FRI AM News: WisBusiness: the Podcast with Nikki Johnston, N-Zyme Biomedical; Johnson expresses concern about tariff-related supply chain disruptions, economic uncertainty

May 30, 2025

— This week’s episode of “WisBusiness: the Podcast” is with Nikki Johnston, co-founder of N-Zyme Biomedical.

The company is developing a new drug treatment for a lesser known form of acid reflux called laryngopharyngeal reflux, or LPR. It affects as many as 20% of Americans, according to figures provided by the business, and no medications currently exist to treat it.

Johnston emphasizes this “significant unmet clinical need” for patients with LPR, who don’t experience the same heartburn feeling as those with more typical gastroesophageal reflux disease, or GERD.

“They suffer from chronic cough, hoarseness, globus — which is a sensation of something stuck in your throat — dysphagia, which is problems with swallowing,” she said. “But chronic LPR can also contribute to more life-threatening illnesses such as … laryngeal cancer.”

Treatments for GERD are ineffective at treating LPR, she explained. As an alternative, N-Zyme Biomedical has an approach for inhibiting the damaging effects of pepsin, the digestive enzyme found in the stomach. Trials have shown the company’s drug leads to “a significantly lower incidence” of LPR for patients, Johnston said.

“So very encouraging epidemiological data that supports our hypothesis,” she said, adding the therapeutic has “a really good safety and tolerability profile.”

She also touts the company’s team of strategic advisors spanning clinical practice, drug development, pharmaceutical business and regulatory expertise.

To date, the business has raised about $3 million, with investments supporting the drug reformulation process and clinical trials to assess the drug’s efficacy. Its first clinical trial is expected to begin in the next several months with a target of 104 patients.

“Our trial is more than three times oversubscribed … We currently have approximately 400 people interested, so we’ll be able to complete it expeditiously,” she said, adding “we’re excited to start this summer.”

Ultimately, Johnston says tens of millions of Americans could benefit from the treatment N-Zyme Biomedical is developing.

“I still hear from patients on a daily basis suffering from this,” she said. “When you think of reflux, you think, ‘Well, it could be annoying but it’s not that bad.’ But you know, it’s patients that use their voice on a day-to-day basis for teaching and singing. And also I think any kind of chronic condition over a long period of time just becomes very debilitating.”

Listen to the podcast and see the full list of WisBusiness.com podcasts.

— U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson says he’s not too worried about the potential inflationary effect of tariffs, but related supply chain disruptions and economic uncertainty are a concern.

The Oshkosh Republican was the featured guest at this week’s Newsmaker luncheon Milwaukee hosted by WisPolitics and the Milwaukee Press Club. He said he’s hearing from businesses that are putting their capital expenditures on hold amid the instability caused by the trade war.

“They don’t know what’s going to happen, you know, they’re facing a massive automatic tax increase which is one of the reasons I want to take that off the table,” Johnson said. “So I’m definitely concerned about that.”

He also noted many Wisconsin manufacturers that compete globally against other businesses that aren’t subject to tariffs, putting them at a “huge” cost disadvantage.

“If you’re concerned about trade deficits, I mean, if you harm exports, if you make it impossible for U.S. companies to compete against their global competitors, that’s not going to help the trade deficit,” he said. “So it’s a very complex subject. What I don’t want to do is decrease President Trump’s leverage in doing whatever he’s trying to do.”

Johnson said Trump is “obviously” recognizing the impact that tariffs are having on markets, pointing to his moves to delay implementation of certain tariffs. He said a 10% tariff across the board would raise some revenue while not being “overly inflationary,” though he said he doesn’t want to raise taxes.

“That’s why I’m focusing on spending, spending, spending … I’m not a huge supporter of the tariff or the trade war, obviously,” he said.

Watch the video and see more coverage at WisPolitics.

— U.S. Rep. Mark Pocan said the GOP House-passed reconciliation bill is “without question the worst bill” he has seen and argued its cuts to health care and food benefits will harm millions of Wisconsinites.

“This is the single largest cut to health care in American history,” the Town of Vermont Democrats said. “$700 billion from Medicaid, $300 billion from the ACA exchanges. So that adds up to a trillion dollars, in addition to the half a trillion in Medicare.”

The House narrowly passed the reconciliation spending bill last week, mostly along party lines.

Pocan called U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Oshkosh, “extremist” for wanting the Senate to make more cuts in its version of the bill, arguing he wants it to be more “draconian.”

Johnson said at the WisPolitics-Milwaukee Press Club luncheon this week that the bill was not reducing spending enough. He also criticized President Barack Obama for cutting work requirements for Medicaid and argued that too many working, able-bodied adults are taking advantage of the program.

Pocan yesterday said there’s no proof work requirements help spending, and they just add more red tape and inhibit people’s access to health care.

See a recent story on how some state industries view the reconciliation bill.

— Legislation being circulated by GOP authors would repeal a minimum net worth requirement for mortgage brokers in the state.

Rep. Robert Brooks of Saukville and Sen. Rob Stafsholt of New Richmond recently sent a cosponsorship memo to other lawmakers on the bill. They note Wisconsin has had a net worth requirement of $100,000 for mortgage brokers since 2007, requiring those applying for a mortgage broker license to provide evidence they clear that benchmark.

Under state law, mortgage brokers are defined as those who are paid to help others obtain or apply for loans but don’t make underwriting decisions or close loans themselves, according to the Legislative Reference Bureau.

More than half of U.S. states have such a net worth requirement for these professionals, the memo notes. Authors argue Wisconsin’s requirement is “exorbitantly high” and drives companies out of the state.

“Removing the mortgage broker net worth requirement would significantly benefit consumers by increasing the number of mortgage professionals available in local communities,” they wrote. “This increase in local mortgage brokers would foster greater competition, leading to more personalized service and potentially better loan terms for homebuyers.”

The cosponsorship deadline is Tuesday.

See the memo.

— The state Public Service Commission has announced $750,000 in funding through 19 grants to boost access to telecommunications services.

The agency yesterday released the list of recipients for grants, which are funded through the agency’s Universal Service Fund.

Two-thirds of the funding is coming from the Nonprofit Access Grant Program, with $500,000 going to 14 nonprofit groups serving low-income households and those with disabilities. The other $250,000 is coming from the Lifeline Outreach Grant Program, funding five related projects. The Lifeline Program offers discounts for phones and internet services to eligible households.

The largest individual grant, at around $84,000, is going to United Way of Greater Milwaukee & Waukesha County.

See the release and list of recipients.

— WARF is now accepting applications for its UpStart entrepreneurship program, a free experience taking place over eight weeks this fall.

The program aims to help women and people of color along their entrepreneurial journey with classes held at the Wisconsin Institutes for Discovery on the UW-Madison campus. They will cover how to launch, fund, organize and test a business idea, while the program will also connect participants with local professionals as they continue to grow their business idea.

The Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation is accepting applications through June 1, and the program runs from Sept. 9 to Oct. 28.

See more at Madison Startups and apply here.

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