When all of the experts around you say it’s impossible to move the needle forward, how do you still maintain commitment to your research and patients? On the very first episode of Impactful Breakthroughs, Zach Gobst is joined by Jennifer Good, the President & CEO of Trevi Therapeutics, to explore why she has dedicated the past fifteen years to tackling one of medicine’s most overlooked conditions: chronic cough.

Jennifer traces her path from running Pennwest Pharmaceuticals to negotiating a promising compound out of an acquisition and building Trevi from her kitchen table into the $2B public company it is today. She shares how a background in chronic pain research gave her and Co-Founder Dr. Thomas Sciascia a uniquely brain-centered lens on cough, and why listening closely to patients led them to double down on IPF when key opinion leaders told them to walk away. Equal parts science story and entrepreneurial journey, this conversation is a candid look at what perseverance, patient focus, and the willingness to evolve really look like in biotech.

Timestamps

00:00 Episode Start

03:00 Starting Trevi Therapeutics from the kitchen table

05:45 Advice for early entrepreneurs

07:30 Setting checkpoints and sticking to them

08:45 What was missing on chronic cough and IPF

12:45 How chronic pain research unlocked a new view of cough

18:45 Where Trevi fits into the patient experience

22:45 Reflections on her 15-year journey

25:30 Evolving the team as the company grows

32:00 Giving back through rare disease boards and community

34:45 Mentorship shoutouts

Key Takeaways

• The brain matters in cough. While the broader industry was targeting peripheral receptors in the lung, Trevi’s neurology-rooted perspective led them to the brain, setting their data apart when everything else failed.
• Stay close to the patient. Jennifer’s most powerful moment came from a patient advisory board member who couldn’t finish her grocery shopping because of a coughing attack. That story is what drives the work and keeps the north star clear.
• Give yourself a checkpoint, not a cliff. As Jennifer put it, setting a defined window to test your idea, with real deliverables, takes the daily anxiety out of entrepreneurship. You’re not on a never-ending rolling stone, you’re running an experiment.
• Roles change, people change, and that’s okay. One of Jennifer’s hardest and most important leadership lessons: the person who was right for the company at three people may not be the right person at forty-five. Honest self-reflection applies to the whole team, including the CEO.

Guest Shoutouts

• David Meeker MD, Chairman, President, and Chief Executive Officer of Rhythm Pharmaceuticals
• Stuart Falber, Partner and Co-Chair of WilmerHale’s Life Sciences Practice
• Paul Freiman, Former Chairman of the Board of Penwest

Resources

• Connect with guest Jennifer Good on LinkedIn
• Check out Trevi Therapeutics
• Connect with host Zach Gobst on LinkedIn
• Check out Leapcure