BioCentury This Week

Dealmaking by a pair of pharmas has given the biotech industry its best day of transactions in months, tallying nearly $13 billion in guaranteed payments across two deals. On the latest BioCentury This Week podcast, BioCentury’s analysts discuss how the takeout of Blueprint Medicines for $9.1 billion up front gives Sanofi a drug for a rare immunological disorder and bolsters the French pharma’s al...

Dutch biotech Merus’ EGFR x LGR5 bispecific antibody has caught investors’ attention in the run-up to ASCO as a new approach to block EGFR signaling. On the latest BioCentury This Week podcast, BioCentury’s analysts discuss Phase II data from Merus for petosemtamab as they preview the American Society of Clinical Oncology’s upcoming annual meeting. The analysts also assess a setback in a gene ther...

Political and market turmoil has raised questions whether the U.S. can retain its biopharma leadership position, and in turn presents Europe with an opportunity to attract talent back to the continent with an offer of a more stable biomedical funding and regulatory environment. Jeito Capital’s Ksenija Pavletic and Cambridge Innovation Capital’s Anne Horgan join BioCentury’s analyst to wrap up the...

The turbulence that has come with the Trump administration’s policies related to the U.S. biopharmaceutical industry is creating an opening for Europe to bolster its life sciences industry. On the latest BioCentury This Week podcast, BioCentury’s editors look at how Europe can capitalize on staffing cuts at FDA and NIH and an uncertain policy environment to lure back talent to bolster regulatory a...

Biopharmas developing therapies for obesity are looking to a future where the quality of weight loss matters as much as the quantity — what targets and programs could help realize that vision? On the latest BioCentury This Week podcast, BioCentury’s editors discuss the signaling pathways that may exclusively target fat mass while preserving, or even increasing, lean mass — and which companies are...

This year’s Bio€quity Europe conference — the 25th edition of the event — will focus on what’s next for Europe amid biotech’s current complex moment, Editor in Chief Simone Fishburn said on a special edition of the BioCentury This Week podcast previewing the meeting, which kicks off May 12 in Bruges, Belgium. McKinsey & Co.’s Alexandra Zemp and Henk Joos, an investment specialist at Medvia, wh...

Among the formerly undruggable targets gaining translational momentum, SMARCA2 has intrigued researchers for its potential to treat challenging solid tumors. On the latest BioCentury This Week podcast, BioCentury's editors zero in on preclinical research supporting different degraders of SMARCA2 at this year’s American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) annual meeting. They also discuss t...

Belief in tau — both as a target and surrogate endpoint — for Alzheimer’s is building among leaders in the field. On the latest BioCentury This Week podcast, Executive Editor Selina Koch discusses how tau could be reaching a tipping point. Also on this week’s episode, Washington Editor Steve Usdin details how political moves have begun to intrude into the Trump administration’s regulation of vacci...

Biopharma companies are vying to dethrone Vyvgart as a leading therapy for myasthenia gravis, with the latest data for therapies treating the rare autoimmune neuromuscular disease coming at this month’s American Academy of Neurology. On a special episode of the BioCentury This Week podcast, BioCentury’s editors discuss the landscape for MG therapies, including anti-BLyS and APRIL therapy telitacic...

The academia-industry interface is more important than ever for sustaining biomedical innovation’s forward momentum, even as the Trump administration injects turbulence into academic funding for universities. On a special edition of the BioCentury This Week podcast, BioCentury’s Simone Fishburn and Karen Tkach Tuzman preview Grand Rounds , BioCentury’s second annual R&D conference, along with...

The biotech community is reeling, fearful and furious about the fallout of tariff, FDA and NIH policies, according to BioCentury’s newly released Risk Sentiment survey . On the latest BioCentury This Week podcast, BioCentury’s editors discuss takeaways from the survey, which polled 328 biopharma stakeholders during April 10-14. The editors dissect the latest from Washington, including comments fro...

FDA’s plan to move away from animal toxicity testing could expedite INDs and cut costs for biopharma companies, while helping the U.S. maintain its position as a clinical research hub. On the latest BioCentury This Week podcast, BioCentury’s editors discuss the agency’s new three-year road map to reduce animal safety studies for mAbs. The editors then discuss the deepening morale crisis at FDA aft...

Loss of leadership, cuts to staffing and a proposed reorganization at FDA have heightened biotech risk amid an already turbulent macroeconomic climate, according to BioCentury’s Washington editor Steve Usdin. On the latest BioCentury This Week podcast, BioCentury’s editors discuss how the turmoil at FDA could affect a sector already grappling with the uncertainty brought by the Trump administratio...

