a younger student, the NPLB fellowship exposed me to many of the intricacies of the healthcare economy and ecosystem that I would have never learned through classwork. This fellowship has significantly shaped how I view innovation within biotech, and affirmed my desire to create new solutions to better society.

I thought the invited speaker sessions were the most rewarding. I enjoyed hearing from a variety of speakers and thought hearing anecdotes from individuals affected by disease such as Gunnar who has cystic fibrosis was very special. I also appreciate that I'll have the resources provided by the fellowship to look back at and contact with the NPLB community in the future.

Learning and engaging alongside peers and dedicated professionals and experts in the field was one of the many rewarding aspects of the fellowship. Through my time with NPLB, I was able to not only grow my understanding of drug pricing but also had the chance to engage in creative projects.

NPLB allowed me to reach and interact with people all across the globe and across careers, uniting us under shared appreciation and care for the benefit of all. Live sessions connected all of us, creating a community of likeminded people and allowing us to share our differing perspectives to create new ways to solve the problems we are so passionate about.

When I read the work of Virginia Woolf, I think about the moral consequences of treating someone as an unique individual versus merely a member of a category. In the real world, I think the kind of insurance systems a society has is a reflection of that society's moral values. It is comforting to know that the fellows in NPLB are looking in the same direction as I do in that regard to make drugs affordable with zero out-of-pocket cost. 

It was super rewarding to meet all of these different people excited about the same thing. For me, it was really interesting to get to know people from various points in their diverse careers, as well as come together to discuss common passions.

The most rewarding aspects were learning different concepts and ideas from the speakers, which complemented the curriculum nicely. Being able to hear words from Peter Kolchinsky and other people involved in the biotech industry made me feel for more connected and also excited to participate in this career path in the future. I also really enjoyed the group segments and the connections I made, which should be invaluable farther down the line.

I think the most rewarding part was Peter's dedication to the cause and how much a commitment he has made to it. Being a super-busy business executive, he still made the time to answer Qs on slack and even start thought-provoking questions. No where else could people have access to Peter's time and knowledge. You can read his book and his writings on social media, but being able to ask Qs and engage in debates will be found nowhere but the NPLB fellowship.

As an NPLB fellow, I gained valuable insights into how public policy and the IRA can shape the future of biotech innovation. I would highly recommend this fellowship to anyone entering the biotech industry.

I came into this fellowship knowing little about the relationship between biotech/big pharma and insurance companies. I'm walking away having a much better and clearer grasp of the dynamic, along with areas that need improvement (which can be achieved through awareness/advocacy)

As PhD in biomedical sciences and a biotech investor, I quickly realized that my goal of getting innovative and efficacious drugs to patients was falling short without the knowledge of what happens to the drugs once they are approved. The worst part of this realization is that what happens to drugs after they are approved doesn't just affect investors or even the biopharmaceutical industry; what happens to drugs after they are approved affects everyone. Whether it's a friend, a loved one, or even yourself, we will all need medicines and healthcare at some point or another. The No Patient Left Behind Biotech Fellowship helps educate us all on these topics and sheds light on the issues that are unfolding right in front of us. The NPLB Fellowship is not just an educational program: it's a call to action. We must all get involved before we are forced to get involved.

Engaging with experts in their fields opened my eyes to a lot of the intricacies of the healthcare system - both globally and nationally. I broke many previous misconceptions and realized the dilemma faced for the US: how to protect innovation, while ensuring that no patient is left behind. An enriching and immensely rewarding experience.

The No Patient Left Behind Fellowship was an excellent opportunity for me to connect with like-minded individuals, learn from experienced and knowledgeable professionals, and learn more about the ongoing efforts to reduce out of pocket costs. For me, it was a transformative experience that has provided direction as far as where I want to focus my interest going forward in education and career. The mentorship, guidance, and course content provided was invaluable and I'm so grateful to have participated in this awesome opportunity.

"I participated in the NPLB fellowship and gained invaluable insights into how affordability and innovation in drug development can coexist. The program’s thought-provoking discussions on healthcare economics, insurance, and the complexities of drug pricing were truly eye-opening, and I left with a deeper understanding of the industry and its challenges.”

The most rewarding aspects of my experience was the Slack community, the guest speakers, and the syllabus material. The Slack community was an open outlet where I got to engage with like- minded induvials and discuss our thoughts and ideas. Additionally, the guest speakers were an amazing opportunity to learn from experts and expand my knowledge of biotech, pharma, and drug prices. Lastly, the syllabus material was able to clearly break down complex topics into simple words. With visuals, analogies, and so much more, I truly felt my eyes were opened to the complex world of biotechnology.