“We don’t have to do every great deal, but every deal we do has to be great,” says Payal Agrawal Divakaran, partner at .406 Ventures. In this Vanguards of Health Care episode, she joins Bloomberg Intelligence analyst Jonathan Palmer to unpack how .406 backs early-stage startups at the intersection of health care, tech and AI. They dive into the firm’s thesis-driven investing, why care delivery must be reimagined for complex populations and what Epic’s priorities mean for hospital-facing AI startups. Plus, the origins of the firm’s baseball-inspired name and why being mission-driven is non-negotiable for its founders.

&ldquo;We don&rsquo;t have to do every great deal, but every deal we do has to be great,&rdquo; says Payal Agrawal Divakaran, partner at .406 Ventures. In this Vanguards of Health Care episode, she joins Bloomberg Intelligence analyst Jonathan Palmer to unpack how .406 backs early-stage startups at the intersection of health care, tech and AI. They dive into the firm&rsquo;s thesis-driven investing, why care delivery must be reimagined for complex populations and what Epic&rsquo;s priorities mean for hospital-facing AI startups. Plus, the origins of the firm&rsquo;s baseball-inspired name and why being mission-driven is non-negotiable for its founders.

Vanguards of Healthcare is a series of exclusive conversations with management teams and thought leaders discussing changes on the forefront of the industry, including innovations in medical products and technologies, advances in clinical research, new service models, wellness and regulations.

Vanguards of Healthcare is a series of exclusive conversations with management teams and thought leaders discussing changes on the forefront of the industry, including innovations in medical products and technologies, advances in clinical research, new service models, wellness and regulations.

Vanguards of Healthcare by Bloomberg Intelligence

Inside .406 Ventures’ Vision for Fixing Health Care’s Hardest Problems

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/e73c998e-6e60-432f-8610-ae210140c5b1/clips/a20b5752-7126-4e95-8790-b31c01499361/transcript

“Whenever you look at these adjacencies…these are areas that we think plays to Stryker’s strengths, we have some innate know-how or some ability to be able to think to win with our commercial offense and the way we’re organized”, CEO Kevin Lobo and COO Spencer Stiles explain to Bloomberg Intelligence. In this Vanguards of Health Care podcast episode, Lobo and Stiles sit down with BI analyst Matt Henriksson for an in-depth interview on Stryker’s robust M&A track record, and key steps to successfully integrate all kinds of acquisitions as part of the long-term strategy for above market growth. One of the key factors is Stryker’s corporate culture, which combines the insight and learnings built from over 60 deals as well as an appetite for risk and pure grit to achieve what other peers have not been able to duplicate.

&ldquo;Whenever you look at these adjacencies&hellip;these are areas that we think plays to Stryker&rsquo;s strengths, we have some innate know-how or some ability to be able to think to win with our commercial offense and the way we&rsquo;re organized&rdquo;, CEO Kevin Lobo and COO Spencer Stiles explain to Bloomberg Intelligence. In this Vanguards of Health Care podcast episode, Lobo and Stiles sit down with BI analyst Matt Henriksson for an in-depth interview on Stryker&rsquo;s robust M&amp;A track record, and key steps to successfully integrate all kinds of acquisitions as part of the long-term strategy for above market growth. One of the key factors is Stryker&rsquo;s corporate culture, which combines the insight and learnings built from over 60 deals as well as an appetite for risk and pure grit to achieve what other peers have not been able to duplicate.

Stryker Recipe For Market Leading Growth Starts With Its Culture and Learnings

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/e73c998e-6e60-432f-8610-ae210140c5b1/clips/f0978d50-84e9-4441-8d9a-b4b300155cbc/transcript

“Our approach is to miniaturize the robot, make it more economical and make it more seamless in terms of how it integrates into the operating room environment,” Think Surgical’s CEO Stuart Simpson tells Bloomberg Intelligence. In this Vanguards of Healthcare episode, Simpson sits down with BI analyst Matt Henriksson to discuss how the company developed the TMini robot based on understanding what the surgeon was trying to achieve and working backward. This resulted in a handheld robot that provides optionality over the large form factors of other robotic systems while giving surgeons the choice of knee implant. Both features are well suited for the shift of knee replacement procedures to the ambulatory surgical setting. We also dive into the planned launch of Think Surgical’s TMini 2.0 in the first quarter of 2027.

&ldquo;Our approach is to miniaturize the robot, make it more economical and make it more seamless in terms of how it integrates into the operating room environment,&rdquo; Think Surgical&rsquo;s CEO Stuart Simpson tells Bloomberg Intelligence. In this Vanguards of Healthcare episode, Simpson sits down with BI analyst Matt Henriksson to discuss how the company developed the TMini robot based on understanding what the surgeon was trying to achieve and working backward. This resulted in a handheld robot that provides optionality over the large form factors of other robotic systems while giving surgeons the choice of knee implant. Both features are well suited for the shift of knee replacement procedures to the ambulatory surgical setting. We also dive into the planned launch of Think Surgical&rsquo;s TMini 2.0 in the first quarter of 2027.

Think Surgical Miniaturizes it Robot to Broaden Its Use in Knees

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/e73c998e-6e60-432f-8610-ae210140c5b1/clips/540552bc-1c67-467c-8a73-b4ac00fc01d4/transcript

“We don't want to follow the crowd, we want to steer our own path into what we think are the most exciting opportunities for patients.” says Fiona Marshall, President of Biomedical Research at Novartis, joins Bloomberg Intelligence analyst Sam Fazeli to explain the biology-first, modality-second philosophy shaping R&D. Marshall details how Novartis is building radioligand therapy beyond Pluvicto into a broad portfolio across tumor types, while treating delivery as the bottleneck for expanding siRNA beyond the liver. The discussion also explores neuroscience as a growth bet built on earlier diagnosis and intervention, plus why AI productivity depends on embedding data scientists across the organization and training models on Novartis's proprietary data.

&ldquo;We don't want to follow the crowd, we want to steer our own path into what we think are the most exciting opportunities for patients.&rdquo; says Fiona Marshall, President of Biomedical Research at Novartis, joins Bloomberg Intelligence analyst Sam Fazeli to explain the biology-first, modality-second philosophy shaping R&amp;D. Marshall details how Novartis is building radioligand therapy beyond Pluvicto into a broad portfolio across tumor types, while treating delivery as the bottleneck for expanding siRNA beyond the liver. The discussion also explores neuroscience as a growth bet built on earlier diagnosis and intervention, plus why AI productivity depends on embedding data scientists across the organization and training models on Novartis's proprietary data.

Novartis Puts Biology Before Modality in Its Next R&D Chapter

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/e73c998e-6e60-432f-8610-ae210140c5b1/clips/c25de56b-e7f1-4481-a340-b4aa007bedbb/transcript

Inside .406 Ventures’ Vision for Fixing Health Care’s Hardest Problems

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