Ep. 319 - David Baltimore’s Legacy, Atlas Fund, MASH Pipeline and more

Merck's announcement that it is moving its R&D out of the U.K. highlights concerns about the country’s life sciences policies. On the latest BioCentury This Week podcast, BioCentury’s analysts discuss the life sciences ecosystem in the U.K., including MHRA CEO Lawrence Tallon’s plans to create a world-class regulatory environment. They also discuss a bill passed by the U.S. House of Representatives that would end most U.S.-China academic research collaborations, and the recent success of 40-year-old biotech Insmed. This episode of BioCentury This Week is sponsored by IQVIA Biotech.View full story: https://www.biocentury.com/article/656997#biotech #biopharma #pharma #lifescience #MHRA #China #RandD #DrugDevelopment00:01 - Sponsor Message: IQVIA Biotech01:25 - U.K. Biopharma04:40 - Grand Rounds Cambridge09:45 - SAFE Research Act18:01 - Spotlight on Insmed26:32 - Sen. Cassidy's Vaccine CalloutTo submit a question to BioCentury’s editors, email the BioCentury This Week team at [email protected] us by sending a text

Molecular biologist and Nobel Prize winner David Baltimore made foundational contributions to the biopharma industry and was the essential figure behind such research institutions as the Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research and the Broad Institute. On the latest BioCentury This Week podcast, BioCentury’s analysts discuss the legacy of Baltimore, who passed away this past weekend at 87.The analysts also discuss Atlas Venture’s new $400 million opportunity fund, the clinical development pipelines for metabolic-associated steatohepatitis (MASH) and chronic urticaria, and late-stage atopic dermatitis data from Sanofi. This episode of BioCentury This Week is sponsored by IQVIA Biotech.View full story: https://www.biocentury.com/article/656942#biotech #biopharma #DavidBaltimore #ReverseTranscriptase #MASH #Rezdiffra #GLP1 #ChronicUrticaria #Dupixent00:01 - Sponsor Message: IQVIA Biotech03:19 - Remembering David Baltimore06:26 - Atlas's New Opportunity Fund09:22 - The Growing MASH Pipeline16:03 - Sanofi's Atopic Dermatitis Data18:57 - Exploring Chronic Urticaria TreatmentsTo submit a question to BioCentury’s editors, email the BioCentury This Week team at [email protected] us by sending a text

Two veteran biotech leaders are launching a new company with ambitions in the cardiovascular disease space. On the latest BioCentury This Week podcast, BioCentury’s analysts discuss the debut of Corsera Health, a biotech led by John Maraganore and Clive Meanwell that is developing an AI-guided early risk assessment tool alongside dual-acting therapy that could stave off heart disease.The team then discusses how FDA has been quietly positioning itself to disrupt the childhood vaccine schedule, as well as the effects of changes to the Medicare drug negotiation program that were included in the tax and budget bill Congress passed in July.View full story: https://www.biocentury.com/article/656897#Corsera #DiseaseInterception #CardiovascularHealth #HeartDisease #FDA #VaccinePolicy #Medicare #DrugPricing00:00 - Introduction01:26 - Maraganore, Meanwell Newco09:17 - BioCentury's Back to School14:51 - Vaccine Disruption at FDA26:01 - Medicare Drug NegotiationsTo submit a question to BioCentury’s editors, email the BioCentury This Week team at [email protected] us by sending a text

