Episodi

  • On this week’s episode of Biotech Hangout, hosts Brad Loncar, Daphne Zohar, Luba Greenwood and Eric Schmidt kick off the discussion with Vertex’s plans to acquire Alpine Immune Sciences for almost $5 billion in cash, making it the largest deal for the sector in 2024. The hosts also discuss inflation effects on biotech stocks and M&A, macro takeaways from AACR and more fallout from the BioSecurity Act and implications for the industry. The group covers the US Department of Justice’s complaint filed against Regeneron related to its eye drug, Eylea, and the unfortunate impact on the industry’s reputation around drug pricing. The hosts also discuss Novartis’ deal to pay $150 million for Arvinas’s prostate cancer therapy and e-therapeutics CEO Ali Mortazavi joins the panel to discuss the London Stock Exchange challenges and his company’s plans to delist from the LSE’s junior market, AIM. *This episode aired on April 12, 2024.

  • On this week’s Biotech Hangout, Chris Garabedian, Josh Schimmer, Dawn Bell, Paul Matteis and Yaron Werber discuss the white hot ADC space as Genmab pays $1.8 billion to acquire Profound Bio and its ADC portfolio, Ispen’s $900 million pact with Sutro and Merck KGaA’s $1.4 billion ‘BioBucks’ AI deal with Caris Discovery. The hosts also cover the week’s big private deals including Metsera $350 million funding, Oruka’s $275 million PIPE, Obsidian’s $175 million Series C, Alterome’s $132 million Series B and Neurosterix $63m spinout from Addex. The group also discusses Amylyx’s decision to withrawl ALS drug and Acorda and Eiger both file for bankruptcy. On the data and regulatory front, the hosts discuss Roivant’s positive Phase 2 study results in eye disease, Gritstone’s Phase 2 neoantigen cancer vaccine results, LENZ’s Phase 3 data for Presbyopia and Vertex’s Phase 3 kidney disease trial. *This episode aired on April 5, 2024.

  • Episodi mancanti?

    Fai clic qui per aggiornare il feed.

  • On this week’s episode of Biotech Hangout, hosts Brad Loncar, Josh Schimmer, Grace Colon, Chris Garabedian, and Eric Schmidt discuss the latest biotech industry news including M&A, regulatory news, pricing strategies, and progress within women’s health and neurological disorders. The hosts cover data from Roche’s IL-6 program, Biohaven’s degrader program, followed by Crinetics’ Phase 3 data in acromegaly. On the M&A front, the hosts discuss AstraZeneca’s acquisition of Fusion Pharmaceuticals. The group also talks through Orchard Therapeutics’ breakthrough $4.25 million drug, and the impact of high drug prices on the industry as a whole. They also weigh in on the BioSecure bill that caused WuXi to leave BIO, and the broader impact of this decision on the biotech sector. The group also discussed a new executive order and initiatives that serve to address disparities in research for women’s health conditions. The hosts round out the show by discussing trends in early-stage investment, and the growing role of neurological conditions globally. *This episode aired on March 22, 2024.

  • On this week’s episode of Biotech Hangout, hosts Daphne Zohar, Brad Loncar, Tim Opler, Michal Preminger, Eric Schmidt and Yaron Werber discuss the latest biotech news, including commentary on the biotech sector performance in 2024 and a pharma R&D investment overview. The hosts cover the week’s notable M&A, including AstraZeneca’s acquisition of Amolyt plus Novartis’ acquisition of IFM Due and a related discussion on option-to-buy deals. The group also discusses Ionis meeting the primary endpoint in its Phase 2 MASH trial and Madrigal’s historic accelerated approval for NASH/MASH. Other topics include Eli Lilly’s partnership with Amazon pharmacy to dispense prescription medicines and the impact of cutting out the middle man, as well as anticipated regulatory updates for Legend and 2Seventy Bio. The hosts weigh-in on the BioSecure Act that led BIO to cut ties with WuXi and the impact the bill may have on other Chinese CROs. The group also flagged recently reported Phase 2 data for Silence Therapeutics’ Lp(a) therapy and Acadia’s schizophrenia treatment pimavanserin fails Phase 3 study. *This episode aired on March 15, 2024.

