Health UnaBASHEd: Craig Martin, Founder & CEO, Orphan Therapeutics Accelerator

On this episode Gil Bashe welcomes Craig Martin—former acting CEO
of Global Genes and founder/CEO of the Orphan Therapeutics
Accelerator—about the urgent need to rescue clinically promising
drugs for rare and ultra-rare diseases. Craig shares how his
nonprofit model uses AI, CDMOs, CROs, and alternative funding to
de-risk shelved therapies and transform them into treatments for
patients with unmet needs. including context on systemic inequities
and the human cost of stalled innovation. He describes a startling
trend: when capital dries up or regulations shift, life-saving drug
programs get shelved—not because of safety or efficacy issues, but
due to dilution in business incentives. Among those left behind are
rare disease candidates that patients and families know work, but
simply become financially unviable. Martin joins us to unpack a
pressing challenge in rare disease therapeutics: promising
clinical‑stage drug programs that have been shelved—not for lack of
science, but due to shifting capital and incentives. Through his
nonprofit model at OTXL, he’s pioneering an entirely new approach
to rescue these assets and deliver real impact. To stream our
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