Western VCs are paying more attention than ever to innovation emerging from Asia — from antibody-drug conjugates to bispecifics, AI and beyond — as the NewCo Model becomes the latest trend to bridge talent, assets and venture money across the Pacific and on to North America and Europe. On a special edition of BioCentury This Week podcast, a trio of leaders from Asia’s life sciences ecosystem — Khoo Shih of Singaporean investor ClavystBio, McKinsey & Company’s Anirudh Roy Popli and Wendy Pan of Goodwin and BayHelix — join the BioCentury team to set the stage for the fourth BioCentury-BayHelix East-West Biopharma Summit. They discuss the innovations driving the deal flow from East to West, including the creation of start-ups in the West formed around assets from Asia. The summit takes place March 3-5 in Singapore.

View full story: https://www.biocentury.com/article/655108

00:00 - Introduction
04:49 - The Newco Model and Industry Trends
09:13 - BayHelix and Cross-Border Transactions
11:31 - McKinsey's Perspective on Asian Innovation
26:58 - Final Thoughts and Registration Information

To submit a question to BioCentury’s editors, email the BioCentury This Week team at [email protected].

Reach us by sending a text

White House plans to slash FDA and NIH risk decimating two agencies at the core of U.S. biomedical innovation. On the latest BioCentury This Week podcast, BioCentury’s editors assess draft plans by the Trump administration that seek to halve FDA staff, cut NIH, and reduce overhead payments to academic institutions. The policy addressed in a recent Guest Commentary for BioCentury, “Defending the NIH, the NSF and the foundation of American science,” by the Scleroderma Research Foundation’s Luke Evnin, Peter Rubin of No Patient Left Behind, and Ra Capital’s Peter Kolchinsky.
BioCentury’s team also discusses how biotechs are becoming increasingly successful at navigating the obstacles to get precision therapies across the FDA finish line.

View full story: https://www.biocentury.com/article/655034

00:00 - Introduction
00:59 - FDA, NIH & Trump 2.0
16:26 - Biotechs & Precision Medicine

To submit a question to BioCentury’s editors, email the BioCentury This Week team at [email protected].

Reach us by sending a text

The boom in the creation of companies that were launched in the West based on assets sourced in Asia signals China’s galloping speed of innovation. On the latest BioCentury This Week podcast, BioCentury’s editors discuss the “NewCo Model,” who the players are, from CEOs and companies to investors; the areas of innovation the start-ups are tackling; and the evolution of the trend. (Read about the company that kicked off the trend, Arrivent, here.)
The editors also assess how personnel losses at FDA from the Trump administration’s plans to slash government payrolls are likely to cause short- and long-term harm for the agency and the drug approval process. And a new pain therapy from Vertex is in the spotlight as the CF specialist enters new turf.

View full story: https://www.biocentury.com/article/654946

00:00 - Introduction
01:20 - Asia's NewCo Model
16:22 - FDA Tipping Point
20:27 - Vertex's Pain Drug

To submit a question to BioCentury’s editors, email the BioCentury This Week team at [email protected].

Reach us by sending a text

Psychiatric drug development has had major wins over the past year-and-a-half — think Karuna Pharmaceuticals' $14 billion takeout by Bristol Myers Squibb and the subsequent launch of a new schizophrenia therapy — but targeted neuropsychiatric drug development is still in its infancy. On a special edition of the BioCentury This Week podcast, BioCentury’s editors detail the promise of precision medicine in the space and break down what recent setbacks for key players mean for next steps in the clinic. The team is joined by special guest Peter Schueler, SVP of drug development solutions, neurosciences, at ICON, who delivers takeaways from this month’s the ECNP Roadmap Meeting on Precision Psychiatry in Frankfurt and a recent white paper by ICON. This episode of BioCentury This Week was sponsored by ICON Biotech.

View full story: https://www.biocentury.com/article/654903

00:01 - Sponsor Message: ICON Biotech
02:20 - Precision Neuropsychiatry
06:39 - Insights from ICON's Peter Schueler
15:59 - Challenges in Neuropsych

To submit a question to BioCentury’s editors, email the BioCentury This Week team at [email protected].

Reach us by sending a text

BioCentury’s analysis of the technologies behind last year’s biotech series A raisers sees progress in nanoparticles, CAR cell therapies, degraders and antibody-drug conjugates. On the latest BioCentury This Week podcast, BioCentury’s editors discuss the trends spotted in 2024’s crop of more than 150 series A rounds — from top therapeutic areas and modalities to the leading investors funding the innovation.
The editors turn to Washington for takeaways from BioCentury’s “exit interview” with Patrizia Cavazzoni, the recently departed director of FDA’s Center for Drug Evaluation and Research, and checks in on FDA and NIH’s turbulent transition under Trump 2.0.
Finally, the podcast team previews BioCentury’s upcoming fourth East-West Summit, which will focus on globalizing Asia innovation and the red-hot “Newco Model” in Singapore March 3-5, and the twenty-fifth Bio€quity Europe, which will be held in Belgium in May. This episode of BioCentury This Week was sponsored by ICON Biotech.

View full story: https://www.biocentury.com/article/654837

00:01 - Sponsor Message: ICON Biotech
01:57 - Series As: Trends in Innovation
12:18 - BioCentury Conferences Preview
18:45 - Insights from FDA's Cavazzoni
21:58 - Turbulence at FDA, NIH

To submit a question to BioCentury’s editors, email the BioCentury This Week team at [email protected].