  • On this week’s episode of Biotech Hangout, hosts Brad Loncar, Daphne Zohar, Tim Opler, Brian Skorney, Luba Greenwood and Yaron Werber discuss the latest biotech news, including the delay of Eli Lilly’s Alzheimer’s drug donanemab as the FDA requires an AdComm and Amylyx’s ALS Phase 3 trial failure that caused the stock to drop 80%. The hosts also weigh in on how the 2024 presidential election will impact biopharma and takeaways from the 2024 Cowen conference, including the number of generalist investors in attendance and how obesity has become a dominant narrative in the industry. The group also discusses the Boundless Bio IPO and how the ticker ($BOLD) was previously used by another company before being acquired, as well as how positive I&I data from Apogee caused the stock to double. Other topics covered include the impact of PBMs on drug pricing and big pharma companies pivoting to say that the IRA is not a bad thing for biopharma in order to preserve positive relationships with the government. The hosts close out with a discussion on Peter Thiel’s “failure teaches you nothing” viral tweet and a conflict-of-interest debate regarding Harvard researcher David Sinclair who is under fire once again for promoting unproven benefits of longevity drugs. *This episode aired on March 8, 2024.

  • On this week’s Biotech Hangout, hosts Daphne Zohar, Josh Schimmer, Eric Schmidt, Bruce Booth, Brian Skorney and Prakhar Agrawal discuss the latest biotech news, including the recent sector melt-up and what is driving the latest rally. When discussing the week’s financing news, the hosts share different vantage points on wall-crossed PIPEs and the impact on stock performances. The group also discussed Viking Therapeutics soaring stock price on the heels of robust data for VK2735, its experimental weight loss drug. Other positive data discussed was from Akili and Shionogi announcing EndeavorRx met its primary endpoint and Shionogi has filed for approval with regulators in Japan, leading to a deeper discussion on digital therapeutics and issues around reimbursement. Additional topics covered include Chinese CROs back in the crosshairs and the implications for the sector, accelerated approvals for gene therapy and whether the FDA is getting too lenient on approvals, and a discussion on leadership in biotech. *This episode aired on March 1, 2024.

  • On this week’s Biotech Hangout, hosts Daphne Zohar, Brad Loncar, Josh Schimmer, Eric Schmidt and Yaron Werber discuss the latest biotech news, including the IPO window creaking back open and aftermarket performance up 12-19% for secondary offerings and IPOs. The hosts also discuss the FTC challenges facing industry M&A and another roadblock for AbbVie’s Cerevel deal. The retirement of AbbVie CEO Richard Gonzalez prompts a discussion amongst the hosts on important qualities of a CEO. A range of FDA-related news from the week is also covered including the approval of Iovance’s Amtagvi as first T-cell therapy for a solid tumor; Ionis and AstraZeneca’s fast track designation for Phase 3 ATTR-CM drug eplontersen; two drug trials at Rapt Therapeutics put on hold; the review of Sarepta’s Elevidys for traditional approval; United Therapeutic’s litigation and Alnylam’s endpoint changes to Phase 3 study design for Amvuttra. Other topics include Bayer slashing its dividend by 95%, IQVIA’s global R&D trends report, and a discussion on the biotech business model sparked by news that Regeneron and Vertex have crossed the $100B market cap threshold. *This episode aired on February 23, 2024.

