Biotech Hangout

This week on Biotech Hangout, hosts Daphne Zohar, Josh Schimmer, Tim Opler and Sam Fazeli discuss the latest in the biopharma industry from market updates and deals to regulatory and beyond. There were several optimistic pieces of stock news covered, including Viking Therapeutics’ strong Phase 1 obesity data and Biomea Fusion’s positive Phase 2 diabetes data. The group also discussed the positive reaction to new Phase 1b data from Biogen’s tau drug BIIB080n at International Conference on Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s Diseases (AD/PD™ 2023), which paves the way for the drug to be another major player in the Alzheimer’s drug development space. Additionally, the hosts highlight the latest on the shortage of non-human primates for early-stage trials, Scorpion Capital’s report on Harmony Biosciences, Jounce Therapeutics’ $96.5M cash bid from Kevin Tang’s Concentra Biosciences, and more. *This episode aired on March 31, 2023* Disclosure from Josh Schimmer: "Disclosures for the companies that I cover can be found on the Biotech Hangout homepage."

On Biotech Hangout this week, hosts Daphne Zohar, Josh Schimmer, Rob Perez, Sam Fazeli and Mike Yee discuss market sentiment after the fallout from Silicon Valley Bank, possible impact of proposed SEC changes, the impact of IRA, data announcements (Nimbus, Karuna, Altimmune and 89bio), FDA happenings and more. The episode also delves into pharma patent cliffs, Moderna CEO, Stéphane Bancel’s, handling of his senate hearing on the company’s plans to increase price of Covid vaccines, antifungal drug approval and NFL as a biomarker for neurodegenerative disease. *This episode aired on March 24, 2023* Disclosure from Josh Schimmer: "Evercore ISI disclosures for the companies that I cover can be found on the Biotech Hangout homepage."

On this week’s episode of Biotech Hangout, For Blood and Money: Billionaires, Biotech, and the Quest for a Blockbuster Drug author, Nathan Vardi, joins hosts Daphne Zohar, Josh Schimmer, Tim Opler and guest Barbara Ryan. They start the discussion recapping the fallout from the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) and the domino effect it’s had, including more fear in the banking system, hate and blame directed towards VCs, and the effect on CFOs. The conversation pivots to more positive news with three big M&A deals from the week - Pfizer acquires Seagen, Sanofi acquires Provention Bio and Merck acquires Velos Bio - and the proportion of new drug approvals in the neurology space. Then, the group highlights activist investors in biotech, who made waves this week. *This episode aired on March 17, 2023. Disclosure from Josh Schimmer: "Evercore ISI disclosures for the companies that I cover can be found on the Biotech Hangout homepage."

On this week’s episode, hosts Daphne Zohar, Josh Schimmer, Tim Opler and Sam Fazeli discuss the fall of Silicon Valley Bank (SVB), private financings, drug pricing and more. The hosts jump right into SVB, summarizing how the fall happened and the potential threats and implications to the industry. They comment on how this would have been an otherwise great week for private biotechs, but now many may be scrambling. The discussion turns to President Biden’s budget proposal impacting drug pricing and how Eli Lilly has responded, unique financing structures and the merger between Adaptimmune and TCR2 Therapeutics. The hosts pivot to some of the good news from the week including BridgeBio’s positive data from its dwarfism drug, AstraZeneca’s Tagrisso demonstrating strong overall survival in Phase III trial for patients with early-stage EGFR-mutated lung cancer and FDA panel votes. They close the discussion hoping for a positive resolution. *This episode aired on Friday, March 10 as events were occurring.*

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.* 

This week, Paul Hastings, Chief Executive Officer and President of Nkarta Therapeutics and Chair of the Biotechnology Innovation Organization (BIO), joins Biotech Hangout hosts Daphne Zohar, Josh Schimmer, Rob Perez and Dawn Bell. The group discusses the latest biotech industry consolidations and dissolutions and Big Pharma’s looming patent cliff. They touch on controversies surrounding Vertex’s latest drug pricing, the abortion pill ban and pending implications for the FDA, industry diversity and Vivek Ramaswamy’s resignation from Roivant’s Board of Directors as he prepares to pursue his U.S. presidential campaign.