Reach us by sending a text

With political uncertainty overshadowing market sentiment going into 2025, BioCentury’s editorial team assesses the bull and bear arguments for biotech in the New Year on the BioCentury This Week podcast’s Public Markets Preview. Will continued uncertainty drive biotech sentiment in the coming months, or will the bear arguments fail to manifest, stymied by M&A and other positive factors?
In the second part of the 2025 Preview, BioCentury’s editors highlight some of the key catalysts in bispecifics, immunology and inflammatory (I&I), new modalities, and neurology and obesity they are watching in the year ahead. Finally, the editors discuss how VC firms focused on AI-driven drug development are thinking about the resources and strategies needed to turn promise into reality. This episode of BioCentury This Week was sponsored by ICON Biotech.

View full story: https://www.biocentury.com/article/654772

00:01 - Sponsor Message: ICON Biotech
02:33 - Market Uncertainty
12:50 - Biotech Catalysts
21:12 - Obesity
22:57 - Neurology
28:54 - AI: VC Perspectives

To submit a question to BioCentury’s editors, email the BioCentury This Week team at [email protected].

Reach us by sending a text

Sunshine and a stream of deals brightened the mood at this year’s J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference, offering a pleasant counterpoint to continued pessimism over the state of the capital markets. On the latest BioCentury This Week podcast, BioCentury’s editors deliver their takeaways from biotech’s annual kick-off event from megarounds and Asian newcos to the new state of M&A and pending change at FDA.

View full story: https://www.biocentury.com/article/654723

00:00 - Introduction
01:52 - Market Sentiments and Deal Expectations
04:42 - Cross-Border Deals and Asia's Growing Influence
07:12 - Neurology and Innovation in Biotech
14:44 - VC Trends and Megarounds
20:00 - Upcoming East West Singapore

To submit a question to BioCentury’s editors, email the BioCentury This Week team at [email protected].

Reach us by sending a text

J&J’s $14.6 billion takeout of neurology play Intra-cellular Therapies headlined a buzzy start to the J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference, where a flurry of deal announcements recalled the conference’s pre-pandemic days. On the latest BioCentury This Week podcast, BioCentury's editors discuss the takeout of Intra-cellular, the third 11-digit neuro M&A in the past 13 months, as well as M&A involving Idrx and GSK, and Scorpion Therapeutics and Eli Lilly. Turning to Washington, the team explores what’s behind BIO CEO John Crowley’s visit to Mar-a-Lago to meet with President-elect Donald Trump, impending changes at FDA under Trump 2.0 and key takeaways from Rep. Jake Auchincloss appearance on BCTW’s sister podcast, The BioCentury Show. The team also breaks down the key trends in the past year in FDA approvals. This episode of BioCentury This Week was sponsored by ICON Biotech.

View full story: https://www.biocentury.com/article/654694

00:01 - Sponsor Message: ICON Biotech
02:38 - JPM Deal Buzz
11:20 - Washington Update
16:08 - Rep. Auchincloss’ Take on Biopharma
21:01 - FDA Regulatory Decisions

To submit a question to BioCentury’s editors, email the BioCentury This Week team at [email protected].

Reach us by sending a text

Can biotech break free of the macro factors that have buffeted the industry of late? On the first BioCentury This Week podcast of 2025, BioCentury’s editors offer their predictions for the New Year and — exploring the themes from Simone Fishburn’s latest Letter from the Editor — ask whether biotech can overcome the financing environment, policy concerns and geopolitical tension that have been hammering the industry to deliver on the meaningful strides companies have been taking to deliver innovations to patients.
Plus, Washington Editor Steve Usdin discusses what U.S. policymakers need to do now in the wake of a year’s worth of wrangling over the Biosecure Act, and Executive Editor Selina Koch breaks down readouts from Neumora on its KOR antagonist navacaprant to treat major depressive disorder and Axsome Therapeutics for its AXS-05 to treat agitation in Alzheimer’s patients. This episode of BioCentury This Week was sponsored by ICON Biotech.

View full story: https://www.biocentury.com/article/654620

00:01 - Sponsor Message: ICON Biotech
01:51 - Biotech's Repeating Challenges
10:52 - Biotech in the New Year
23:07 - Beyond Biosecure
28:10 - Neurology Readouts

To submit a question to BioCentury’s editors, email the BioCentury This Week team at [email protected].

Reach us by sending a text

Preview: In his five decades at FDA, Robert “Bob” Temple helped revolutionize the ways medical products are developed and regulated. On the latest BioCentury This Week podcast, Washington Editor Steve Usdin reflects on the legacy of Temple. Temple, who is retiring, crafted the modern clinical trial paradigm, created the accelerated approval pathway, and set precedents for incorporating patient perspectives in regulatory decisions. Usdin also discusses the opportunities and threats for the agency under Trump 2.0.BioCentury's editors also discuss China’s academic innovation, arguing that a wave of new target biology is now coming from Chinese university labs and the underwhelming results from CagriSema’s latest readout. Phase III data for the most important weight loss candidate from  Novo Nordisk A/S (CSE:NOVO-B; NYSE:NVO) failed to differentiate the product from Eli Lilly's Zepbound.

View full story:https://www.biocentury.com/article/654574/temple-s-fda-legacy-plus-chinese-innovation-novo-obesity-data-a-biocentury-podcast

00:00 - Introduction
02:03 - Bob Temple's Legacy
16:13 - China's Academic Innovation
26:20 - CagriSema Obesity Data

To submit a question to BioCentury’s editors, email the BioCentury This Week team at [email protected].

Reach us by sending a text