The Business Leadership Podcast

Welcome to the Business
Leadership Podcast.

I'm your host, Edwin Fonzo.

I am happy to share this episode,
which is a special collaboration

with Up Next Global and the
Brampton Venture Zone, celebrating

B Z's five years of Bold founders.

I was honored to sit down as the
interviewer and learn directly

from this community of builders,
innovators, and leaders.

So let's get to it.

Edwin: I'm joined by Neland
Bance, co-founder of Med Genius.

Her company is advancing personalized
medicine through pharmacogenomics,

oh my God, I can't say it.

Helping clinicians and patients make safer
and more effective treatment decisions.

Neland brings a strong background in
healthcare innovation and strategy,

and is passionate about shaping
a more patient centric future.

Niem, welcome to the show.

Neelam: Thank you.

Edwin: I just wanna get started.

What inspired you to create Magenis?

Neelam: So I have actually
spent most of my career in

pharma, so in corporate pharma.

So most of my days were spent, you
know, interacting either in sales

or marketing with physicians and
clinicians who would say to me, you

know what, Alan, this medication works
really well for some of my patients

and the other ones not so much.

I never really had an answer.

I didn't understand why.

I said, well, you know, your patient
must be taking it wrong or you're,

you know, nudge, nudge, wink.

You must be just prescribing it wrong.

Or all I'd say was, this is
what the clinical trials say.

You know, I don't know why it doesn't
work for some of your patients.

I never had an answer.

And then a few years ago, I had the
opportunity to work at a pharmacogenomic

company, which does exactly that.

It has, uh, you know, you do a simple
cheek swab and you send it to a lab and it

will output a report that would tell you.

Guess what?

Based on your genes, these are the
medications that are likely to work

for you and not work for you, and
these ones might actually harm you.

And that actually opened up a whole world.

Even though I'd worked with
medications and physicians my

whole life, I never understood
this concept of precision medicine.

So when the opportunity to start
Med Genius with my co-founder.

It gave me an opportunity to really
do something that I'm extremely

passionate about, is really helping,
you know, our Canadians, helping the

world understand better, you know, the
right medication for them without that

trial and error, and to be really more
empowered in their own healthcare journey.

Edwin: I mean, this is really
interesting and I, and I think back

in terms of a lot of the medications,
prescriptions I've done, and I know

before we press record, you know,
thinking about this trial and error,

you just said, why is this not general
knowledge in terms of understanding

our precision or, or our, our gene?

Neelam: Yeah.

So I know that the other startup
founders, um, you know, would speak to

this and you come from the startup world.

The biggest thing, like we are
really smart people and especially

in Canada, we really make
exceptional kind of technology.

We're not that great in terms of
commercializing or raising awareness.

So the number one barrier to this
actually not being just general

standard of care is lack of awareness.

So I've worked with physicians my
whole life, um, and they'd say, what

is the thing you're doing again, Neil?

What's the thing?

I was like, oh, you know how you prescribe
the medication and then you tell the

patients to come back three months later
and we'll try to see how it goes, whether

it's on an antidepressant, for example.

We'll see how you do and then
we'll, we'll prescribe another one.

There's actually a way around
that if you actually knew.

Oh, so number one is lack of awareness.

Um, number two is cost.

Um, you know, we were talking
before about, you know, whether

you're doing a lab test or so
doing a genetic test is costly.

Mm-hmm.

Like, we're not there yet.

You have to send it away.

You know, a panel is expensive.

So as Canadians where we are used to more
of this kind of like, we think everything

is free and that's kind of good and bad.

We are not, sometimes we're crippled
by the idea that we have to pay for

something, but I mean, private healthcare
is covering it, but public is not yet

again, lack of awareness, lack of a real
understanding of the value that it plays.

Um, so I could talk ad nausea.

Yeah.

So I

Edwin: mean, as, as you're
talking about private healthcare,

and I'm curious, you know, as.

