We totaled the salaries, stock options and bonuses awarded to various medtech CEOs to figure out who the highest paid chiefs were. And our top 10 list saw a few ups and downs over the past year. We'll hear from Connor Hale and Andrea Park as they discuss medtech's highest paid CEOs.

Also in this episode, we cover the week's biggest headlines including Theranos' COO's jail sentence, highlights from the American Society of Hematology annual meeting, and an update on the Horizon Therapudics bidding war. 

To learn more about topics in this episode:

• Fierce JPM Week 
• The top 10 highest-paid medtech CEOs
• Fierce Biotech's ASH 2022 Coverage
• Fierce Pharma's ASH 2022 Coverage
• Theranos' Sunny Balwani lands 13-year fraud sentence after ex-partner Elizabeth Holmes gets 11 years
• Watch out, Amgen. Mirati kicks off KRAS showdown with FDA approval for Krazati 
• FDA advisers nix Cytokinetics' heart failure med, rejecting argument for subgroup use 
• Buyout on Horizon: Amgen floats $28B offer for rare disease drug maker as Sanofi exits bidding war 
• Sanofi started—and lost—$28B bidding war for Horizon. Is the company's M&A appetite still rumbling? 
• AstraZeneca, Biogen, Daiichi, Lundbeck, UCB all hit with drug marketing breaches, but highest censure reserved for Novo Nordisk

"The Top Line" is produced by senior multimedia producer Teresa Carey with managing editor Querida Anderson and senior editors Annalee Armstrong, Ben Adams, Conor Hale and Eric Sagonowsky. The sound engineer is Caleb Hodgson. The stories are by all our “Fierce” journalists. Like and subscribe wherever you listen to your podcasts.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Last week, senior editor Annalee Armstrong and staff writer Gabrielle Mason covered the Clinical Trials on Alzheimer’s Disease conference. We'll hear from them as they discuss the latest news and what surprised them.  

Also in this episode, we cover the week's biggest headlines including an investigation into Neuralink, Google’s DeepMind and why things aren't working out for PI3Ks.

To learn more about topics in this episode:

• Eisai, Biogen rocked by 2nd lecanemab death report ahead of Alzheimer's data reveal
• Facing a familiar side effect problem, Eisai makes the case for its next Alzheimer's drug after patient deaths
• Roche thins Alzheimer's program after phase 3 failure, may seek 'external partnerships'
• A winner is crowned in head-to-head Alzheimer's battle between Biogen's Aduhelm and Lilly
• Neuralink under federal investigation for animal testing practices: Reuters
• Elon Musk claims Neuralink is 6 months from implanting brain-computer interfaces in humans—and, someday, he'll be one of them
• 'Troubling' study finds Google's kidney disease-predicting AI performs worse in women—and may not have a quick fix
• In fresh blow to floundering PI3K space, FDA feedback drives MEI, Kyowa to halt blood cancer program
• Rigel scores green light in AML just 4 months after buying asset from Forma
• UPDATED: J&J bows out of Horizon bid as Amgen and Sanofi eye cash plays for rare disease drugmaker
• Pfizer plots €1.2B investment—and up to 500 new jobs—at Irish manufacturing plant
• Fierce JPM Week

"The Top Line" is produced by senior multimedia producer Teresa Carey with managing editor Querida Anderson and senior editors Annalee Armstrong, Ben Adams, Conor Hale and Eric Sagonowsky. The sound engineer is Caleb Hodgson. The stories are by all our “Fierce” journalists. Like and subscribe wherever you listen to your podcasts.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Biogen recently named Christopher Viehbacher its new CEO, ending a monthslong search to replace Michel Vounatsos. Fraiser Kansteiner and Kevin Dunleavy talk about the current state of the company and recent investor reactions to the new hire. Plus, they discuss a string of other biopharma CEO appointments. 

And, in this episode, we cover the week's news including what Albert Bourla, Ph.D., said that has him in hot water along with a $3.5 million drug, and we tease a possible major acquisition. 

