On Biotech Hangout this week, hosts Daphne Zohar, Josh Schimmer and Brad Loncar are joined by Andy Plump, President, Research & Development at Takeda, and Mathai Mammen, former Executive Vice President, Pharmaceuticals, R&D, Johnson & Johnson. The group kicks off with a discussion on productivity in the pharma industry, including cost increases to the innovations that are on the horizon and improved efficiencies in trials, manufacturing and beyond. The group transitions to talk about the latest industry news, regulatory actions and notable recent fundings. They examine the scrutiny around the recent FDA approval of Reata’s treatment for a rare neurological disorder, the approval of Intellia’s IND for in vivo CRISPR gene editing and the FDA’s decision not to hold an advisory committee meeting for Sarepta’s DMD candidate, sharing opinions on whether they perceive any trends indicating the FDA is becoming more or less lenient. They round out the episode by sharing perspectives on AI technology and the impact it will have on the future of the industry. *This episode aired on March 3, 2023.*