Those who might be listening or even
learning about this, is this slowly

getting into like some of our health
benefits when it comes to Yeah,

Neelam: absolutely.

Actually it already does exist.

Um, so many, whether it's like
Manulife, some life, actually

most insurance providers in Canada
will cover pharmacogenomic tests.

So whether they working with just one
test or just the whole kind of sign, it

is becoming a part of the mainstream.

But many people, um, the
stories that I hear are.

I am not going to let the
doctor prescribe one more drug.

I am, I'm sick of feeling bad.

I'm sick of, you know, um, the doctor
telling me, once again, I wanna

be equipped with the knowledge.

And that's when they learn
about pharmacogenomic testing.

Actually, the, the, the, the
population that I would say

would be the most interested.

Is parents of children.

Edwin: Yeah.

That's, that's me right now.

So

Neelam: they, yeah.

So they say you're not going to, you
know, and I've talked with many of

my friends who said, the doctor's
not gonna give my my child one more.

Um, you know, we came
outta the COVID mm-hmm.

COVID, you know, crisis.

And many children suffered from,
you know, anxiety and depression.

And I saw that, I saw that with my
own friends where their parent, the,

my friends were saying, I'm done.

I'm not letting the doctor prescribe.

Do you?

You know, what can I do?

And that's when, you know, I've
tell them about pharmacogenomics.

Yeah.

And I'm like, do this test.

Then they were able to equip
themselves, you know, for the sake

of their children to say, doctor,
please, let's try one of these ones

that look like they might be Right.

Edwin: Right.

And it makes, it makes sense.

I mean, as, as, as you talked about
children, my son's two years old

and you know, he had preschool
asthma, so seeing my child puppet.

But, you know, it's, it's
a, it's, it's a known thing.

Uh, you, but then as you talk,
I'm like, and I always tell my

wife, I'm like, 'cause we just saw
the specialist earlier this year.

And they start giving him the puff for it.

But part of me is the other half is like,
I don't want him on this all the time.

Neelam: Yeah,

Edwin: right.

So we see the specialist and he has young
children too, the specialist, and I'm

just like, when can we get him off it?

But it's a known thing.

But as you talk about him, like,
oh, maybe I gotta get his genes.

And really like, is this, is this drug?

I mean it's a wide asthma type puffer and

Neelam: Absolutely.

I will say that what this is,
it's not, people think that

it's just not fake science.

It's not fake science.

Mm-hmm.

We're analyzing genes, but we're actually
matching it to the scientific studies.

So sometimes people will say.

And I don't know the details of what all
the medications that have the, the pgx

insights, but sometimes there's some drugs
that don't have, that's, those studies

haven't been done yet, or it turns out.

Actually, like the big
one is GLP ones, right?

So people will say, oh,
I wanna take Ozempic.

How do I know if it's gonna work for me?

Actually, when it comes to those kind
of things, it's actually genetics

that doesn't play a huge part of it.

It's actually other things like
could be your microbiome, could

be other things that actually
might impact how you respond.

So we don't wanna over sell
PGX for some medications.

It's perf like there's a ton of evidence
and you should use it as guiding.

Like rule book, some, some other ones.

There's not a lot of
evidence, so we don't know.

But that, that's it for everything, right?

Yeah, sure.

Some things are guided and have
stronger evidence and some things don't.

Edwin: No, that's amazing.

You know, you shared before
this you are in big Pharma.

Mm-hmm.

And now you're an
entrepreneur, co-founder.

Like, I'm curious, how has your personal
journey shaped, you know, your leadership

style now, especially leading, leading,
leading this company to the future?

Neelam: Yeah, no, I love to talk
about this and we could have

a whole podcast on this, but.

I grew up in corporate pharma.

I grew up and at the, you know, the
age I was at the time I was, you

just looked up to the leaders and you
said, okay, they're the smart ones.

Mm-hmm.

Um, I'm gonna listen to
what they have to do.