Biotech indexes are tumbling after one of FDA’s last veteran leaders was pushed out by HHS Secretary RFK Jr. and the threat of tariffs weigh on a key biotech index. On the latest BioCentury This Week podcast, BioCentury’s editors discuss the factors driving down the XBI , which has now crossed into bear market territory and the latest turmoil at FDA, now that CBER Director Peter Marks has been ous...

European venture firm Sofinnova Partners is expanding the reach of its Biovelocita accelerator beyond Italy to stretch across the greater continent. On the latest BioCentury This Week podcast, BioCentury’s editors discuss how Biovelocita became the largest life sciences accelerator in Europe. The editors also discuss Novo Nordisk's latest addition to its obesity pipeline via a deal in China,...

BIO is engaging with President Donald Trump to protect and improve FDA. It’s also hoping biopharmas can dodge tariffs and find paths to modify the Inflation Reduction Act and reinstate pediatric priority review vouchers. On the latest BioCentury This Week podcast, Washington Editor Steve Usdin delivers takeaways from his conversation with John Crowley, CEO of the industry trade group. BioCentury’s...

While the culling of companies in the biotech bear market may have yet to subside, creative cross-border deal-making on innovative assets is spreading across Asia’s Arc of Innovation. Sciwind Biosciences Co. Ltd.’s Jing Shu and A*Star’s Lisa Ooi join BioCentury to wrap up the 4th annual BioCentury-BayHelix East-West Biopharma Summit in Singapore by discussing deal-making trends, the rise of new te...

The almost certain confirmation of Marty Makary as FDA commissioner this month will cap a transition marked by internal upheaval and political infighting. On the latest BioCentury This Week podcast, BioCentury’s editors discuss Thursday’s confirmation hearing for President Donald Trump’s pick to lead the agency and Makary's hints at what we can expect from his agenda. The editors also discuss...

The track record of biotechs launched to create curative therapies using CRISPR-Cas9 provides new insights into the old debate over whether platform companies should validate their technology on established targets or pursue new ones. On the latest BioCentury This Week podcast, BioCentury’s editors discuss the lessons learned by this small group of companies since their launch a decade ago. They a...

Once pharma’s oncology powerhouse, Roche is charting a new course that extends beyond its traditional stronghold in cancer therapeutics. On the latest BioCentury This Week podcast, BioCentury’s editors discuss how the Swiss pharma has reshaped its strategy for long-term growth. They also discuss another tumultuous weekend for staff at FDA and NIH, as well as the challenges of precision medicine fo...

Rather than fretting over increasing competition from Chinese life sciences companies, biotechs in the U.S. should rise to the challenge and learn from their competitors. On the latest BioCentury This Week podcast, BioCentury’s editors discuss the increasing pace of innovation from China and how U.S. biotechs need to meet the moment, delivering key takeaways from Editor in Chief Simone Fishburn’s...

Western VCs are paying more attention than ever to innovation emerging from Asia — from antibody-drug conjugates to bispecifics, AI and beyond — as the NewCo Model becomes the latest trend to bridge talent, assets and venture money across the Pacific and on to North America and Europe. On a special edition of BioCentury This Week podcast, a trio of leaders from Asia’s life sciences ecosystem — Kho...

White House plans to slash FDA and NIH risk decimating two agencies at the core of U.S. biomedical innovation. On the latest BioCentury This Week podcast, BioCentury’s editors assess draft plans by the Trump administration that seek to halve FDA staff, cut NIH, and reduce overhead payments to academic institutions. The policy addressed in a recent Guest Commentary for BioCentury, “Defending the NI...

The boom in the creation of companies that were launched in the West based on assets sourced in Asia signals China’s galloping speed of innovation. On the latest BioCentury This Week podcast, BioCentury’s editors discuss the “ NewCo Model ,” who the players are, from CEOs and companies to investors ; the areas of innovation the start-ups are tackling; and the evolution of the trend. (Read about th...

Psychiatric drug development has had major wins over the past year-and-a-half — think Karuna Pharmaceuticals' $14 billion takeout by Bristol Myers Squibb and the subsequent launch of a new schizophrenia therapy — but targeted neuropsychiatric drug development is still in its infancy. On a special edition of the BioCentury This Week podcast, BioCentury’s editors detail the promise of precision...