Biotech Hangout

On this week’s episode, John Maraganore, Yaron Werber, Ami Fadia, and special guests STAT’s Allison DeAngelis and Endpoints News’ Drew Armstrong kick things off with an overview of the latest FDA staffing changes, including long-time oncology chief Richard Pazdur’s appointment as the new CDER director, a move the co-hosts view as positive for the industry and a sign of potential stability. Next, t...

On this week’s episode, Graig Suvannavejh, Paul Matteis, Brian Skorney, Yaron Werber, Chris Garabedian, and guest Adam Feuerstein open with a discussion on George Tidmarsh’s departure from the FDA and the uncertainty it has caused in the markets. Next, the co-hosts discuss the shifting policies of the FDA and Sarepta’s Phase 3 ESSENCE trial of casimersen for DMD with the group debating if the drug...

On this week’s episode, Daphne Zohar, Bruce Booth, Sam Fazeli, Brian Skorney, Yaron Werber, and Eric Schmidt kick off with market updates, noting that the XBI is showing signs of a sustainable recovery after years of underperformance and highlighting that the IPO market is likely closed for the remainder of the year, but note optimism for early 2026. In deal news, Novartis’ $12B acquisition of Avi...

On this week’s episode, Chris Garabedian, Brian Skorney, and Sam Fazeli open with optimism about the biotech market, predicting an upcoming acceleration in IPO activity. In deals and financing news, the co-hosts discussed Summit Therapeutics’ $500 million raise, with more than half coming from insiders, and continued momentum in M&A, including Alkermes’ $2.1 billion acquisition of Avadel for i...

On this week’s episode, Paul Matteis, John Maraganore, Eric Schmidt, and Graig Suvannavejh open with a look at biotech market sentiment, which has notably strengthened amid steady M&A and successful drug launches. The XBI is also up over 40% in six months, signaling optimism that the long “biotech winter” may be ending. While cautious, the co-hosts agree the recovery feels sustainable. The gro...

On this week’s episode, Tess Cameron, Brian Skorney, Sam Fazeli, Yaron Werber, and Luba Greenwood, kick off with a pop quiz on the last time the $XBI hit 105 (spoiler, it was 2021) driven by recent positive news. The co-hosts highlight a steady rate of M&A activity, including Novo Nordisk’s acquisition of Akero Therapeutics highlighting continued interest in metabolic conditions and BMS’ acqui...

On this week’s episode, Eric Schimidt, Sam Fazeli, Brian Skorney, Yaron Werber, and Brad Loncar open withmacro news including Pfizer’s deal with the White House on U.S. drug manufacturing and pricing, which helped shelve the Most Favored Nation pricing and looming tariffs. The co-hosts agreed it was a savvy move that secured goodwillfor the industry and gave investors confidence, leading to new XB...

On this week’s episode, Sam Fazeli, Eric Schmidt, PaulMatteis, Brian Skorney, and Brad Loncar dive into what was a positive week for biotech, marked by M&A, offerings, and compelling clinical data, spotlighting Pfizer’s acquisition of Metsera. The conversation shifts to data, starting with UniQure’s three-year Huntington’s disease gene therapy results and Acadia’s Phase 3 results in Prader-Wil...

On this week’s episode, Daphne Zohar, Josh Schimmer, Luba Greenwood and Matt Gline open with a look at overall market sentiment, spotlighting Stifel’s bullish report on the biotech sector’s nice recovery since April’s “liberation day” with the XBI up over 40%, the recent wave of M&A activity, and the Biotech Winter. The co-hosts then highlight recent deals, including Roche’s $3.5 billion acqui...

On this week’s episode, Chris Garabedian, Tess Cameron, EricSchmidt, Sam Fazeli, and Brad Loncar open with a look at the market environment as biotech sees its first IPO since February -- LB Pharma -- and financings, including Maze’s $150M PIPE and Rapport’s $250M follow-on. The co-hosts discuss improving sentiment around rates, the $XBI, and insights from conversations at the HC Wainwright confer...

