Biotech Hangout

On this week’s Biotech Hangout, hosts Eric Schmidt, Daphne Zohar, Josh Schimmer and Paul Matteis kick off the show with a look at M&A in the sector and debate whether we’re in a “good market” for biotech, if the sector is overly dependent on M&A as an investment thesis and the therapeutic areas that are most attractive for M&A. The hosts also discuss “hot” targeted oncology modalities including radiopharm, ADCs and bispecifics, and predict which of these technologies will likely continue to benefit from M&A interest. Following earnings this week, the hosts cover Janux Therapeutics’ stock price dropping 11.5% while CytomX stock moves +120% to -40% in a matter of minutes. Acelyrin’s founder stepped down as CEO, which opens up a discussion amongst the hosts on how disruptive change at the top can be for an organization and when investors should and shouldn’t care about CEO transitions. The group also discusses Bluebird and Vertex prepping for the first commercial use of sickle cell gene therapies. The episode wraps up with a review of other news from the week including Maze’s deal with Shionogi for Pompe disease, Walking Fish shuts down, Denali’s regulatory update, and FDA sets June date for Eli Lilly’s Alzheimer's drug donanemab adcomm. *This episode aired on May 10, 2024.

Special guest Adam Feuerstein joins hosts in discussing Q1 earning reports, ONO's acquisition of Deciphera, X4's FDA approval, COVID fatigue, Biden’s Cancer Moonshot, drugmaker lawsuits, FTC targeting 'junk' patents, and emerging safety concerns in MorphoSys' study. Other topics include BridgeBio spinning out an oncology company, US government reclassifying marijuana, and more industry insights.

Biotech Hangout hosts discuss Biden's capital gains tax proposal, FTC's non-compete ban, Q1 earnings reports, Acrivon's oncology data, ImmunityBio's FDA approval, and financings like Xaira Therapeutics $1B raise. They also debate liked vs unliked CEOs and delve into innovative biotech approaches in depression and obesity treatment, as well as biotech deals and investments.

On this week’s Biotech Hangout, Chris Garabedian, Josh Schimmer, Tim Opler and John Maraganore discuss how it’s been a big year for PIPEs and some of the controversy that has come along with it. The hosts also open up a discussion on supply and demand of venture capital and then pivots to Genentech ending its strategic collaboration with Adaptimmune. The group discusses other deals and financings of the week including Future Pak’s proposal to acquire Vanda Pharmaceuticals, Sanofi’s plans to divest Amuniz Pharmaceuticals and Regeneron enters venture investing with a $500 million fund. The hosts also discuss data readouts from Ultragenyx, Biohaven, Sage, Cerevel/Abbvie, Eli Lilly, Roche and Novartis. The show closes out with the latest on WuXi and the impact on biotech, Humira biosimilars grabbing huge market shares and Baker Brothers returns $10 billion to investors. *This episode aired on April 19, 2024.

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.

Biotech experts discuss latest industry news including M&A, pricing strategies, and advancements in women's health and neurological disorders. Topics include Roche's IL-6 program, Biohaven's degrader program, Crinetics' Phase 3 data in acromegaly, AstraZeneca's acquisition of Fusion Pharmaceuticals, Orchard Therapeutics' breakthrough drug, high drug prices impact, BioSecure bill effects, initiatives for women's health research, trends in early-stage investment, and neurological conditions globally.

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.