  • On this week’s Biotech Hangout, hosts Daphne Zohar, Josh Schimmer, Tim Opler, Chris Garabedian and Grace Colon discuss the latest in biotech news, including another strong week of IPOs, most notably with Kyverna Therapeutics’ IPO upsizing by 49% to $300M. On the acquisition theme, the hosts discuss Novartis’ plans to acquire MorphoSys for $2.9B and Gilead walking away from its acquisition of Tizona. The hosts also cover some obesity-related updates, including Lilly’s tirzepatide Phase 2 trial for MASH and Amgen’s Phase 1 data for weight-loss candidate, MariTide. Other data discussed this week includes Vertex’s ‘vanza triple,’ 4D Molecular Therapeutics’ interim Phase 2 data in wet AMD and J&J’s Phase 3 with Nipocalimab. Additional topics of discussion include plans by Novo Holdings (Novo Nordisk’s parent company) to buy Catalent to boost Wegovy supply, the FDA modernizing the way it tracks post-market data by using AI, and Scion Life Sciences’ debut with a new $310M fund. *This episode aired on February 9, 2024.

  • On this week’s Biotech Hangout, hosts Daphne Zohar, Tim Opler, Dawn Bell, Ethan Perlstein and Eric Schmidt discuss the latest in biotech news, including the overall performance of IPOs this year, including Metagenomi’s IPO this week and what it means for the IPO window. The hosts also debate the value of tracking 13Fs as an investment strategy, M&A news including Gilead’s $4.3B acquisition of CymaBay, plus offerings and some related data for Larimar ($150M offering and Phase 2 data), PRIME Medicine ($140M offering), Sana ($165M offering), Crispr ($250M offering) and KalVista ($160M offering and Phase 3 data). The group also commented on news from two companies – Merrimack Pharmaceuticals and LianBio – who will both be winding down and returning the capital to shareholders. Additional topics of discussion include CSL’s Phase 3 trial failure to hit primary endpoint, Alnylam’s decision to change its statistical analysis plan on Helios-B, and private financing mega rounds that drew attention this year, including BioAge Labs’s $170M Series D and Latigo’s $135M Series A financing. This episode aired on February 16, 2024.

  • On this week’s Biotech Hangout, Daphne Zohar, Josh Schimmer, Grace Colon, Paul Matteis and guest host Yuval Cohen, Corbus CEO, discuss the latest industry news including Corbus’ recent data and offering, plus Immunocore’s private offering ($352M), Vaxcyte’s public offering ($750M) and Alto Neuroscience’s IPO ($120M). They also cover Evaluate’s top 10 most anticipated drug list, Vertex’s non-opioid drug meets its goal in trials, Dyne Therapeutics weighs takeover interest options and Biogen ends development and sales of Alzheimer’s Disease drug. The hosts debate whether the week’s deals (Regeneron buying 2seventy bio’s pipeline and Protagonist Therapeutics and Takeda’s licensing deal) create or destroy shareholder value. Other topics of discussion include biotech advocacy, including bipartisan R&D tax credit restoration bill and Janet Woodcock’s exit interview, plus Vanda Pharmaceuticals’ claim against the FDA. *This episode aired on February 2, 2024

  • On this week’s Biotech Hangout, hosts Brad Loncar, Tim Opler, Luba Greenwood and Brian Skorney discuss the latest industry news including 2 biotech IPOs from ArriVent Bio ($175M) and CG Oncology ($380M). They also discuss Sanofi buying Inhibrx ($2.2B), Kura Oncology’s private placement ($150M) and Gilead’s failed phase 3 study. The hosts cover class-wide black box warnings from the FDA, including Amgen’s Prolia, plus Eli Lilly’s investigational gene therapy for hearing loss data, HPV vaccine study in Scotland and The House Ways and Means Committee approves restoration of R&D tax credit. *This episode aired on January 26, 2024

  • This week, hosts Daphne Zohar, Brad Loncar, Josh Schimmer, John Maraganore and Grace Colon discuss the news of the week including several early-stage IPO filings that kicked off the year: Kyverna Therapeutics, CG Oncology and Alto Neuroscience. The hosts also cover AI enabled biomarkers following the FDA’s clearance of two AI diagnostic tools, plus the FDA expands approval of Vertex and CRISPR’s Cagevy as a first CRISPR-edited therapy for beta-thalassemia. They also discuss early-stage funding and an amicus brief that many biotech executives have signed, following the decision on Mifepristone. Other topics include BridgeBio Pharma securing capital from Blue Owl Capital and Canada Pension Plan Investments, Regenxbio Phase 2 data, Wiley Chambers retires and Vivek Ramaswamy drops out of the presidential race. Plus, Bernat Olle, Vedanta Biosciences CEO, joins the group to discuss his recent Timmerman Report article on investor and entrepreneur discussions. *This episode aired on January 19, 2024

