Biotech CEO Sisterhood: EpiBone creates bones and cartilage grown from stem cells - Co-Founder and CEO Nina Tandon describes the creative thinking she has used to accelerate its availability

Interviewed by Sisterhood editorial board member Erika Smith, Nina Tandon describes what it has taken to get a startup through the recent difficult times for the biotech sector, including applying for military funding and making the product available in international markets where compassionate use is an option.

Biographies

Dr. Nina Tandon is the CEO and Co-Founder of EpiBone, Inc., a groundbreaking biotech company revolutionizing skeletal reconstruction with AI-designed, 3D-fabricated living bone and cartilage. A 2001 graduate of Cooper Union with a Bachelor of Engineering in Electrical Engineering, she also holds a Ph.D. and postdoc in tissue engineering and stem cells from Columbia University, as well as an Executive MBA in healthcare entrepreneurship. With over 20 years of expertise, Dr. Tandon’s visionary leadership is driving innovation in regenerative medicine, redefining personalized care, and shaping the future of skeletal health.

Erika Smith is life sciences entrepreneur who has combined technical and business expertise with 30-years of industry experience building, investing in, and successfully exiting life-science and technology companies

Previously, she led EpiTET Therapeutics, developing novel oral therapeutics that selectively eliminates pathogenic macrophages, and ReNetX Bio, a venture funded neuro-science company

As an investor, she served as the inaugural director of the $65M Blavatnik Fund at Yale, launched the Johnson & Johnson investment fund in partnership with the Center for Innovative Technology and was a Venture Advisor to Epidarex Ventures, a transatlantic life-science venture firm. These early-stage investments enabled successful exits including medSage (acq: Philips Healthcare), Isoplexis (NASDAQ: ISO), and Biorez ($250M Acq NYSE: CNMD).

She is the Board Chair (ECS) and on the Executive Committee Board of Biotechnology Innovation Organization (BIO) and a recognized thought leader holding numerous awards including: “Industry Superstar”, “Entrepreneur of the Year,” and co-author of playbook “Empowering Women Entrepreneurs” sponsored by JPMorgan Chase; and TEDx speaker. Erika received a bachelor’s degree in Biomedical and Electrical Engineering and a Master of Business Administration (MBA).