Alan Fuhrman (Esperion Therapeutics, SpringWorks Therapeutics, Checkmate Pharmaceuticals) has 25+ years of executive financial experience in biotechnology, medical devices, and technology services. He has experience in a wide variety of both public and private company financial transactions and offers valuable insight for finance professionals in biotech and beyond. In today’s episode, Alan joins Hercules Capital’s Lake McGuire to discuss how venture debt can help companies achieve growth in today’s markets, why the risk is worth the rewards when working in biotech, healthy and unhealthy relationship dynamics between a company and its board, and much more.

Topics Include:
How growing up in rural Montana and studying agricultural economics gave Alan a leg up in biotech. Transitioning from agriculture to public accounting. Taking initiative in building professional relationships. Alan’s personal experience with AML and how it motivates his work in biotech. Working as a biotech CFO and audit chair. Macroeconomic challenges for biotech in the near term. Thoughts on sources of funding for biotech companies. And other topics…

Alan Fuhrman is a Board Member and Audit Chair at Esperion Therapeutics, Springworks Therapeutics, and Checkmate Pharmaceuticals. He was previously the CFO of Amplyx Pharmaceuticals, Mirna Therapeutics, and Ambit Biosciences, among others. Fuhrman was also the Audit Chair at Loxo Oncology for four years before the company sold to Eli Lilly and Company for $8 billion in 2019. He holds two bachelor’s degrees from Montana State University–one in accounting and the other in agricultural economics.