In this episode of This Time, It Landed, Michael Liebowitz sits down with Aldo Pourchet, co-founder of Omios Biologics, to tackle one of the hardest challenges in science-backed startups: how do you communicate deeply complex innovation in a way investors actually understand? Aldo walks us through why many current cancer therapies fail, how cancer adapts faster than single-mode treatments, and why viral-based therapies offer a fundamentally different approach. Together, Michael and Aldo work live to translate cutting-edge oncology science into clear, compelling messaging — without dumbing it down.
Guest Introduction:
Aldo Pourchet is the co-founder of Omios Biologics, a biotechnology company developing next-generation oncolytic viral therapies designed to match the complexity and adaptability of cancer itself. With a background rooted in molecular biology and translational science, Aldo focuses on turning decades of fundamental research into therapies that overcome resistance, toxicity, and the limitations of single-target cancer treatments.
Key Takeaways:
- Cancer adapts rapidly — therapies that rely on a single static target inevitably fail.
- Complexity in the solution doesn’t mean complexity in the message.
- Oncolytic viral therapies work by exploiting what cancer cells lack, not what they express.
- Effective messaging starts with what the audience needs to understand, not what the scientist wants to explain.
- Investors don’t need all the science — they need the logic of why it works.
- Metaphors are not simplifications; they are precision tools for understanding.
Chapter Markers:
0:00 Welcome to This Time, It Landed
0:48 Show intro and framing the messaging challenge
1:18 Introducing Aldo Pourchet and Omios Biologics
2:10 Why cancer therapy is inherently complex
3:12 Why current therapies rely on fragile assumptions
4:30 Toxicity, resistance, and the limits of single-mode treatments
6:05 Using analogies to explain cancer behavior
8:30 Why viruses naturally target cancer cells
11:00 What makes oncolytic viral therapies different
13:45 Engineering selectivity instead of attenuation
16:30 Matching therapy adaptability to cancer adaptability
18:10 The “changing shapes” metaphor that lands
21:00 Pre-framing investor objections
24:00 Why efficacy must come before safety in messaging
27:45 Translating science into investor-ready language
31:00 Where Omios is in its development journey
34:30 What still needs to be done to reach clinical impact
Keywords:
This Time, It Landed podcast, Michael Liebowitz, Aldo Pourchet, Omios Biologics, cancer therapy innovation, oncolytic viruses, biotech messaging, life sciences communication, startup storytelling, venture capital biotech, scientific messaging, oncology innovation, complex product messaging
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