In this episode of Molecule to Market, you’ll go inside the outsourcing space of the global drug development sector with Jesse McCool, Co-Founder and CEO at Wheeler Bio.
Your host, Raman Sehgal, discusses the pharmaceutical and biotechnology supply chain with Jesse, covering:
His journey from the Lonza bench to the boardroom as CEO of Cytovance CEO before becoming a founder
Building a CDMO from a blank canvas via a pit stop of C19 testing
What makes Oklahoma City an attractive place to do business with its mixed blend of life science, tech and biomanufacturing expertise
How Wheeler’s hub and spoke satellite business model and platform is changing the CDMO business model

Jesse McCool is the Co-Founder and CEO of Wheeler Bio, an agile, small-batch biologics drug substance manufacturer focused on addressing unmet needs in the translational space. He has over 20 years of biologics development and manufacturing experience in biotech and CDMO environments. He previously held executive and technical positions at Cytovance Biologics, Lonza, Lallemand/Mascoma, Dartmouth, and Clean Harbors.
He joined Cytovance Biologics in 2013 to build out and lead the process development organization. The company was acquired by Hepalink in 2015 after which he was named Director, Chief Technical Officer and eventually, Chief Executive Officer. Jesse left Hepalink following the successful HK IPO in 2020 ($500MM USD) to join OKC-based venture studio, Echo Investment Capital, as Entrepreneur-In-Residence. He co-founded and launched Wheeler Bio in 2021.
He also serves on the Governor’s Council for Workforce and Economic Development (State Commerce) and works on numerous workforce development initiatives in the biomanufacturing sector. Jesse earned a Ph.D. from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst and completed his postdoctoral work at Dartmouth (Hanover, NH) and Delft University of Technology (The Netherlands). In addition to his industry experience, Jesse is an established public speaker, researcher, and peer-reviewed journal author and contributor.
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Molecule to Market is sponsored and funded by ramarketing, an international marketing, design, digital and content agency helping companies differentiate, get noticed and grow in life sciences.