Knowing When to Pivot Without Starting Over: Interview with ABK Biomedical CEO Michael Mangano

August 25
51 mins

Episode Description

In this episode of Medsider Radio, we sat down with Michael Mangano, President and CEO of ABK Biomedical

ABK’s Eye90 is an investigational Y90 radioembolization device for treating unresectable liver cancer.

Michael brings over 30 years of medical device experience, including 15 years at Boston Scientific in commercial and international leadership roles. He previously served as CEO of ReShape Medical and as President of the Americas for Sirtex Medical, scaling regional revenues from $34 million to over $130 million.

In this interview, Michael discusses the thinking behind ABK's pivot into Y-90 radioembolization, what it takes to execute a 120-patient pivotal trial while retaining ownership over the clinical function, how to build capabilities that competitors can't quickly catch up to, and why the player-coach culture gives startups an execution advantage.

Before we dive into the discussion, I wanted to mention a few things:

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If you'd rather read than listen, here's a link to the full interview with Michael Mangano, which includes a link to ScottBot — an AI version of host Scott Nelson trained on every Medsider interview and playbook. Feel free to ask ScottBot any questions you'd like!

KEY MOMENTS FROM THE INTERVIEW

  • (03:09) - Michael's journey from Boston Scientific and Sirtex to leading ABK Biomedical
  • (04:54) - Why Michael pivoted ABK from embolization to radioembolization as soon as he joined as CEO
  • (09:24) - How ABK reimagined Y-90 around physician control and patient-specific dosing
  • (21:08) - What a functioning player-coach culture looks like inside a startup
  • (27:26) - Lessons learned from a complex 120-person pivotal trial and how ABK remained the face of the study while partnering with a CRO
  • (37:13) - How ABK is building advantages competitors can't easily replicate
  • (42:50) - Michael's framework for choosing the right investors
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