Huntington’s disease was long thought to be caused by the slow buildup of a toxic protein, but new research has revealed that it’s actually driven by the expansion of a gene that, at a certain length, triggers quick neuron death. In this week’s episode of The Top Line, we hear from Steven McCarroll, Ph.D., a Huntington’s disease researcher at the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, whose team recently published that research in the journal Cell. McCarroll joins Fierce Biotech’s Darren Incorvaia ...
Feb 28, 2025•19 min
Clinical-stage drug development offers big rewards—and big risks. To that end, Fierce Biotech recently published its annual roundup of several of the most eye-catching trial failures of the preceding year. The 2024 list includes trial flops from the likes of AbbVie, Novo Nordisk, Pfizer and more, with reports of disappointing results in many tough-to-treat indications, including schizophrenia and Alzheimer's disease. In this week’s episode of The Top Line, we dive into the report. Fierce Biotech...
Feb 21, 2025•10 min
Valentine’s Day represents a perfect opportunity to highlight news and updates from across biopharma that have hearts all aflutter. In this week’s episode of “The Top Line,” we do just that, fueled by heart puns and holiday candy. Fierce’s Gabrielle Masson and Andrea Park discuss a new heart-focused biotech that recently emerged with $300 million and a cardiovascular drug that’s been named one of the most anticipated launches of 2025, as well as several other stories they’ve loved covering this ...
Feb 14, 2025•12 min
If Fierce Pharma Marketing’s annual list of the top 10 biggest potential drug launches of the coming year is any indication, biopharma may soon be in for a blockbuster boom. All together, the 10 meds that made the 2025 list stand to generate a whopping $29 billion in annual sales by the end of the decade. In this week’s episode of The Top Line, we dig into the report’s predictions. Fierce’s Andrea Park and Eric Sagonowsky take a deep dive into the top three drugs on the list—all of which had alr...
Feb 07, 2025•14 min
During a panel discussion at this year’s Fierce JPM Week—which took place alongside the annual J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference in San Francisco—industry experts broke down what it takes to pull off a successful biotech IPO in the current market. This week’s episode of The Top Line dives into the discussion, featuring Fierce Biotech’s Gabrielle Masson as moderator, joined by Septerna CEO and co-founder Jeffrey Finer, M.D., Ph.D.; Rapport Therapeutics Chief Financial Officer Troy Ignelzi; Sofinn...
Jan 31, 2025•34 min
This year’s edition of the annual J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference has come to a close, with attendees enjoying sunny skies and a heavy police presence throughout the San Francisco-set event. In this week’s episode of The Top Line, Fierce Pharma’s Zoey Becker and Angus Liu join Fierce Biotech’s Darren Incorvaia to break down the biggest news stories out of the conference. From Johnson & Johnson’s blockbuster acquisition of Intra-Cellular Therapies to former First Lady Jill Biden’s appearanc...
Jan 24, 2025•21 min
Following the strange year for the biopharma industry that was 2024, insiders and analysts alike are waiting expectantly to see how trends in layoffs, drug shortages, clinical trials and more play out in 2025. Meanwhile, a second Trump term and a spree of related health agency nominations raise serious questions about how health policy could shift over the next 12 months and beyond. In this week’s episode of “The Top Line,” we explore the trends that defined the industry in 2024 and tackle predi...
Jan 17, 2025•25 min
Arun Krishna, Vice President and franchise head for an AstraZeneca US OBU, shares details of a treatment option with TAGRISSO® (osimertinib). AstraZeneca is focused on the development of new treatments, prioritizing researching options in eligible patients. Listen to the full podcast episode to learn more. Please see Important Safety Information for TAGRISSO. Please see complete Prescribing Information , including Patient Information for TAGRISSO. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy informat...
Jan 10, 2025•14 min
A review of the FDA’s drug approvals of 2024 shows that small companies loomed large—both in the sheer number of nods gained and the significance of the new drugs and biologics that these firms are bringing to the market. In this week’s episode of “The Top Line,” we take a deep dive into the FDA’s list of drugs that were approved in 2024. Fierce Pharma’s Kevin Dunleavy and Eric Sagonowsky discuss why biotechs emerged with more approvals than large drugmakers and which new drugs figure to have th...
Jan 10, 2025•13 min
In this week’s episode of "The Top Line," we bring you a special conversation from earlier this month at our New York City gala, where we celebrated this year’s Fierce 50 honorees. On stage, five extraordinary leaders shared their insights, experiences, and bold ideas shaping the future of healthcare and beyond. These honorees represent the five categories of this year’s Fierce 50: health equity, innovation, social impact, breakthroughs and patient advocacy. Each honoree brings powerful insights...
