Biotech Hangout Daphne Zohar, Josh Schimmer, Brad Loncar, Tim Opler & more

On this week’s Biotech Hangout, hosts Eric Schmidt, Josh Schimmer, Dawn Bell, Brad Loncar, Tim Opler, Sam Fazeli and Paul Matteis kick off the show by discussing CPI data and how inflation is impacting the $XBI, with analysts hopeful that stability will bring lower interest rates soon. The hosts cover the obesity market, providing updates on new datasets, such as findings from $LLY and $NVO, which indicate promising results in liver fat reduction and potential fibrosis reversal with GLP1+ agents. They also discuss competitive dynamics and investor sentiment of the obesity market and highlight the involvement of various players, including new startups and established pharma companies. In addition, the hosts share updates on Alzheimer’s treatments, including takeaways from the EULAR meeting and $LLY’s lecanemab panel, alongside the competitive landscape between $LLY, $ESAIY and $BIIB. The hosts also explore the role of patient advocacy within the biotech industry, focusing on $PFE’s DMD study and $SRPTA’s upcoming PDFUA, the role that patient advocacy groups have on regulatory decisions,  and the impact these groups have on influencing industry standards and guidelines. *This episode aired on June 14, 2024.

On this week’s Biotech Hangout, hosts Josh Schimmer, Brad Loncar, Tim Opler, Eric Schmidt and Sam Fazeli are joined by special guests Jacob Plieth and Madeleine Armstrong for a deep dive into ASCO 2024, including the highs and lows on the data front. The hosts also discuss the shifting interests from pharma companies as some suggest T-cell engagers may have overtaken ADCs and radios in the oncology space. In non-ASCO news, the group covers NASH data from Lilly and Viking and Structure’s data in obesity. The hosts also discuss the latest on BioSecure Act, improving inflation numbers and pickup in the XBI, Moderna’s first vaccine approval outside of COVID, and more. This episode aired on June 7, 2024.

On this week’s Biotech Hangout, hosts Daphne Zohar, Josh Schimmer, Yaron Werber, Luba Greenwood and Dawn Bell start the show with a look at the XBI and M&A activity from the week, including multiple deals topping over $1 billion. The hosts highlight a few of these big transactions, including Biogen acquiring Hi-Bio for $1.15 billion, Merck acquiring Eyebio for $1.3 billion, J&J buying Yellow Jersey for $1.25 billion, and Novartis buying out Mariana for $1 billion, among others. With private acquisitions in the spotlight, the group digs into some of the high caliber private companies emerging in biotech. The group also covers data updates and related stock price reactions from Summit (the company’s shares tripled after cancer treatment data), Insmed (shares rocketed following Phase 3 trial results for the company’s experimental airway disease drug), Biohaven (its protein-degrader drug falls short of investor expectations), and Roivant’s update on FcRn development plans. In a lively discussion, the hosts share varying viewpoints on whether a CEO should respond or comment to criticism on social media, plus they look ahead to ASCO, and more. This episode aired on May 31, 2024.

On this week’s Biotech Hangout, hosts Chris Garabedian, Josh Schimmer, Brad Loncar, Eric Schmidt and Tim Opler kick off the episode with a spotlight on women’s health, which was sparked by Bayer’s Phase 3 data readouts for menopause symptoms. The group also cover Incyte’s $2B share repurchase which leads into a discussion on stock buybacks and the ‘broken’ R&D model. The group also recaps ASGCT 2024 and new gene editing technologies. In deals of the week, the hosts discuss deals and financings from the week, including Takeda and AC Immune’s $100M license agreement, Uniquity Bio’s $300M launch and J&J;s $850M purchase of Proteologix. In other data news, hosts discuss Merck’s TIGIT/PD-1 Phase 2 safety concerns, Ionis/Biogen discontinue ALS treatment, COVID-19 data from Shionogi and AstraZeneca, and a look at obesity ‘limited data’ versus Vertex’s data transparency. Other topics include Bolt Therapeutics discontinuing its oncology asset, Dynavax denied expanded use by FDA, Recursion’s stock surges with fastest supercomputer claim, and short selling and meme stocks in biotech. *This episode aired on May 17, 2024.

On this week’s Biotech Hangout, hosts Eric Schmidt, Daphne Zohar, Josh Schimmer and Paul Matteis kick off the show with a look at M&A in the sector and debate whether we’re in a “good market” for biotech, if the sector is overly dependent on M&A as an investment thesis and the therapeutic areas that are most attractive for M&A. The hosts also discuss “hot” targeted oncology modalities including radiopharm, ADCs and bispecifics, and predict which of these technologies will likely continue to benefit from M&A interest. Following earnings this week, the hosts cover Janux Therapeutics’ stock price dropping 11.5% while CytomX stock moves +120% to -40% in a matter of minutes. Acelyrin’s founder stepped down as CEO, which opens up a discussion amongst the hosts on how disruptive change at the top can be for an organization and when investors should and shouldn’t care about CEO transitions. The group also discusses Bluebird and Vertex prepping for the first commercial use of sickle cell gene therapies. The episode wraps up with a review of other news from the week including Maze’s deal with Shionogi for Pompe disease, Walking Fish shuts down, Denali’s regulatory update, and FDA sets June date for Eli Lilly’s Alzheimer's drug donanemab adcomm. *This episode aired on May 10, 2024.

On this week’s Biotech Hangout, hosts Daphne Zohar, Eric Schmidt, Yaron Werber and Luba Greenwood are joined by special guest and STAT reporter, Adam Feuerstein. The episode kicks off with the hosts sharing their thoughts on industry sentiment and some of the revealing trends in the week’s Stifel report before diving into Q1 earning reports from Ascendis, Amgen and SpringWorks. The hosts talk about ONO’s acquisition of Deciphera for $2.4B, X4’s FDA approval of XOLREMDI, and how COVID fatigue could be causing us to minimize the threat of the avian influenza H5N1.  The group also discusses Biden’s Cancer Moonshot getting killed by Congress, a federal judge throws out two drugmaker IRA lawsuits and the FTC goes after drug company’s “junk” patents in obesity and other device combos. Adam sparks a group discussion around his exclusive STAT article on how an emerging safety issue in MorphoSys’ Phase 3 cancer study may complicate its acquisition by Novartis. Other topics covered this week include BridgeBio spinning out an oncology company as it focuses on the anticipated launch of its heart drug, US government moving to reclassify marijuana from schedule 1 to schedule 111 drug, and more. *This episode aired on May 3, 2024.