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This year’s Bio€quity Europe conference aims to define what European biotech’s “playbook for success” should be in the industry’s “new normal,” BioCentury co-founder, President and CEO David Flores said on a special edition of the BioCentury This Week podcast previewing the twenty-third incarnation of the May 14-16 meeting in Dublin. Seroba Life Sciences’ Alan O'Connell and Avectas' Mary Martin joined Flores and BioCentury Editor-in-Chief Simone Fishburn to outline the opportunities and challenges faced by Ireland’s biopharma ecosystem and preview some of the conference’s events and panel discussions, and EBD's Tina Elder detailed what to expect in terms of attendees at the event.
Acelyrin last week parlayed a late-stage asset for hidradenitis suppurativa and veteran leadership into one of biotech’s largest-ever NASDAQ IPOs. On the latest BioCentury This Week podcast, BioCentury’s editors discussed how Acelyrin generated outsized demand for its offering and assessed Alzheimer’s data for Eli Lilly's donanemab, the promise and challenges of digital endpoints and takeaways from the latest BioCentury Show, which featured incoming FogPharma CEO Mathai Mammen in conversation with Editor in Chief Simone Fishburn. This week’s podcast is sponsored by Cancer Research Horizons.
Biopharma companies believe a draft law that seeks to overhaul European pharmaceutical policy for the first time in years is out of sync with innovation, Washington Editor Steve Usdin said on the latest BioCentury This Week. Usdin and colleagues assessed the EC’s proposals in the legislation, as well as what’s changed since a version of the draft was leaked earlier this year. BioCentury’s editors also discussed the implications of FDA’s acceptance of NfL as a surrogate endpoint for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis for companies with clinical neurodegeneration programs, plus the $5.9 billion takeout of geographic atrophy company Iveric bio by Astellas, and a deal by Sanofi to license rights to a Pompe therapy from Maze Therapeutics.
Top-tier European VCs are still attracting capital to deploy, Director of Biopharma Intelligence Stephen Hansen said on the latest BioCentury This Week podcast, with LPs looking at funds’ track record and the track record for biotech. Hansen discusses how Forbion and Gilde will deploy their newly announced funds as well as what’s new in their strategies as they raise some of the biggest VC vehicles ever in Europe. BioCentury’s editors also discuss the U.S. Supreme Court’s mifepristone ruling and comments filed by the biopharma industry about CMS’s draft guidance on implementing the Inflation Reduction Act.
BioCentury’s analysis of AACR 2023 abstracts found new targets light on immuno-oncology, said Executive Director Lauren Martz on a special edition of the BioCentury This Week podcast. Martz and colleagues debated whether the findings suggest immuno-oncology is losing its luster, and assessed abstracts on next-generation PRMT5 inhibitors and first-in-human studies, as well as the latest data from Merck & Co. and Moderna on their neoantigen vaccine in melanoma.
M&A such as Monday’s proposed takeout of Prometheus by Merck & Co. is one of the few factors that can help reverse the negative sentiment hanging over biotech, Director of Biopharma Intelligence Stephen Hansen said on the latest BioCentury This Week podcast. Hansen and colleagues discuss Monday’s deal in the context of the prolonged market downturn as they assess the takeaways from BioCentury’s 2Q23 Financial Markets Preview. BioCentury’s editors also discuss the implications for FDA of court rulings on abortion drug mifepristone and how Gilead is building its oncology franchise.
The ruling on abortion drug mifepristone issued Friday by Texas District Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk could destabilize drug regulation, opening up every FDA approval to second guessing by any court in the U.S., Washington Editor Steve Usdin said on the latest BioCentury This Week podcast. Usdin assesses the implications of the decision and sheds light on the thinking of former senior FDA attorneys regarding the case. BioCentury’s editors also discuss the latest from venture firms Canaan, SR One, and newly launched Cure Ventures, and deliver takeaways from BioCentury’s recent webinar on the Inflation Reduction Act, “Navigating the IRA.”
On the latest BioCentury This Week podcast, BioCentury’s editors assess the implications of the FTC’s challenge to the $7.1 billion acquisition of cancer screening company Grail by next-generation sequencing company Illumina. They also discuss what’s at stake as the U.S. Supreme Court weighs arguments in the patent dispute over anti-PCSK9 mAbs between Sanofi and Amgen, and how CEOs of gene therapy companies are thinking about the competitive landscape at a time when products with preliminary evidence of safety and efficacy are dropping out of clinical development across multiple indications. This week’s podcast is sponsored by Jeito Capital.
On the latest BioCentury This Week podcast, BioCentury’s editors assess responses to their VC survey regarding the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank in light of First Citizens’ acquisition of SVB. BioCentury’s editors also discuss how FDA’s advisory committee meeting for tofersen from Biogen and Ionis bolsters the case for neurofilament as a surrogate endpoint in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, and why last week’s FDA draft guidance on accelerated approval could make cancer drug development harder for small biotechs. This week’s podcast is sponsored by Jeito Capital.
On the latest BioCentury This Week podcast, BioCentury’s editors assess how companies are upending pipeline and business strategies due to the Inflation Reduction Act, along with other takeaways from a survey on the IRA’s implications, conducted by BioCentury with the support of BIO. They also discuss CMS’s memo outlining how it intends to implement the IRA’s price-setting provisions, the T cell therapy landscape and insights from BioCentury’s Distillery. This week’s podcast is sponsored by Jeito Capital.
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