Biotech Hangout

Daphne Zohar, Josh Schimmer, Brad Loncar, Tim Opler and more

A weekly discussion of all things biotech – breaking news, data, deals, and FDA actions – with a community of biotech industry leaders and experts. Join the live streams hosted by @BiotechCH, @daphnezohar, @bradloncar and @biotech1 on Twitter Spaces every Friday at 12pm ET.

  1. 8. MAI

    Episode 182 - May 8, 2026

    On this week’s episode, Josh Schimmer, Paul Matteis, Eric Schmidt, Yaron Werber, and special guest STAT’s Allison DeAngelis open with what they describe as “a bananas week for biotech,” highlighting strong substantial secondary offerings, including Cytokinetics and Avalo Therapeutics. The conversation then turns to M&A, with multiple new deals announced in Q1 and continued activity this week, including UCB’s acquisition of Candid Therapeutics for up to $2.2B, Angelini’s $4.1B purchase of Catalyst Pharmaceuticals, and Bayer’s acquisition of Perfuse for up to $2.45B. The group also reflects on what feels like the year of developmental-stage biotech, highlighting investor focus on companies with pipeline events such as Vertex and Biogen, while commercial-stage companies have lagged. In regulatory news, the co-hosts discuss Sanofi’s decision to withdraw diabetes drug, teplizumab, from the Commissioner’s National Priority Review program, broader concerns about shifting goalposts and political influence, and contradicting outcomes including Replimune’s rejection versus Atara’s reversal. On the data front, the hosts discuss Cytokinetics’ Phase 3 results and subsequent $650M raise, as well as encouraging autoimmune data from Artiva Biotherapeutics. They also overview neurofilament as a biomarker following Clene’s data, and J&J’s decision to advance its DUET program despite failing to meet its primary endpoint in IBD. *This episode aired on May 8, 2026.

    1 Std.
  2. 10. APR.

    Episode 179 - April 10, 2026

    On this week’s episode, Greg Suvannavejh, Josh Schimmer, Yaron Werber, Sam Fazeli, and special guest Financial Times journalist Oliver Barnes kick off by highlighting the strength of the biotech sector from a public markets perspective, noting the XBI has outperformed the S&P 500 so far this year. The group agrees biotech is in a solid position overall. In policy news, the co‑hosts discuss the latest on the Trump administration’s proposed 100% pharma tariffs, Most Favored Nation drug pricing, and deals between big pharma and the administration. The conversation shifts to regulatory news, including changes to the CDC’s ACIP charter, vaccine oversight concerns, and FDA Commissioner Dr. Marty Makary’s press conference highlighting progress under his leadership. The group then highlights major deals, including Merck’s $6.7 billion acquisition of Terns and details of the SEC filings, Gilead’s $3.15 billion upfront deal for Tubulis, Neurocrine’s $2.9 billion purchase of Soleno, and Garda Therapeutics’ $125 million acquisition of Assertio. In breaking news, the co-hosts discuss Replimune’s second CRL for its melanoma therapy. In data, the group highlights Ascendis’ encouraging week‑52 achondroplasia data and Insmed’s Phase 2 hidradenitis suppurativa results. The episode concludes with an update on the obesity landscape, including Lilly’s newly approved oral GLP‑1, Novo’s high‑dose Wegovy, and a Nature paper on GLP‑1 response variability. *This episode aired on April 10.

    1 Std.
  3. 27. MÄRZ

    Episode 177 - March 27, 2026

    On this week’s episode, Grace Colón, Josh Schimmer, Eric Schmidt, and Brian Skorney open with a look at the macro backdrop. With market volatility and interest rate uncertainty, the hosts agree the macro is still “driving the bus,” tempering what might otherwise be stronger bullish sentiment. Even so, biotech continues to demonstrate relative resilience – XBI holding up better than the broader market – reinforcing the view that investors still want to own biotech. In deals, the co-hosts discuss Gilead’s more than $2 billion purchase of Ouro Medicines for its autoimmune disease drug, Merck’s $6.7 billion takeover of Terns to bolster its oncology pipeline, and Novartis’ deal for Exellergy to strengthen its allergy portfolio. The conversation shifts to regulatory news, including the approval of Denali’s Hunter syndrome drug, Avlayah, which comes shortly after the FDA rejected Regenxbio’s gene therapy for the same condition. Other recent rare disease approvals are noted, with the group interpreting them as signs of slightly increased regulatory flexibility following leadership changes, though uncertainty remains across the health agencies.  The episode concludes with recent data news and market reactions from Sarepta and Arrowhead, Maze versus Vertex in kidney disease, Beam’s data in AATD, Lyme disease vaccine data from Pfizer and Valneva, and a preview of data to be presented at AAD. *This episode aired on March 27, 2026.

    56 Min.

Info

A weekly discussion of all things biotech – breaking news, data, deals, and FDA actions – with a community of biotech industry leaders and experts. Join the live streams hosted by @BiotechCH, @daphnezohar, @bradloncar and @biotech1 on Twitter Spaces every Friday at 12pm ET.

Das gefällt dir vielleicht auch