To learn more about topics in this episode:

• Biogen's incoming CEO Viehbacher gets mixed reviews—and lots of advice—in investor survey 
• Sporting a $3.5M price tag, CSL and uniQure's hemophilia B gene therapy crosses FDA finish line 
• Eisai, Biogen rocked by 2nd lecanemab death report ahead of Alzheimer's data reveal 
• Facing a familiar side effect problem, Eisai makes the case for its next Alzheimer's drug after patient deaths
• Amgen, J&J and Sanofi size up Horizon as Big Pharma renews interest in rare disease M&A 
• Pfizer CEO Bourla stung by UK's pharma marketing regulator over kids' COVID vax claims: report 
• GE Healthcare unveils AI program bundle for simplified MRI scans
• Philips unveils AI-powered platform to improve diagnoses from imaging scans

"The Top Line" is produced by senior multimedia producer Teresa Carey with managing editor Querida Anderson and senior editors Annalee Armstrong, Ben Adams, Conor Hale and Eric Sagonowsky. The sound engineer is Caleb Hodgson. The stories are by all our “Fierce” journalists. Like and subscribe wherever you listen to your podcasts.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Learn how Slope’s eClinical Supply Chain Management platform provides robust technology to the clinical trial space, covering all areas of supply management without losing sight of the chain of custody.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This week on "The Top Line," we discuss 2022’s Fiercest Women in Life Science honorees. Each year, we spotlight women who are leading the way in life sciences—women who stand out as leaders, innovators and mentors. We’ll hear from Andrea Park and Querida Anderson on what it took to make the cut for this year's class of fiercest women in life sciences. Plus, this week's headlines. 

To learn more about topics in this episode:

• 2022's Fiercest Women in Life Sciences
• Eli Lilly issues rare apology as fake Twitter Blue account proclaims free insulin for all
• Eli Lilly pulls Twitter ads after blue check fallout: report
• Roche's anti-amyloid antibody gantenerumab fails phase 3 in major blow to Alzheimer's ambitions
• NFL expands head injury research project using impact-tracking mouthguards, as concussion protocols come under fire
• Mayo Clinic launches digital referee for spotting potential bias in healthcare AI programs
• Four decades in, ImmunoGen gets landmark green light in advanced ovarian cancer
• Sanofi, GSK crash the COVID-19 vaccine party late with a world-first nod for their next-gen booster

"The Top Line" is produced by senior multimedia producer Teresa Carey with managing editor Querida Anderson and senior editors Annalee Armstrong, Ben Adams, Conor Hale and Eric Sagonowsky. The sound engineer is Caleb Hodgson. The stories are by all our “Fierce” journalists. Like and subscribe wherever you listen to your podcasts.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This week on "The Top Line," we'll share highlights from the Cell & Gene Therapy Forum. Lack of access and multimillion-dollar costs have stirred debate over the appropriate price of potentially lifesaving cell and gene therapies. Fierce’s Max Bayer spoke with a panel of stakeholders at the forum. They discussed the state of play for cell and gene therapies and how they can become a genuine game changer for the many, not the few. We also talk with executives from Poseida Therapeutics and AviadoBio. 

To learn more about topics in this episode:

• Zolgensma for dementia? AviadoBio gains orphan tag for one-dose gene therapy 
• Poseida taps former Novartis VP as president of gene therapy 
• Fierce Biotech Summit: Disruptive gene technology is here—and society seems willing to pay for it
• Fierce Biotech Cell & Gene Forum

"The Top Line" is produced by senior multimedia producer Teresa Carey with managing editor Querida Anderson and senior editors Annalee Armstrong, Ben Adams, Conor Hale and Eric Sagonowsky. The sound engineer is Caleb Hodgson. The stories are by all our “Fierce” journalists. Like and subscribe wherever you listen to your podcasts.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

After more than a year of respirator recalls, it’s probably no surprise that Philips reported lower-than-expected revenues for the third quarter of this year. But that announcement also came with the revelation that the company is now laying off 4,000 workers and planning for even more restructuring. Fierce Medtech's Andrea Park discusses this latest news and digs into the long line of problems that led to this decision.

Philips' downward slide started last June, with the recall of CPAP and BiPAP machines used to treat sleep apnea. As of this July, the FDA tallied 168 related deaths, and as of mid-October there were at least 342 pending class action cases against the company.

• Philips cuts 4,000 jobs, with more restructuring on the way, amid slipping sales and rising costs
• With FDA decision penciled in for May, GSK powers ahead in RSV race with Pfizer
• Johnson & Johnson doles out $16.6B to snatch up miniaturized heart pump maker Abiomed
• Thermo Fisher ties up $2.6B deal for cancer diagnostics maker The Binding Site
• Alkermes joins Bristol Myers in IL-2 exit with oncology business spinoff
• Pfizer boosts COVID vaccine projection to $34B on the back of strong Comirnaty haul

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

It’s earnings season again. Biogen offered a look at its second foray into Alzheimer’s disease during its investor call, but listeners were still left dubious. All eyes—and ears—are on whether its lecanemab partnership with Eisai can outperform the ill-fated Aduhelm. In this episode, we chat about what went down during the earnings presentation, including rumors of a shaky relationship between the two drugmakers.