And even if I had an idea or something,
if it was kind of against the norm

or whatever, I don't really feel like
there was an outlet in the, in the,

the corporate environment I grew up.

It's like they know better.

Mm-hmm.

I am so anti that.

Right.

So I think now as a
leader, yeah, I'm a leader.

I am the CEO of my company, but
everyone who I interact with,

I've listen to what everyone says.

Yes.

Do I have a lot of knowledge?

Yes, I do.

But I'm so curious and interested to
hear about the perspective, whether it's

another startup colleague or whether
it's a student or whether it's a, you

know, it's not like I have a, a lot
of employees at this stage, but, um.

I'm so interested because what
I realize is I see in them me.

Mm-hmm.

I'm really smart and I never
felt like I was able to have

a voice at the, the table.

And I'm not picking on any specific,
but the whole ecosystem of that.

Corporate world was, you are the
director, you are the vp, they know

much, no better, they must know better.

You don't know anything
at your junior level.

Mm-hmm.

Where I just think that that's
not, that's not correct.

So I think being a leader is kind
of taking out those old leadership

kind of, or those, those, those old
kind of systems of leadership and

actually being more inclusive and we're
all sitting at the table together.

Edwin: Yeah.

No, that's great.

Neelam: Yeah.

Edwin: You know, we are here.

Sitting at Brampton Venture Expo.

I'm curious, what role did the BZ
play in helping Med Genius grow?

Neelam: I think it's
been incredible actually.

The support and guidance that I got
from the, um, BBZ program or, uh,

the, this cohort, I was actually
told about it from my friend.

Who was in the previous cohort actually.

And she's like, you gotta go to Brampton.

'cause they are amazing.

They do everything they can
to help you, support you.

So that's why I actually
applied to be a part of it.

And it actually really, truly
matched up to the reputation.

Like it was inclusive, it was supportive.

I think they have excellent, um,
executives and residents, I mean.

One of the ones, I'll just
call out Mina Lakshmi.

She was great.

Let's like, let's just write, get down.

Like, she helped us create a white paper.

So it wasn't just like, I'm
gonna sit there and tell you

what you're supposed to do.

She goes, let's roll up our sleeves.

I've got this time that we're allocated
through the Brampton Venture Zone.

So let's, um, let's, let's,
let's get this product.

I said, I really need to
work on a white paper.

All right, let's work on it.

Like, as in editing a white paper,
like, I thought that was great, like

really getting in the weeds as opposed
to like standing up and saying, oh,

you know, this is what you have to do.

Edwin: I'm just gonna

Neelam: advise you.

Edwin: Yeah.

Neelam: It was like, I
am going to help you.

Mm-hmm.

And so I really love that.

And the other thing that it
really did help is in connections.

Like they really did, you know, part of.

You know, when I was entered to this
kind of Brampton Venture Zone kind

of program, then it was like, you're
meeting the, the deputy mayor, or

you're meeting this person, or you're
meeting this person at the hospital.

Like it's not just them in silo,
but they're really trying to bring

in all the other partners or the
kind of the ecosystem, um, leaders.

And I think that's been incredible
actually for my journey.

Edwin: Yeah, it, and it's almost sounds
like, you know, as I talked to many

of the, the cohorts, the different
stakeholders in the community, it's really

a sense of this community within, I mean.

You know, the city within the greater of
GTA in Canada, where it's very helpful.

Neelam: And can I just
give you an example?

Yeah.

So I was moderating a panel this morning.

Mm-hmm.

And so on that panel was,
I was moderating the panel.

It was another startup, um, former BVZ,
um, cohort, uh, Ken Spears, who's this,

the head of med tech, um, uh, Boston
Scientific, uh, Veronique, who is the

Chief Innovation Officer at William Osler.

And then, um, job, uh, Dr.

Job Varghese, who's the
dean of the medical school.

So we were talking about what
does collaboration look like?

