BioCentury This Week

Even with signs that the biotech winter may be starting to thaw, buysiders continue to expect more near-term pain for the sector as consolidation continues for smaller companies with limited cash and few options for raising more, Associate Editor Stephen Hansen says on the latest edition of the BioCentury This Week podcast. Hansen sums up the takeaway messages from BioCentury's 3Q22 Financial Markets Preview, detailing the impact of the barren financing landscape, investors’ priorities, and whether the sector has finally hit bottom. The podcast team also discuss an initiative by gene therapy companies to resolve and pre-empt immune-related toxicities seen in some Duchenne muscular dystrophy trials and the latest push by Congressional Democrats and the Biden administration to regulate the prices of some drugs.

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AstraZeneca’s takeout of single-asset spinout TeneoTwo for $100 million up front is but the latest payout to shareholders in TeneoBio, who could stand to see even more upside in the years ahead, says Associate Editor Paul Bonanos on the latest edition of the BioCentury This Week podcast. Bonanos and the BioCentury editors also discuss how TeneoTwo investor Lightspeed Venture Partners has deepened its commitment to life sciences investing; Arch Venture Partners’ plans to deploy its new $3 billion venture fund; and the latest translational highlights from BioCentury’s Distillery and Translational in Brief sections. Plus: A preview of BioCentury's fall conference.

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On the latest BioCentury This Week podcast, a pair of deals demonstrates how Galapagos CEO Paul Stoffels is shifting the Belgian biotech’s strategic focus from small molecules toward a diversified portfolio. Plus: why Friday’s Supreme Court decision to overturn Roe v. Wade sets the stage for legal and legislative battles that could have broad implications for biopharma and how a new crop of Indian biotechs are seeking to offer dramatically cheaper CAR T therapies. This week’s podcast is sponsored by the BioCentury-BayHelix East-West Summit 2022.

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On the latest BioCentury This Week podcast, Washington Editor Steve Usdin details how the Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health is taking shape as the new U.S. agency seeks to deliver transformative science and the latest moves by Rep. Anna Eshoo to change its structure via legislation. The podcast team also explores the U.K. NHS’s deal with Pfizer Inc. and Shionogi & Co. Ltd. on a subscription-based payment pilot for antibiotics, which could serve as an example for other payers considering similar initiatives; why an IP agreement by the WTO will do little to move the needle on COVID countermeasures; and top takeaways from Zai Lab CEO Samantha Du on The BioCentury Show. In addition, they call for members of the biopharma community to participate in a BioCentury survey on the talent crunch facing industry. All responses will remain confidential.

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Stellar data for Vertex Pharmaceuticals and CRISPR Therapeutics could set a high bar for the next generation of gene editing players to beat in β thalassemia and sickle cell disease, indications that had previously been considered as the best disease to show proof-of-concept for the modality, said Executive Director of Biopharma Intelligence Lauren Martz on the latest edition of BioCentury This Week. The BioCentury podcast team also reviews Associate Editor Stephen Hansen’s analysis of how the trend of private equity firms acquiring or partnering life sciences VCs will impact the financing environment, and Washington Editor Steve Usdin’s take on the one big difference between the PDUFA user fee bills making their way through the House and Senate. Senior Editor and Head of Discovery & Preclinical Development Karen Tkach Tuzman also reviews the latest highlights from BioCentury’s Distillery

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 Stellar ASCO data for Enhertu show how there’s “massive ground” that can still be covered and improved upon by applying new modalities against older targets, said Editor in Chief Simone Fishburn on the latest edition of BioCentury This Week. Fishburn and the BioCentury podcast team dig into the data for antibody-drug conjugate Enhertu from AstraZeneca and partner Daiichi Sankyo for previously treated HR-positive, HER2-negative breast cancer patients. They also assess how new modalities are breathing fresh life into HER3 and explore the themes raised by Fishburn in her conversation with Richard Pazdur, and some of his FDA colleagues at the American Society of Clinical Oncology conference in Chicago. The team also discusses the latest cut of data for tofersen from Biogen in SOD1-mutant amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. 

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The latest data cut for KRAS G12C inhibitor adagrasib from Mirati Therapeutics underwhelmed investors. On the latest BioCentury This Week podcast, BioCentury’s editors discussed the readout, which came in an abstract ahead of this week’s American Society of Clinical Oncology meeting, and previewed some of ASCO’s most anticipated data, which will emerge in “late-breaker” presentations. The podcast team also explored the legal battle over IP related to CRISPR editing in bacterial cells, the latest on an investigation by CStone Pharmaceuticals into a derivative investment that broke company policy, the launch of the Advanced Research Project Agency for Health and the status of user fee negotiations in Congress. This week’s podcast is sponsored by MSD, whose London-based European Innovation Hub includes a business development and licensing team, clinical teams and its U.K. Discovery Research Centre.  For more information visit, msd.com/licensing. 

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On the latest BioCentury This Week podcast, BioCentury’s editors explore how biotechs are turning to tumor targeting, IL-15 expression and alternate cell sourcing to enhance the potency and longevity of NK cell therapies. The podcast team also discusses Janet Woodcock’s new remit at FDA, Bristol Myers Squibb's pullout from Russia and the bipartisan effort moving medical product user fee reauthorization legislation forward in both houses of Congress. This week’s podcast is sponsored by MSD, whose London-based European Innovation Hub includes a business development and licensing team, clinical teams and its U.K. Discovery Research Centre.  For more information visit, msd.com/licensing. 

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Ensuring that a biotech reaches its key inflection points as effectively as possible during the ongoing capital crunch affects a company across the board, including its people, pipeline and financing toolkit, Shorla’s Sharon Cunningham said on a special Bio€quity Europe edition of the BioCentury This Week podcast. Cunningham and BII’s Bobby Soni joined the BioCentury podcast team to discuss navigating the downturn as a CEO of a private biotech, the untapped talent pools able to run start-ups and the ecosystem in Bio€quity Europe’s next site, Ireland. This week’s podcast is sponsored by MSD (Merck & Co. Inc. in the U.S.).  For more information visit, msd.com/licensing. 

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