Acquisition target Seagen has carved out such a differentiated portfolio of antibody-drug candidates that the company may not see much direct competition from other ADCs in the near term, BioCentury’s Lauren Martz says on the latest edition of the BioCentury This Week podcast. Martz and the BioCentury podcast team analyze how Seagen has built a pipeline around almost entirely first-in-class targets and assess how the latest cut of data for the company’s Padcev enfortumab vedotin-ejfv could broad...
Aug 02, 2022•18 min•Season 3Ep. 131
As Severin Schwan’s steady hand on the tiller of Roche passes to another insider, BioCentury’s podcast team examines how initiatives during the outgoing CEO’s tenure, including those related to digital and data science, handed a solid deck of cards to diagnostics head Thomas Schinecker as he takes on the top job at the Swiss pharma. Plus: Washington Editor Steve Usdin assesses Sen. Richard Burr’s attempt to deliver a “clean” user fee bill, pharma and biotech executives’ chances to revise the dru...
Jul 25, 2022•20 min•Season 3Ep. 130
Sen. Richard Burr’s new approach to a critical medical products user fee bill funding FDA must be taken seriously because the clock is ticking, and it’s ticking loudly, Washington Editor Steve Usdin said on the latest BioCentury This Week podcast. Usdin explains why Burr has introduced the bare-bones legislation and what’s at stake for industry in the weeks ahead. BioCentury's editors also discuss FDA’s neurodegeneration blueprint, clinical updates in ALS from Clene and base editing from Verve, ...
Jul 19, 2022•21 min•Season 3Ep. 129
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 whet...
Jul 12, 2022•23 min•Season 3Ep. 128
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...
Jul 06, 2022•29 min•Season 3Ep. 127
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 sponsore...
Jun 28, 2022•26 min•Season 3Ep. 126
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 consi...
Jun 21, 2022•25 min•Season 3Ep. 125
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 t...
Jun 13, 2022•27 min•Season 3Ep. 124
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Jun 08, 2022•21 min•Season 3Ep. 123
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 breat...
Jun 07, 2022•26 min•Season 3Ep. 122
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...
Jun 01, 2022•22 min•Season 3Ep. 121
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...
May 23, 2022•21 min•Season 3Ep. 120
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...
May 19, 2022•20 min•Season 3Ep. 119
Even as industry is facing a global talent crunch, Europe’s biotechs have it better than ever, Medicxi’s Francesco De Rubertis said on a special edition of the BioCentury This Week podcast recapping the first two days of the Bio€quity Europe conference in Milan. He and MSD’s Khatereh Ahmadi joined the BioCentury podcast team to discuss the battle for top talent and the state of deal-making amid the ongoing downturn. This week’s podcast is sponsored by MSD (Merck & Co. Inc. in the U.S.), whos...
May 18, 2022•23 min•Season 3Ep. 118
The sale of a minority stake in Sofinnova Partners to PE firm Apollo will allow the European VC to grow while retaining its independence. Fresh off a conversation with Sofinnova’s Antoine Papiernik, Associate Editor Stephen Hansen explains the 50-year-old firm’s proactive approach to finding a partner among private equity firms and what’s next for the firm now that it has more financial firepower. The podcast team also discusses the latest translational tidbits from BioCentury’s Distillery, the ...
May 17, 2022•22 min•Season 3Ep. 117
Industry’s dueling headwinds of capital and talent are the focus of this year’s Bio€quity Europe meeting, and in a special episode of BioCentury This Week, two veterans of the burgeoning Italian life sciences ecosystem, Sofinnova Partners' Graziano Seghezzi & Ambrosetti's Corrado Panzeri, say the country’s biotech sector now has the capital and networks to weather the storm. Reach us by sending a text
May 12, 2022•22 min•Season 3Ep. 116
The House Energy & Commerce Committee has a bipartisan deal on reauthorizing FDA user fees that sets the parameters for FDA reforms, including enhancing accelerated approval and improving clinical trial diversity — but how much will the legislation change in the coming months and how? On the latest BioCentury This Week podcast, BioCentury’s editors discuss the requirements for FDA, HHS, sponsors and other stakeholders that would come into effect under the House’s proposed user fee legislatio...
May 10, 2022•18 min•Season 3Ep. 115
Chinese biotechs face regulatory delays for their therapies due to pandemic-related barriers to inspections by Western regulators and FDA’s reluctance to accept China-only data. On the latest BioCentury This Week podcast, BioCentury’s editors discuss why a setback for surufatinib from Hutchmed could be a sign of things to come for its China peers. The podcast team also analyzes a flurry of FDA activity and assesses what the IPO by vaccine play HilleVax says about the market for fresh paper. This...
May 03, 2022•21 min•Season 3Ep. 114
The first clinical data from Nkarta’s CAR natural killer cell platform add to the growing evidence that a CAR may provide the efficacy boost NK cell therapies have needed. BioCentury's editors analyze the significance of the data, which drove a 141% gain in the biotech's stock. They also discuss the biopharma legacy of the late Sen. Orrin Hatch, how biopharma companies are coping with the extended lockdown in Shanghai, and takeaways from J.P. Morgan’s Mike Gaito appearance on The BioCentury Show...
