Juho Jalkanen, CEO at Faron Pharmaceuticals on From Surgeon to CEO, Rethinking Boards, and Fighting for the Right Science

In this episode, I talked with Dr. Juho Jalkanen, CEO of Faron Pharmaceuticals — a publicly listed Finnish biotech building novel immunotherapies for blood cancers. Juho's path is unlike most you'll hear in biotech: trained vascular surgeon, PhD in molecular biology, business school graduate, and father of five. He eventually left the operating table to join his parents' company, Faron, where his mother's decades of university immunology research became the foundation for what is now one of the most exciting programs in high-risk MDS. We covered the Traumakine Phase 3 failure, the deep frustration of being completely ignored during COVID when he believed they had the right drug, and how Faron rebuilt itself from a respiratory trial company into a serious oncology player. We also got into the board structure he's deliberately built to be unlike most you'll see, and what it really takes to scale a company when the pharma ecosystem around you is still finding its feet.

We wrapped things up with a quick round of mystery questions Juho hadn't seen coming. Outside of running a listed biotech and raising five kids, he recharges the Finnish way — out in nature with his family.

Here's What You're In For

• Why a vascular surgeon walked away from the operating table to run a biotech
• The family origin story behind Clever-1 and Faron Pharmaceuticals
• How a Phase 3 failure set the stage for what came next
• The COVID frustration: having the right drug and nobody willing to listen
• What Clever-1 is, why it matters, and why the biology can't be shortcut
• The MDS data turning heads at ASCO, ESMO, and ASH — and what comes next
• What a CEO actually thinks about when moving from early to the pivotal stage
• The CMC blind spot that catches most biotechs off guard
• How Juho built a board that mirrors the C-suite — and why that logic matters
• Why CMOs and CSOs can get onto boards, but have to start in the right place

Timestamps

01:49 – Origins of Clever-1 and the family story behind Faron Pharmaceuticals

05:35 – Career highpoint: caring for a dying father-in-law and what it means to fight cancer

06:50 – Career lowpoint: Traumakine Phase 3 failure and two years of being ignored during COVID

12:53 – Faron's elevator pitch: what the company does and why it exists

14:42 – Bexmarilimab (BEX) and why macrophages are the hidden driver of treatment resistance

16:30 – The Phase 1/2 results: 64% response rate and 14.5-month survival in high-risk MDS

19:36 – Next 12–18 months: €40M raised, Phase 2b underway, investigator-led trials in sarcoma and beyond

23:12 – What CEOs have to think about at late stage: CMC, fundraising, and clinical navigation

27:42 – Mirroring the C-suite and deliberately avoiding the VC-heavy default

34:33 – Quick-fire questions: books, interferon biology, and what keeps him sane in Finland

About Juho

Dr. Juho Jalkanen is the CEO of Faron Pharmaceuticals, a publicly listed clinical-stage Finnish biotech developing novel immunotherapies for blood cancers, with a lead asset, bexmarilimab, targeting Clever-1 on immunosuppressive macrophages. He holds an MD (vascular surgery), a PhD in molecular biology, and a business school degree — and transitioned from active surgical practice into leading Faron, a company built on his mother's immunology research and spun out by his father from the University of Turku. His work sits at the intersection of deep biology and late-stage oncology drug development. Outside of leading a publicly listed company and raising five kids, Juho recharges in the Finnish outdoors — in nature with his family.

Connect with Juho:

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/juho-jalkanen-md-phd-2176a83/
• Faron Pharmaceuticals: https://faron.com/

About Charles

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.

Connect with me:

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/charles-spence-clinical/
• Website: https://www.discera-search.com/

Opinions and comments expressed by the guest do not represent the company and are fully their own.