  • On this week’s Biotech Hangout, hosts Daphne Zohar, Josh Schimmer, Brad Loncar, Dawn Bell and Sam Fazeli discuss the latest in biotech news, including their takeaways from last week’s JPM 2024 conference and Brad’s BiotechTV interviews with several attendees. The hosts also discuss the many deals from the week including Merck’s acquisition of Harpoon Therapeutics ($680M), Johnson & Johnson’s acquisition of Ambrx ($2B), GSK acquires Aiolos Bio ($1.4B), Boston Scientific acquires Axonics ($3.7B) and several Novartis deals including their dropped pursuit of Cytokinetics, acquisition of Calypso ($250M), their licensed drugs from a China biotech ($185M) and their deal with Eli Lilly and Isomorphic Labs ($3B). Other topics include two preclinical companies, Metagenomi and ArriVent file for IPO, Vertex pauses its diabetes cell therapy trial and Astellas gets a CRL. *This episode aired on January 12, 2024

  • In the first Biotech Hangout of 2024, RA Capital’s Peter Kolchinsky joins hosts Daphne Zohar, Josh Schimmer, Tim Opler, Paul Matteis and Luba Greenwood to discuss the latest biotech news. They start with the last M&A deals of 2023 including Bristol Myers Squibb’s acquisition of Karuna and Rayzebio, and AstraZeneca’s acquisition of Gracell. They discuss insights from RA Capital’s latest sector analysis and the outlook for the sector in 2024, plus JPM predictions. The hosts also cover news from the first week of 2024 including Longboard Pharmaceuticals and Dyne Therapeutics data, Novartis’ expanded collaboration with Voyager, the FDA’s hold on Iovance’s TIL therapy and their approval of AstraZeneca and Ionis’ rare nerve disease treatment. Other topics include Goldman Sachs life science investment fund and ImmunityBio’s royalty financing. *This episode aired on January 5, 2024

  • Guest host Nick Shipley, Bio’s policy expert joins Daphne Zohar, Brad Loncar, Mike Yee and Yaron Werber on this week’s Biotech Hangout. The group discusses policy affecting biotech, including march-in rights, PBMs, IRA and FTC involvement plus bipartisan initiatives like the Orphan Cures Act. They also discuss the state of the XBI and industry sentiment, Bluebird Bio’s setbacks following FDA approval and Pfizer’s stock after its 2024 forecast revenue. They cover data from Vertex, Icosavax, Arcellx and Legend, plus several ADC deals including Bristol Meyers Squibb, SystImmune, C4 Therapeutics, Merck, Nona Biosciences and Pfizer. Other topics include updates from ASH, the new Amgen CSO plus the group shares their thoughts on what to expect in 2024. *This episode aired on December 15, 2023

  • On this week’s episode of Biotech Hangout, Josh Schimmer, Tim Opler, Chris Garabedian, Dawn Bell and guest host Eric Schmidt, Biotech Analyst, discuss the latest industry news. They cover the JPM year in review, XBI performance, plus Abbvie’s acquisition of Cerevel and the implications for Karuna. They also discuss a big GLP-1 deal from Roche and Carmot, the AstraZeneca/ IRA case and EV negative biotechs. They also talk about three big investors days from J&J, Sanofi and Neurocrine Biosciences, plus CVS’s update on how they will cover drugs, Eyepoint Pharmaceutical’s wet AMD data and much more. *This episode aired on December 8, 2023