Apr 26, 2022•21 min•Season 3Ep. 113
Long-awaited proof of concept for AstraZeneca’s PARP-1-selective therapy opens the door to combination strategies previously limited by hematopoietic toxicity, Senior Editor Karen Tkach Tuzman says on the latest edition of BioCentury This Week. Tkach Tuzman surveys data from the growing DNA damage repair (DDR) field from this year’s American Association for Cancer Research meeting, and the team also discusses the legacy of outgoing NCI Director Ned Sharpless, concerns over McKinsey's work for FD...
Apr 19, 2022•20 min•Season 3Ep. 112
Positive fund flows and modestly better performance by biotech indexes offer hints that the beginnings of a recovery could be possible in the near term, even as the financing drought grinds on. On a BioCentury This Week Special Report, BioCentury’s editors discuss the conditions, including clinical catalysts and M&A, that could spark a recovery for the biopharma sector. This week’s podcast is sponsored by Bio€quity Europe . Reach us by sending a text...
Apr 14, 2022•18 min•Season 3Ep. 111
BioCentury's editors break down CMS’s final coverage decision on amyloid mAbs for Alzheimer’s disease, focusing on what the lessons are from Aduhelm’s journey through FDA and CMS, and what sponsors of the next crop of Alzheimer's therapies should expect when seeking approval of their programs. Plus: highlights from the latest translational coverage in BioCentury’s Distillery, a call from FDA’s Patrizia Cavazzoni for increased funding to support regulatory innovation, and takeaways from Editor in...
Apr 12, 2022•24 min•Season 3Ep. 110
Novartis is prioritizing “high-value,” multibillion-dollar assets as it reorganizes. On the latest BioCentury This Week podcast, BioCentury’s editors discuss the Swiss pharma’s plans to reunite its oncology unit with the rest of its pharma business and carve out a new C-suite post to oversee strategy and growth. Plus: how Merck KGaA is changing the way it is building its pipeline following late-stage clinical disappointments and what to look for at the upcoming Association for Cancer Research (A...
Apr 05, 2022•20 min•Season 3Ep. 109
AACR is just around the corner, and new data being presented at the conference details how stakeholders are improving the specificity of CAR T therapies in solid tumors and improving their ability to penetrate the tumor microenvironment. Plus, BioCentury’s editors discuss the upcoming FDA advisory committee for ALS therapy AMX0035 from Amylyx, including FDA’s stance on the efficacy data and the challenges around weighing the safety of a therapy for a patient community in desperate search of new ...
Mar 29, 2022•19 min•Season 3Ep. 108
The importance of FDA’s approval of Bristol Myers' LAG3 inhibitor Opdualag nivolumab/relatlimab for melanoma, the pharma’s disruptive marketing strategy and what’s next among checkpoints in the clinic headline the latest BioCentury This Week podcast . BioCentury's editors also discuss why there’s still a lot of excitement regarding the IL-2 cancer pipeline despite last week’s setback for Nektar Therapeutics and the paths less traveled to raising money as the downturn grinds on. This week’s podca...
Mar 22, 2022•21 min•Season 3Ep. 107
Chinese immuno-oncology companies are changing how they interact with FDA as they seek approval of PD-1 programs. On this episode of BioCentury This Week, BioCentury’s editors discuss takeaways from a survey of CEOs and R&D heads developing PD-1 or PD-L1 inhibitors about what’s next for their programs. The team also previews translational data expected at next month’s meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) and legislation making its way through Congress as the House E...
Mar 15, 2022•22 min•Season 3Ep. 106
War Pulls Biotech to Ukraine, Out of Russia: BioCentury's editors look at how the worsening crisis in Ukraine is affecting the global life sciences community, and discuss the challenges and tactics for removing Russian capital from biotech VC funds and the takeaways form a Guest Commentary by 4BIO Capital’s Dima Kuzmin that calls for a thoughtful approach to economic disengagement from Russia. Plus: what highly anticipated TROPiCS-02 data means for Gilead's Trodelvy sacituzumab govitecan-hziy an...
Mar 08, 2022•22 min•Season 3Ep. 105
Industry leaders have vowed to disengage with Russia until it stops its invasion of Ukraine and respects its neighbor’s sovereignty. What's the likely impact of their pledge and what are the implications of the crisis in Ukraine for biopharma companies around the globe? Plus: Assessing the latest cut of data for Intellia's pioneering in vivo CRISPR-Cas9 therapy and key takeaways from Washington Editor Steve Usdin’s conversation with ICER’s Steve Pearson on The BioCentury Show . This week’s podca...
Mar 01, 2022•22 min•Season 3Ep. 104
Newly confirmed FDA commissioner Rob Califf will be prioritizing a proactive communications strategy, including combating misinformation about science, whilst guiding FDA through the pandemic and trying to keep the agency above Washington’s political fray. Plus, BioCentury’s editors discuss how late-stage investors are adapting to biotech’s bull market and Amgen’s application of its rapid development strategy to its pipeline. Sponsored by Jeito Capital, a global leading investment company with a...
Feb 23, 2022•23 min•Season 3Ep. 103
FDA and its advisory panel of oncology experts have repudiated the use of China-only data for regulatory submissions in the U.S. How will China's cancer companies adjust to this new regulatory environment? Plus, BioCentury's editors discuss the upcoming vote on Rob Califf, President Biden's nominee to become the next FDA commissioner, and the latest translational trends in cancer, infectious and neurology as identified BioCentury's Distillery. Sponsored by ICON, the clinical research organizatio...
Feb 15, 2022•21 min•Season 3Ep. 102