We also explore AstraZeneca finally claiming an FDA approval for its long-troubled cancer immunotherapy Imjudo. The CTLA-4 drug has failed more than a few trials among different tumors over the years, and, now, it will enter a crowded and highly competitive liver cancer market. 

• UPDATED: Biogen insists Eisai relationship 'solid' as questions remain over lecanemab commercialization
• Despite Aduhelm cost cuts, Biogen still has Alzheimer's manufacturing firepower on deck, CFO says
• AstraZeneca's Imjudo finally snags first approval—only in an ever-crowded liver cancer field
• AIDS advocacy group hits out at 'Greediad' Gilead for drug pricing hikes
• J&J's BCMA bispecific Tecvayli wins FDA approval in multiple myeloma—but as a late-line therapy
• Medtronic to spin out respiratory, patient monitoring divisions amid flagging ventilator sales
• Sumitomo nets Myovant in $2.9B buyout, adding IVF asset to pipeline

"The Top Line" is produced by senior multimedia producer Teresa Carey with managing editor Querida Anderson and senior editors Annalee Armstrong, Ben Adams, Conor Hale and Eric Sagonowsky. The sound engineer is Caleb Hodgson. The stories are by all our “Fierce” journalists. Like and subscribe wherever you listen to your podcasts.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We just released a special report on the top 10 vaccine companies. We haven’t published this report since 2017, when we only profiled five manufacturers. But five years and one COVID pandemic later, that order has been completely shuffled with many new faces. It’s clear that the vaccine industry is changing fast. In today's episode we'll discuss those global rankings, plus this week's headlines.

To learn more about topics in this episode: 

• The top 10 vaccine companies worldwide
• Pfizer takes Vyndaqel copay fight to Supreme Court, decrying 'staggeringly overbroad' anti-kickback rule
• Atara on verge of landmark approval for first allogeneic T-cell therapy
• J&J sets sights on $60B in pharma sales by 2025, targets 8 brands to deliver growth
• As FDA rule takes effect, Lucid Hearing launches over-the-counter line of hearing aids

The Top Line is produced by senior multimedia producer Teresa Carey with managing editor Querida Anderson and senior editors Annalee Armstrong, Ben Adams, Conor Hale and Eric Sagonowsky. The sound engineer is Caleb Hodgson. The stories are by all our “Fierce” journalists. Like and subscribe wherever you listen to your podcasts.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The world’s most productive biopharmas have gone through some major changes in the past five years. In Fierce Pharma’s latest analysis, BioNTech and Moderna beat their biopharma peers with the highest 2021 revenues per employee. The 2021 cohort as a whole showed improved productivity over 2016, although several companies experienced declines. In this episode, we'll discuss our special report on the most productive pharmas.

Also under discussion is Biogen's tumultuous year, which was spurred by its disastrous Alzheimer’s disease drug launch. Now Biogen is reportedly considering Theravance co-founder Mathai Mammen , M.D., Ph.D>, as its new CEO. The company supposedly wants to emphasize scientific know-how in choosing its next leader. 

To learn more about topics in this episode: 

• The top 10 most productive biopharma companies
• J&J research vet Mathai Mammen a top contender in Biogen's hunt for a new CEO: Stat
• Merck nails phase 3 sotatercept win, making good on its $11.5B Acceleron buy
• AstraZeneca's COVID-19 nasal vaccine spray comes up a bust in small study
• Fitbit embeds health, activity data into Pretaa's substance abuse recovery app
• Merck & Co., in busy morning, taps Moderna's therapeutic cancer vaccine, Royalty in schizophrenia deal 
• Orthofix, SeaSpine to combine into $700M orthopedics player in merger of equals

The Top Line is produced by senior multimedia producer Teresa Carey with managing editor Querida Anderson and senior editors Annalee Armstrong, Ben Adams, Conor Hale and Eric Sagonowsky. The sound engineer is Caleb Hodgson. The stories are by all our “Fierce” journalists. Like and subscribe wherever you listen to your podcasts.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.