Trends from the Trenches Podcast

Third Rock’s John Keilty on What Lies Ahead for Bioinvestment

January 27, 2026

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As the new year settles in, the industry is anticipating new innovative biotech and learning from past failures. John Keilty, venture partner at Third Rock Ventures, discusses the current trends he sees in biopharma investment, separating the hype from reality of AI (and if the AI bubble will eventually pop), other ventures that should be considered, and how new companies are being built today compared to past years in this episode of Trends from the Trenches. With host Eleanor Howe, founder and CEO of Diamond Age Data Science, Keilty also reflects on the biotech failures of past years and shares his thoughts on the role of computational biologists these days, as well as where bioinvesting is working and not working now.


GUEST BIO

John Keilty, Venture Partner, Third Rock Ventures
John is a broadly recognized technology and informatics leader with extensive experience driving drug discovery and development across multiple therapeutic areas.  At Third Rock, he has been part of ideating, launching and operating tens of companies including Thrive, Decibel, and Inflection.  In addition, he works with the platform team to develop, implement, and refine technology roadmaps for portfolio companies, with a focus on identifying and integrating innovative drug discovery and development platforms. Before joining Third Rock, John helped start and run Infinity Pharmaceuticals, where he oversaw information systems, software development, computational science, biostatistics, clinical data management, and clinical informatics. He began his biotech career in the early days of Millennium Pharmaceuticals, working to build and scale the company’s core genomic capabilities.

 


Eleanor Howe

Host Bio

Eleanor Howe, Founder and CEO, Diamond Age Data Science

Eleanor has been working at the cutting edge of bioinformatics for over 20 years. As founder of Diamond Age, she led the company’s evolution from a small, project-based service provider to a full-fledged consultancy that works closely with clients to tackle their most difficult research challenges. Trained as a computational biologist, Eleanor has deep expertise in transcriptional profiling as well as drug discovery and development. She earned her doctorate degree in bioinformatics from Oxford University and spent years in biomedical research at The Institute for Genomic Research, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, and The Broad Institute.

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Meet the Host

Eleanor Howe

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Eleanor has been working at the cutting edge of bioinformatics for over 20 years. As founder of Diamond Age, she led the company’s evolution from a small, project-based service provider to a full-fledged consultancy that works closely with clients to tackle their most difficult research challenges. Trained as a computational biologist, Eleanor has deep expertise in transcriptional profiling as well as drug discovery and development. She earned her doctorate degree in bioinformatics from Oxford University and spent years in biomedical research at The Institute for Genomic Research, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, and The Broad Institute.


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