And we said, we all went for coffee right
now, just right after the, the thing

and said, let's talk, let's talk about
how do we actually put this into words?

And then we went off and
talked about what we could do.

Like let's have a dinner meeting,
let's bring startups and thing.

It was like amazing.

We just had like literally just now let's
why I was, you know, rushing to get here.

And then we run into John who
runs the TMU, like all the zones.

Mm-hmm.

And I just said, Hey, we just
had a really great coffee and

we were talking about this.

And he goes, I'll support it.

I'll support your meeting.

Like that's what I'm talking about.

It's like words into Action, which I'm
really, you know, excited about what

brand Brampton Venture Zone is doing,
and TMU, to be honest, is doing that.

Mm-hmm.

So I'm, I'm really impressed.

Edwin: That's, that's great.

You know, as, as we talk that about
the future, how it all works together.

I'm curious, you know, looking
back, you know, what was the key

turning point during your PVZ journey
where your business model shifted?

Neelam: I think my business model didn't
shift, but what it kind of taught me

was that there is an incredible amount
of support that's out there, um, if

you meet with like-minded people.

Um, so it's like, like-minded
other entrepreneurs.

Um, I feel like in my cohort, we've,
some of us have actually become quite

close and I'm gonna introduce you to this
person I'm gonna introduce you to to that.

So I don't think that it was a
turning point, but I think what

it just solidified for me is that.

This really what Brampton is doing.

Um, maybe you could call it like
a turning point, but I think that

I'm focusing a lot of my energy.

I, I live in Markham and I literally
said to the mayor of Markham, I'm

like, why do I live in Markham?

I'm, I'm gonna go to Brampton
because like, these guys are

really committed to supporting
me and supporting med tech tech.

Um, so I Maybe the pivot is, maybe the
pivot is if I'm moving to Mark real

estate pivot, I'm just moving to Brampton.

That's hilarious.

Edwin: It's the real estate pivot.

So I, I guess a reframe or, or
another way to ask it is, is there a

single most valuable lesson that you
gained from, from your time there?

Neelam: Yeah, so, uh, a couple.

One is that women are awesome.

Um, they supported, uh, this was
about women founders, so meeting other

badass women, um, was incredible.

It was definitely a lesson.

I think we, you know, as
women historically, and

again, I grew up in that.

Not that women are less, but
you grew up in like, where

it was a lot of male leaders.

And so being in this cohort with a
bunch of badass women has been amazing.

Um, and I think also learning and
being so close to other entrepreneurs

where helping you doesn't diminish me.

We're not in competition.

You know, I wanna support
you and I wanna help see your

growth as much as I see mm-hmm.

That you are truly wanting to support me.

So I think that what BDZ did is, it
wasn't a lesson necessarily, but it.

It fostered an environment
where I, I could feel that.

Edwin: That's great.

I mean, this, this is amazing and
I'm super excited for everything

that you and your company are doing.

I'm really excited for the future
and, and really understanding this and

maybe implementing this right away in
terms of like my children and myself.

Neelam: Yeah.

Edwin: But I, I'm, I'm, I'm curious if
you could share or very succinctly, in

one sentence, how would you describe
BBC's role in your entrepreneurial story?

Neelam: If I could, uh, drum it down
to one word, it would be supportive.

I think everything that I've said has
been, that is probably the biggest,

um, contribution that is made to my
journey is BBZ is supportive and I really

appreciate that and I will, like, I will
sing like, you know, the praises of this,

this program, um, for years to come.

Edwin: That's amazing.

Well, thank you for your time.

Thank you for, you know, the world
that you're creating and, uh,

thank you for joining us today.

Neelam: Okay.

Thank you.

That's a wrap, folks.

This episode is part of
the BVZ five Years Bold.

It was produced in collaboration
with Up Next Global.

I'm grateful for the opportunity to
learn from the founders and the BVZ

community that continues to shape
the Brampton innovation ecosystem.

Until next time, have
yourself a 100 x life.