On Biotech Hangout this week, hosts Daphne Zohar, Tim Opler, Chris Garabedian, Bruce Booth and Michal Preminger are joined by Andy Plump, President, Research & Development at Takeda, and Jay Bradner, Physician-Scientist and former President of the Novartis Institutes for BioMedical Research. They talk pharma productivity and its impact on M&A, new models for advancing and funding medicine and why we need them and what a pharmaceutical R&D head actually does. Andy and Jay discuss conflicts between research and commercial departments, share their experiences, insights and strategies learned from their careers in R&D executive roles and describe the elements needed for a biotech company to be successful long-term. The hosts end with a lively discussion of business models in the industry from venture creation to listed “truffle hunters” to pharma efforts at being more entrepreneurial.

This week’s Biotech Hangout theme is, “the good, the bad, the ugly” … and the “interesting.” Starting with “the good,” hosts Daphne Zohar, Josh Schimmer, Tim Opler, Dawn Bell and John Maraganore discuss the Mineralys ($MYLS) IPO and recent deals including Pfizer, Novartis and Merck on the hunt for new deals and CVS’s acquisition of Oak Street Health, a value-based primary care company and rival to United Healthcare. The “bad” centers around recent layoffs and shutdowns in the industry and government pressures on drug pricing. For “the ugly,” the team talks about the cost of sustainable innovation in the biotech industry. The hosts also examine if increased M&A and investor support will help correct the market, the latest on the Inflation Reduction Act and its impact on the industry and the importance of generics and intellectual property in biopharma. All agree that the industry provides significant opportunity and the “good” far outweighs the “bad” and the “ugly” in an industry with huge impact on patients and society.

This week, hosts Daphne Zohar, Josh Schimmer, Dawn Bell and Sam Fazeli cover recent biotech earnings, big pharma revenue drivers, FDA news, data and much more. The group kicks off the conversation by addressing the slow week in M&A news before diving into the profitability of Medicare Advantage for private insurance and the new RADV rule updates announced – they also touch on how this rule will impact the future of pharma. Additionally, the hosts cover big pharma patent expiries & pipeline sourcing needs. Notable earnings updates from big pharma are discussed and the group shares their thoughts on Amgen’s AmjevitaTM, the first biosimilar to Humira, Medicare’s new testing policy for paying less for drugs that receive accelerated approval, and GSK’s oral treatment for anemia of chronic kidney disease in adults on dialysis. Host Ethan Perlstein joins the group to close out the episode with a debate on the geroscience sector of biotech and how Biopharma and Silicon Valley take different approaches to innovation and clinical studies.

On this week’s episode, hosts Daphne Zohar and Josh Schimmer welcome founder and former CEO of Alnylam, John Maraganore, as a guest, and are joined by Ethan Perlstein, Rob Perez, Michal Preminger and Chris Garabedian. The discussion begins with a recap from John’s recent op-ed article published in The Timmerman Report that poses the question: ‘Is it the right time for biotech to be back together in person?’ The group debates the subject of remote vs. hybrid work models and discusses other cultural and strategic topics related to business models in biotech. They also cover Amazon’s new program, RxPass, that provides unlimited generic medicines, which address about 80 conditions, to Prime members for a monthly rate of $5. Additionally, the hosts share insights into recent data and trial updates, including setbacks at Magenta Therapeutics and a positive readout from Pliant Therapeutics. The discussion ends with news from TG Therapeutics, a small biotech that launched a new drug that directly competes with pharmaceutical giant, Roche, leading to another discussion of the pros & cons of small biotechs competing with large pharma.