There’s been a rare IPO filing on NASDAQ as LB Pharma looks to test the market during a year that has seen little activity among U.S. biotechs even as green shoots continue to appear on the Hong Kong stock exchange. On the latest BioCentury This Week podcast, BioCentury’s analysts discuss the market for biotech IPOs on NASDAQ and in Hong Kong.The analysts then assess FDA’s about-face on Stealth BioTherapeutics' Barth syndrome therapy, putting the decision in the context of a changing regulatory agency; and a BioCentury Guest Commentary that argues that the university-industry engine that drives U.S. innovation is under attack. Also mentioned on this week’s podcast: BioCentury’s 33rd Back to School package, which reimagines FDA; the upcoming 12th China Healthcare Summit in Shanghai; the evolution of dealmaking in China; and Annalisa Jenkins’ take on MHRA and the U.K. biotech ecosystem on The BioCentury Show.View full story: https://www.biocentury.com/article/656849#Biotech #IPO #Pharma #FDA #RareDisease #Biopharma #DrugDevelopment #HealthcareInnovation #HongKongIPO00:00 - Introduction 02:48 – LB Pharma Tests IPO Market07:01 – Hong Kong IPO Momentum09:53 – China Summit Preview13:40 – FDA Reversal on Stealth Bio18:15 – Bayh-Dole Clash & Innovation ThreatsTo submit a question to BioCentury’s editors, email the BioCentury This Week team at [email protected] us by sending a text

BioCentury’s third annual analysis of pharma company deals finds that bispecifics and degraders are in, cell and gene therapies are out, and China is bringing much more than me-too assets to cross-border deals. On the latest BioCentury This Week podcast, BioCentury’s analysts assess a year’s worth of deals between pharmas and biotechs to tease out emerging trends.The analysts also discuss last week’s FDA approval of a vector-based immunotherapy from Precigen to treat a rare respiratory disease and whether the decision will set a precedent of more flexibility for rare disease therapies. They then take stock of recent translational coverage in BioCentury, including a report by Denali of a way to avoid a key safety issue of anti-amyloid-targeting mAbs.BioCentury’s Grand Rounds — Europe will take place in Cambridge, U.K., Sept. 17-19. The conference seeks to bridge academia, industry and investors for breakthrough innovation.View full Story: https://www.biocentury.com/article/656802#PharmaDeals #CrossBorderDeals #Bispecifics #TargetedProteinDegradation #RareDisease #Neurodegeneration00:00 - Introduction01:38 - Pharma Deals10:41 - Precigen14:40 - Denali's BBB Tech25:20 - Grand Rounds EuropeTo submit a question to BioCentury’s editors, email the BioCentury This Week team at [email protected] us by sending a text

Dealmaking between Western and Chinese biopharmas has been one of the year’s bright spots, as a maturing biotech landscape in China converges with Western demand for innovative assets, driving record deal flow. At the same time, the Hong Kong stock exchange has emerged as the hottest market for biotech IPOs, at a time when the NASDAQ window remains shut.These themes will be in the spotlight at the 12th BioCentury-BayHelix China Healthcare Summit Oct. 22-24 in Shanghai. On this special edition of the BioCentury This Week podcast, a trio of biopharma leaders join BioCentury’s analysts to discuss the landscape: McKinsey's Franck Le Deu, former BD executive Ji Li, and HBM Holdings' Mike Patten.BioCentury, BayHelix and Insights Partner McKinsey & Company invite you to visit Shanghai for the 12th China Healthcare Summit at the St. Regis Shanghai Jingan. For more information, click here; to apply to join the 2025 Class of Presenting Companies click here. View full story: https://www.biocentury.com/article/656773#ChinaBiotech #CrossBorderDeals #HongKongIPO #BiotechInvesting #LifeSciencesFinance00:00 - Introduction02:09 – Key Trends06:03 – View from McKinsey13:36 – Evolution of Deal Landscape20:24 – Learning from China24:00 – China-China M&A & NewCosTo submit a question to BioCentury’s editors, email the BioCentury This Week team at [email protected] us by sending a text

Phase III data from Lilly’s orforglipron in obesity fell short of investor expectations, but they appear to be enough to obtain approval and wide use. On the latest BioCentury This Week podcast, BioCentury’s analysts discuss why the first-in-class oral small molecule GLP-1R agonist’s clean safety profile and clear manufacturing advantage over oral peptides give the product a leg-up in the market.They then discuss Vinay Prasad’s return to FDA after a brief hiatus, the revamped strategy of 32-year-old San Diego biotech Acadia Pharmaceuticals, and an attempt in the Senate to revive the Biosecure Act targeting China biotechs.Finally, the analysts preview this year’s Back to School package, which reimagines FDA. At a time of unprecedented change in government agencies, BioCentury’s 33rd Back to School asks what FDA could look like if it were reorganized from the ground up to create the regulator patients deserve and industry needs. View full story: https://www.biocentury.com/article/656727#orforglipron #CBER #VinayPrasad #AcadiaPharmaceuticals00:00 - Introduction00:49 - Prasad07:09 - Back to School12:29 - Lilly Obesity21:58 - Acadia's Comeback28:50 - Biosecure ActTo submit a question to BioCentury’s editors, email the BioCentury This Week team at [email protected] us by sending a text