Dec 20, 2024•40 min
GLP-1 agonists have taken the pharma world by storm, and Novo Nordisk has been at the forefront of it all with its blockbuster drug semaglutide, which it sells as Ozempic, Wegovy and Rybelsus. Semaglutide and other GLP-1s have gained widespread popularity as treatments for Type 2 diabetes and obesity, and it doesn’t stop there—they’re currently being tested in a wide variety of additional therapeutic areas and in new dosages and forms. In this week’s episode of “The Top Line,” Fierce’s James Wal...
Dec 13, 2024•33 min
After a promising start to the year, the biotech IPO market picked up steam again late this summer, with notable offerings from companies like Upstream, Septerna and BioAge. But what does this mean for the sector? Is market enthusiasm truly returning, or are we just seeing a temporary rebound? To unpack these questions and look ahead to 2025, Fierce Biotech’s James Waldron chatted with Adam Farlow, Global Chair of Baker McKenzie’s Capital Markets Practice Group. To learn more about the topics in...
Dec 06, 2024•15 min
Every year, Fierce’s pharma, biotech, and medtech teams come together to spotlight some of the fiercest women in life sciences—leaders who are transforming the industry with their innovation and impact. This year, our special report celebrates 10 women driving change in clinical research, business development, venture capital, and beyond. In this week's episode of "The Top Line," Fierce’s Andrea Park and Gabrielle Masson share the stories that stood out, the breakthroughs these women are champio...
Nov 22, 2024•13 min
Last month, the NIH announced that it had found evidence of research misconduct by Eliezer Masliah, M.D., the head of the neuroscience division at the National Institute on Aging. The NIH announcement coincided with the Sept. 26 publication of an investigation by Science, finding that 132 papers published by Masliah appear to contain manipulated images. In this week’s episode of “The Top Line,” Fierce Biotech’s Darren Incorvaia dives into this issue with Matthew Schrag, M.D., Ph.D., a neuroscien...
Nov 15, 2024•15 min
Each year, we dive into the world of biotech closures and layoffs, tracking the industry’s pulse as companies navigate high risks and harsh realities. In this week's episode of "The Top Line," Fierce editors Gabrielle Masson and Andrea Park take a closer look at this year’s biotech graveyard, which tracks biotechs that have shuttered or are in the process of winding down. They also discuss how we identify these closures, the trends we’re seeing and what might be in store as the year wraps up. To...
Nov 08, 2024•12 min
As the 2024 U.S. presidential election nears, the choice between Democratic nominee Vice President Kamala Harris and Republican nominee former President Donald Trump will shape the future of drug pricing policy. While both candidates have pledged to reduce drug costs, their approaches are likely to differ significantly. In this week's episode of "The Top Line," Fierce Pharma's Zoey Becker chats with John Barkett, managing director of BRG’s healthcare transactions and strategy practice and former...
Nov 01, 2024•17 min
Discover how Turbine Simulated Cell Technologies is transforming drug development by addressing biases in training data. Guests Bence Szalai, MD, PhD, and Istvan Taisz, MD, PhD, share insights on the challenges of biased AI models in biology and introduce their groundbreaking framework, EFFECT (Evaluation Framework for Predicting Efficacy of Cancer Treatment). Learn how Turbine's innovative bias detector ensures meaningful predictions, enhancing the accuracy of drug response models. Explore thei...
Oct 28, 2024•18 min
EY recently published their 18th annual Pulse of the MedTech Industry report, highlighting how—despite steadily rising profits year-over-year—devicemakers large and small are still being squeezed by the cost of doing business and waning investor enthusiasm. During AdvaMed’s MedTech Conference this month in Toronto, John Babbitt, partner on the life sciences team at EY, chatted with Fierce Medtech’s Conor Hale about the team's findings and shared what he heard from other executive attendees on th...
Oct 25, 2024•20 min
At this year’s Fierce Biotech Summit in Boston, we caught up with leaders in the biotech industry who have been recognized as past Fierce 15 honorees. These private biotechs have made significant contributions to their field, and their groundbreaking work is shaping the industry's future. Fierce Biotech’s Gabrielle Masson sat down with Liang Schweizer, Ph.D. founder, chairperson and CEO of HiFiBiO Therapeutics; Adam Friedman, M.D., Ph.D., CEO of Scorpion Therapeutics; and Debanjan Ray CEO of Syn...
Oct 18, 2024•33 min
In this episode, we dive into the world of gene therapy logistics with Cryoport Systems' innovative Elite Ultra Cold shipping system. Mike Dybicz and Khoa Tran are in the hotseat to discuss how their solution addresses critical challenges in transporting temperature-sensitive gene therapies. The pair explain how Cryoport Elite offers extended hold times, exceeding industry standards to ensure therapy viability during unexpected delays. Here, its unique payload holding system provides consistent ...
