BioSpace

It was another busy week! Bayer reduced its executive suite from 14 to 8 as part of a major restructuring.

Meanwhile, the government announced it will pay for Wegovy for patients with heart disease after the Novo Nordisk therapy was approved earlier this month for the cardiovascular indication.

Plus, Mirador’s emergence from stealth and the FDA’s approval of the third therapy for Duchenne muscular dystrophy in less than a year.

This week, we're talking money! Following the release of BioSpace's 2024 Salary Report, we discuss salary trends and how they are impacting the biopharma workforce. Considering growth rates, we also discuss asking for raises vs looking for a new job and what salary trends may spell out for the rest of the year.

Guest

Chantal Dresner, VP of Marketing, BioSpace

Angela Gabriel, Content Manager - Careers, BioSpace

Host 

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Lori Ellis⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, Head of Insights, BioSpace  

Phew, what a week!

One of the most anticipated FDA decisions of the year dropped last week when the regulator approved Madrigal’s Rezdiffra as the first therapy for MASH (formerly known as NASH).  

Then on Friday, BioSpace kept a close eye on an advisory committee discussing J&J’s Carvykti and BMS’s Abecma, two CAR-T therapies seeking label expansions as earlier lines of treatment in multiple myeloma despite the risk of early death.

Also discussed: BIO’s decision from last week to cut ties with the China-based biotech WuXi AppTec. 

Continuing on from our previous episode "The gap is where the pain is", this episode focuses on a healthy discussion regarding the IRA, particularly the unintended consequences to small molecule development within the industry and for patients.

Topics explored in this discussion are potential reasons behind the small molecule negotiation timeline decision, the antibody drug conjugates (ADC) boom, the investment environment, and positive steps the government is making through legislation to equalize the negotiation timeline.

Host 

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Lori Ellis⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, Head of Insights, BioSpace  

Guests

⁠Ali Pashazadeh⁠, CEO,Treehill Partners

⁠Dan Smithey⁠, President, CEO and Co-founder, Serán BioScience

⁠Matthew Price⁠, COO and Co-founder, Promontory Therapeutics

⁠Peter Rubin⁠, Executive Director, No Patient Left Behind

⁠Rob Williamson⁠, President and COO, Triumvira Immunologics

The weight loss market is the gift that keeps on giving—at least for Novo Nordisk—as Wegovy continues to demonstrate its prowess with label expansion.

Also discussed: biosimilar approvals for Fresenius Kabi, and Sandoz.

More news at the forefront of Alzheimer's treatment: Eli Lilly's donanemab decision date got pushed and now the FDA wants to discuss the drug’s safety and efficacy at an upcoming adcomm.

And finally, politics: President Biden's State of the Union address ruffles feathers as he strikes out at Big Pharma and drug prices, and how the industry is reacting to the election.

These days you can hardly move without figuratively bumping into antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs). This week we discuss Pfizer's strategic priorities for oncology - focused on ADCs and less on small molecules - and how the market is being influenced by the IRA.

When it comes to drug pricing, there have been (and are) bad actors in the industry, but the conversation usually ends there. Five KOLs from different parts of the industry come together to discuss the complexities surrounding drug spend and pricing, innovation, funding, and the overall healthcare system. This episode explores the drug pricing gap between consumer experience and industry norms. Join Lori and our KOLs as we explore the drivers of healthcare costs, the CBO, rebates, and overall spend in this new series.

Host 

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Lori Ellis⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, Head of Insights, BioSpace  

Guests

Ali Pashazadeh, CEO,Treehill Partners

Dan Smithey, President, CEO and Co-founder, Serán BioScience

Matthew Price, COO and Co-founder, Promontory Therapeutics

Peter Rubin, Executive Director, No Patient Left Behind

Rob Williamson, President and COO, Triumvira Immunologics

This week Lori, Greg and Tyler discuss AbbVie: how longtime CEO Richard Gonzalez navigated Humira's LOE, his victorious retirement announcement, and the future of biosimilars.

Also discussed: Earlybird Health's $186m VC fund; and definitely not the IRA.

This week Lori, Greg and Tyler discuss the Accelerated Approval of Amtagvi, the first one-time cell therapy for solid tumors and the first TIL therapy; the FTC and HHS probe into generic drug shortages and some recent ADC-focused raises from ProfoundBio and Firefly Bio.

This week, Greg, Heather and Tyler discuss reaction to Novo Nordisk's purchase of Catalent and speculate on what that means for existing manufacturing contracts, customers and consequences with regulators; as well as discussion around the ongoing issues with drug shortages and manufacturing challenges and whether it the move will help accelerate manufacturing for Wegovy and Ozempic.

Plus, what's next for Alzheimer's treatment following Biogen's withdrawal of Aduhelm?

As mentioned in this episode: you can subscribe to ClinicaSpace for our latest special edition on Leqembi.