BMS’s acquisition of Mirati for up to $5.8 billion not only gives the big pharma a potential best-in-class KRAS inhibitor in a field that appears to be opening up, but also a clinical program against one of the hottest targets in precision cancer, PRMT5. On the latest BioCentury This Week podcast, BioCentury’s editors discuss what Bristol Myers Squibb stands to gain from its acquisition of Mirati Therapeutics, which had rumors swirling about its potential takeout last week. 
BioCentury’s editors also discuss their 4Q23 Public Markets Preview, including how private biopharma companies looking to go public in the next 12 months should be managing their path to that transition. Following last week’s analysis of the companies leading the transition of CAR T therapies into the autoimmune space, BioCentury’s editors also touch on the targets and technologies coming up behind the leading programs that could expand use of CAR Ts to a wider set of autoimmune indications. 
They also discuss takeaways from ICER’s report on how CMS might approach drug price negotiation under the Inflation Reduction Act.

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Biopharma companies are moving quickly to figure out how to optimize CAR T cell therapies for autoimmune diseases now that it’s becoming clear the modality has clinical activity and possibly even curative potential in the disease area. On the latest BioCentury This Week podcast, BioCentury’s editors discuss the trigger for this surge of interest, the indications, targets and companies in play and whether the technology can meet the higher safety bar in autoimmune indications.
BioCentury’s editors also discuss takeaways from BioCentury’s recent conversation with Sanofi CEO Paul Hudson; the latest developments for the Inflation Reduction Act; and notable biotech financings, including a $300 million private placement for Structure Therapeutics.

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BayHelix’s Guo-Liang Yu and McKinsey’s Olivier Leclerc join the BioCentury This Week podcast to discuss cross-border innovation and deal flow in the biopharma sector and preview the upcoming BioCentury-BayHelix East-West Summit. Yu discusses the importance of the event for BayHelix, and Leclerc previews McKinsey’s second East-West Summit report, which will focus on the impact of AI on the sector. BioCentury co-founder, President and CEO Dave Flores, Editor in Chief Simone Fishburn, and head of BD Josh Berlin also join the podcast to discuss the importance of globalization for biopharma and patients, the growth of cross-border dealmaking, and panel topics and speakers at the East-West Summit, which takes place Oct. 2-4 in Kendall Square.

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That a broad swath of new money flowed into last week’s IPOs by RayzeBio and Neumora is a good sign for biotech and a departure from deals done last year, BioCentury's Stephen Hansen said on the latest BioCentury This Week podcast. Hansen and colleagues assess the offerings and the companies’ aftermarket performance alongside NASDAQ’s six other top biotech IPOs of the year for signs of what’s next for companies looking to go public.
BioCentury’s editors also discuss what new regulatory requirements in China mean for Chinese biotechs hoping to debut on a stock exchange in the near future, as well as the latest developments in lawsuits related to the Inflation Reduction Act and an upcoming hearing on the IRA in the House.

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Constructing deal terms to take advantage of both the translational research benefits in China and the market opportunity in the U.S. is slowly emerging as a strategy to advance CAR T cell innovation. On the latest BioCentury This Week podcast, BioCentury’s editors discuss how deals for the technology have evolved since the 2017 partnership between Legend and Janssen for Carvykti and the opportunity for East-West collaborations to drive CAR T cell development.
BioCentury’s editors also assess why the FTC made a deal with Amgen that will allow the company’s $27.8 billion acquisition of Horizon Therapeutics to proceed, and how an agreement by Regeneron on international pricing of a COVID-19 mAb could clear the path to confirmation of Monica Bertagnolli as the next NIH director.

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What are the criteria that enable companies to achieve the kind of success that leads to a jump in market cap tier? On the latest BioCentury This Week podcast, BioCentury’s editors discuss Back to School 2023, which examines the ingredients for building long-term, sustainable, high-value biotech companies.

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Circular RNA’s durability could convey efficacy and manufacturing advantages over therapies based on linear mRNA. On the latest BioCentury This Week podcast, BioCentury’s editors discuss the rising therapeutic modality, with a look at the technology, companies and investors in the space. They also assess the pipeline of psychedelic therapies as the product candidates move toward proof of concept, homing in on psilocybin-based product candidates, which are the most abundant and some of the most advanced. BioCentury Head of Business Development Josh Berlin joins the podcast to preview BioCentury’s upcoming conferences, the Oct. 2-4 BioCentury-BayHelix East West Summit in Cambridge, Mass., and the Nov. 2-3 China Healthcare Summit in Shanghai.

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There’s a tectonic shift happening in obesity research and drug development, BioCentury Editor in Chief Simone Fishburn said on the latest BioCentury This Week podcast. Fishburn and colleagues discuss how the success of obesity therapies from Novo Nordisk and Eli Lilly targeting the incretin axis has galvanized a wave of drug development with different molecular targets as well as last week’s threshold-setting cardiovascular outcomes trial data from Novo and recent obesity deals by the two companies.
BioCentury’s editors also discuss takeaways from Fishburn’s conversation with Flagship Pioneering’s Noubar Afeyan on The BioCentury Show, plus the Scleroderma Research Foundation’s plans to bring the platform trial model to scleroderma.

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A complete response letter from FDA in major depressive disorder could severely dent the commercial prospects for Zurzuvae zuranolone even as the drug gained approval for postpartum depression. On the latest BioCentury This Week podcast, BioCentury’s editors assess what the agency’s decision, which included a request for at least one additional study, means for Biogen and its partner Sage Therapeutics. BioCentury’s editors also discuss the thawing market for biotech IPOs, zeroing in on the dozens of companies that raised crossover cash before markets turned sour, as well as the digital transformation under way at Sanofi, which aims to use AI and data science to drive everything from candidate discovery to clinical trial planning, manufacturing optimization and supply chain management.

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An analysis of pharma deal trends over the past year shows a focus on first-in-class assets with autoimmune diseases being a major focus of interest. On the latest BioCentury This Week podcast, BioCentury’s editors discuss what the deal trends mean for prospective pharma partners and whether the expected focus on late-stage products, and a material increase in valuation for late-stage programs, is supported by the data. BioCentury’s editors also talk about a recent conversation with Genentech Inc. CEO Alexander Hardy, and his perspective on how the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) may impact future decision-making on drug development for small molecules. They also discuss takeaways from a Q&A with Leerink Partners’ Jeffrey Leerink and Dan Dubin, what’s next in BIO’s hunt for a permanent CEO, and the case of Stealth BioTherapeutics Corp. and whether the company’s regulatory experience raises questions about if FDA should improve the consistency with which it applies regulatory flexibility.

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