Oct 14, 2024•24 min
The neuroscience sector has seen a surge in investment over the past year, leading to breakthroughs and high-stakes deals, especially in the closing months of 2023. This momentum shows no signs of slowing, as companies continue to push boundaries in neuroscience and psychiatric disease research. At this year's Fierce Biotech Summit on Oct. 1, pharma staff writer, Fraiser Kansteiner, sat down with a panel of industry leaders to explore the latest trends, groundbreaking discoveries and the next bi...
Oct 11, 2024•40 min
Since the introduction of the BIOSECURE Act in January, named companies and U.S.-based biopharmas alike have speculated on what the legislation could mean for the life sciences industry. In this week's episode of "The Top Line," Fierce Pharma staff writer Fraiser Kansteiner sits down with Arnold & Porter’s Life Sciences practice chair Dan Kracov to discuss the broader implications of the bill, and what the likely next steps are for the legislation to become law. Kracov also breaks down what ...
Oct 04, 2024•20 min
At the recent World Conference on Lung Cancer and European Society for Medical Oncology annual meetings, two packages of lung cancer data from a partnership between Akeso and Summit Therapeutics and another collaboration between iTeos Therapeutics and GSK showed much promise of disrupting the current standard of care. But they also drew some questions and debate. In this week's episode of “The Top Line,” Angus Liu from Fierce Pharma and Gabrielle Masson from Fierce Biotech discuss the key issues...
Sep 27, 2024•23 min
In this week's episode of "The Top Line," we’re recapping and discussing the major trends from Digitial Pharma East, which took place in Philadelphia last week. The event brought together marketing experts from across the life sciences industry. Fierce Pharma Marketing's Andrea Park and Ben Adams talk about major trends from the event that came up in conversations, including the complicated current attitudes toward artificial intelligence in this space. They also highlight some winners of the an...
Sep 20, 2024•8 min
In this week's episode of "The Top Line," we will dive into the annual Fierce 50 special report. We share the stories of a select few 2024 Fierce 50 honorees and interesting highlights from this year's special report. To learn more about the topics in this episode: Fierce 50 of 2024 Innovation Honorees Health Equity Honorees Social Impact Honorees Breakthroughs Honorees Patient Advocacy Honorees See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information....
Sep 13, 2024•7 min
In this week's episode of "The Top Line," we’re looking at what goes into manufacturing and supply of flu vaccines. Fierce Pharma’s Zoey Becker chats with Stefan Merlo, vice president of commercial operations, North America at CSL Seqirus. He discusses the company's differentiated flu vaccine portfolio and how its manufacturing process has evolved over the decades to create and distribute vaccines offering targeted protection each year. To learn more about the topics in this episode: Driving flu...
Sep 06, 2024•17 min
In this week's episode of "The Top Line," we look at factors driving the continuing decline of flu vaccination rates in the U.S. and beyond. Fierce Pharma’s Zoey Becker chats with Gregg Sylvester, M.D., Chief Health Officer at CSL Seqirus, to get insight on what we might expect to see from this upcoming flu season. He also explains efforts to increase vaccine uptake through awareness and education campaigns. To learn more about the topics in this episode: Flu vaccine makers CSL Seqirus, Sanofi a...
Aug 29, 2024•21 min
Biotherapeutics are transforming healthcare for over 350 million patients globally, tackling everything from cancer and diabetes to rare diseases. Human embryonic kidney (HEK) 293 cells play a key role in the manufacturing of many of these life-changing products. However, they are not without their challenges. In this episode of The Top Line, sponsored by Bio-Rad, Dipika Gurnani, Global Product Manager at Digital Biology Group, discusses the critical need to accurately quantify HEK293 DNA in bio...
Aug 26, 2024•14 min
For the last 40 years, when federal legislation was ambiguous or left an administrative gap, courts were required to defer to the interpretation of agencies. This stipulation, called the Chevron deference, gave agencies room to advance their regulatory priorities. The Supreme Court overturned the doctrine in June, bringing significant implications for the healthcare industry and federal regulators like the FDA. In this week's episode of "The Top Line," Fierce Pharma’s Kevin Dunleavy chats with P...
Aug 23, 2024•25 min
The TROP2 antibody-drug conjugate race has heated up among three Big Pharma companies: Gilead Sciences, AstraZeneca and Merck. Fierce Pharma’s Angus Liu recently took a deep dive into the three TROP2 front-runners. In a feature article, he examined the strengths and potential challenges facing each candidate, as well as the considerations behind their extensive phase 3 programs and their various development strategies. In this week’s episode of “The Top Line,” Fierce executive editor Eric Sagono...
Aug 16, 2024•25 min