The ouster of Vinay Prasad after three months running FDA’s Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research could signal a reset is ahead for CBER. On the latest BioCentury This Week podcast, BioCentury’s analysts discuss what the latest shakeup at the regulatory agency says about what’s next for FDA.The analysts also assess two leading European pharmas: obesity and diabetes company Novo Nordisk, which named a new CEO last week while cutting its 2025 forecast, and Bayer, which is gearing up for launches and is revamping its pipeline to restart growth. Finally, they discuss the promising clinical data that’s reviving interest in masking technologies that conditionally activate biologics.View full story: https://www.biocentury.com/article/656649#FDA #CBER #NovoNordisk #ObesityDrugs #Bayer01:05 - Prasad's Ouster14:59 - Novo's New CEO21:14 - Bayer's Growth Strategy26:05 - Masked BiologicsTo submit a question to BioCentury’s editors, email the BioCentury This Week team at [email protected] us by sending a text

A handful of encouraging signals is cause for cautious optimism for biotech headed into the second half of the year — companies have been able to parlay strong data into follow-on capital and M&A activity is picking up. That said, the IPO market continues to be closed and concerns about U.S. drug pricing and FDA stability continue to weigh on expectations for a robust near-term sector recovery.Special guest Megan Hooton from IQVIA Biotech joins BioCentury’s analysts on a special edition of the podcast to discuss key indicators of progress for the biopharma sector. Hooton is president of IQVIA Biotech, which sponsored this episode of the pod.View full story: https://www.biocentury.com/article/656614#biotech #biopharma #pharma #lifescience #BiotechTrends #ClinicalTrials #GeneTherapy #CellTherapy00:01 – Sponsor Message: IQVIA Biotech02:37 – Biotech Markets06:41 – Clinical Highlights10:26 – Insights from Meg Hooton23:10 – Advanced TherapiesTo submit a question to BioCentury’s editors, email the BioCentury This Week team at [email protected] us by sending a text

This week’s deal between GSK and Jiangsu Hengrui is a prime example of how Western biopharmas have begun to recognize the innovation and opportunities being fostered in China — and how it’s no longer all about fast followers.On the latest BioCentury This Week podcast, BioCentury’s analysts put the collaboration between GSK and Jiangsu Hengrui Pharmaceuticals, two of the most active cross-border dealmakers, into the context of East-West dealmaking over the past 30 months, assessing the innovation that is driving the rush to partner with biotechs in China, Japan, South Korea and beyond, and the types of companies looking to Asia for assets.BioCentury’s analysts also discuss Steve Bates’ outsized role in building the U.K. biotech hub, as he readies to take on a new role in the U.K. government. They examine new VC funds from Omega Funds and Brandon Capital, FDA’s new national priority voucher pilot program, and fallout from how FDA and  Sarepta Therapeutics handled the deaths of four patients who had received the biotech’s gene therapies. This episode of BioCentury This Week is sponsored by IQVIA Biotech.View full story: https://www.biocentury.com/article/656592#biotech #biopharma #pharma #lifescience #EastWestDealmaking #ChinaBiotech #UKBiotech #FDAPolicy00:01 - Sponsor Message: IQVIA Biotech02:48 - Asia Deals Landscape17:32 - Steve Bates & U.K. Biotech25:46 - FDA's New Voucher Pilot31:01 - New VC Funds35:28 - SareptaTo submit a question to BioCentury’s editors, email the BioCentury This Week team at [email protected] us by sending a text