  • On this week’s episode of Biotech Hangout hosts Daphne Zohar, Tim Opler, Josh Schimmer, Chris Garabedian, John Maraganore and Ethan Perlstein discuss the latest industry news including takeaways and sentiment from the recent Jefferies, Stifel, American Heart Association and ACR conferences. They also discuss Ajinomoto acquiring Forge Biologics ($620M), Crispr and Vertex MHRA approval in the UK, Verve data and Novo Nordisk’s SELECT trial details. They hosts discuss Astellas’ acquisition of Propella ($175M) and the differences between Propella and PureTech’s lymphatic-focused technologies, on the back of PureTech’s Phase 2 data. Other topics include three merger agreements: Graphite Bio/ Lenz Therapeutics, Q32 Bio/Homology Medicines and Selecta Biosciences/ Cartesian Therapeutics, adcomm for Merck’s inhibitor for chronic cough and more. *This episode aired on November 17, 2023

  • Hosts Brad Loncar, Tim Opler, Josh Schimmer, Dawn Bell and Yaron Werber discuss the latest industry news on this week’s episode of Biotech Hangout. They cover several upcoming conferences including the American Heart Association, which the hosts say will highlight market moving data and a “biologics revolution”, plus ACR, which will highlight CAR-T data, and the Liver Meeting. The hosts also discuss Eli Lilly’s drug approval for weight management, Cargo Therapeutics’ IPO terms and Adverum’s 3-year AMD data. There is also news in the I&I space from Moonlake Therapeutics, who was off by more than 20% after announcing psoriatic arthritis data and Ventyx Biosciences halting its Phase 2 TYK2 trial. Other topics include BioNTech’s R&D day, Pfizer and BioNTech’s vaccine data and activist investor Elliot Investment Management buys over $1B stake in BioMarin. *This episode aired on November 10, 2023

  • On this week’s episode of Biotech Hangout, hosts Daphne Zohar, Tim Opler, Josh Schimmer, Brian Skorney and guest Matthew Gline, Roivant CEO discuss the current market for public biotechs plus Pharma performance including Sanofi, Pfizer, Bristol Myers Squibb, Roche, Biogen and Abbvie. The hosts also discuss Sarepta’s trial miss, and Matt shares additional commentary to Roivant’s deal with Roche. They also share thoughts on Lexeo Therapeutics’ IPO ($100M), 4D Molecular Therapeutics’ CF Phase 1 data and AstraZeneca’s investment in Cellectic ($245M). There were several large funds from the week including Abingworth’s fundraise ($365M), Blue Owl- Cowen Investments acquisition (~$1B) and Bioluminescence Ventures’ fundraise ($477M). Other topics include Bluebird Bio presells its PRV to Novartis, Amgen stops selling PSMA BiTE, Crispr Therapeutics/Vertex adcomm and Pfizer closes several sites. *This episode aired on November 3, 2023

    Josh Schimmer disclosures: The disclosures for companies that I cover can be found on the Hangout homepage and none of the comments should be construed as investment advice.

  • Guest host Paul Matteis, Biotech Analyst at Stifel, joins Daphne Zohar, Brad Loncar, Josh Schimmer, Dawn Bell and Bruce Booth on this week’s episode of Biotech Hangout to discuss market sentiment, biotech’s bear market, CTAD and World Sleep meetings and Roche to acquire Telavant ($7.1B). The hosts also cover industry issues such as the Orphan Cures Act, More Transparency Act, PRVs and more after Daphne attended meetings with senators and congressmen in DC. Additionally, they talk about the second largest A round of funding in 2023 from Aiolos Bio ($245M) plus OrbiMed’s $4.3B raise, CARGO Therapeutics’ IPO and >40 biotechs exploring strategic alternatives. Other topics include CMS expanding Medicare coverage to Alzheimer’s PET scan testing, Senator Bernie Sanders to investigate NIH licensing practices, delays in cancer care and Novartis regulatory filing pushed after data disappoints at ESMO. *This episode aired on October 27, 2023