On this week’s episode, hosts Paul Matteis, Sam Fazeli, John Maraganore, and Graig Suvannaveijh kick off the discussion with a more positive look at the sector and some of the fundamental factors at play. The group then shares an overview of Sanofi’s 10% stock fall on the back of positive Phase 3 eczema data with worries about the Dupixent patent expiry. The discussion then turns to Insmed, a comp...

On this week’s episode, Josh Schimmer, Eric Schmidt, and Tess Cameron kick off with policy, discussing Vinay Prasad’s return to the FDA and the implications for the biotech industry. The conversation turns to NIH’s Jay Bhattacharya, who attributed the decline in public trust in mRNA vaccines to perception rather than safety or efficacy, citing this as the reason to curtail funding. In market trend...

On this week’s episode, Grace Colón, John Maraganore, Paul Matteis and Eric Schmidt dive in with a discussion on policy news, including the pharma tariffs and latest on the Trump administration’s Most Favored Nations drug pricing plans. The co-hosts then question if Vinay Prasad has a path back to the FDA and express hope for someone more centrist if he does not return. They also mention the CRLs...

On this week's episode, Daphne Zohar, Josh Schimmer, Brian Skorney, Paul Matteis, Sam Fazeli, Brad Loncar, and Matt Gline cover top news surrounding Trump's pricing letters to 17 major pharma companies demanding U.S. price cuts on new drugs, and the relevance to his MFN initiative. They also touch on Dr. Mehmet Oz’s meetings with biotech leaders in D.C. and looming tariff risks. The group...

On this week’s episode, Eric Schmidt, Paul Matteis, Sam Fazeli, and Brian Skorney begin with a recap of the week’s Sarepta news, covering their initial refusal then agreement to pause Elevidys shipments, if it can return to the market, the broader lessons for the biotech industry, and the communication breakdown between Sarepta and the FDA. Continuing with regulatory news, the group discusses the...

On this week's episode, Josh Schimmer, Chris Garabedian, Sam Fazeli, Yaron Werber and guest Adam Feuerstein dive into breaking news, including Sarepta's recent updates -- layoffs, a black box warning, and pipeline reorganization -- and the juxtaposition of Amylyx's post-bariatric hypoglycemia and GLP-1 inhibitor following a webinar update at ENDO 2025. In regulatory news, the group dis...

On this week’s episode, Eric Schmidt, Brad Loncar, Tim Opler and Tess Cameron kick off with a discussion on the surgein biotech M&A, with 2025 almost matching 2024’s deal count and surpassing it in value ($40B YTD vs $30B), highlighting recent deals like Merck’s acquisition of Verona and AbbVie’s purchase of Capstan. The group debateswhether this signals a true “M&A wave,” noting pharma’s...

On this week’s episode, Chris Garabedian, Daphne Zohar, Sam Fazeli, Tess Cameron, Paul Matteis and Tim Opler share cautious optimism about the biotech market as IPOs and follow-ons gain momentum. Continuing on market sentiment, competitive pressure looms for small and mid-sized U.S. biotechs as the Chinese biotech market grows and big pharma continues to invest in these assets. Next, the group rec...

On this week's episode, Josh Schimmer, Paul Matteis, Eric Schmidt and Yaron Werber kick off with an optimistic view of the current biotech state of affairs, citing the FDA is open for business, we’re seeing companies successfully launch and M&A is happening, though the Trump Administration’s Most Favored Nation plan still looms. In regulatory news, UroGen’s FDA approval of Zusduri for tumo...

On this week’s episode, Brad Loncar, Eric Schmidt, and Sam Fazeli kick off with a look at Sanofi’s $9 billion acquisition of Blueprint Medicines, highlighting the move as a mature, strategic bet for Sanofi and a positive sign for investment in biotech. On the data front, the group highlights the Phase 3 HARMONi trial from Summit and Akeso in non-small cell lung cancer, which is the first to includ...

On this week's episode, Chris Garabedian, Josh Schimmer, Nina Kjellson, Mike Yee, and Tim Opler kick off with breaking data from Summit and Akeso's lung cancer therapy, exploring the results and potential next steps for the treatment. The current state of biotech M&A is the next topic of conversation, with continued macroeconomic uncertainty and investor preferencefor commercial-stage...

On this week’s episode, Sam Fazeli, John Maraganore, Nina Kjellson and Matt Gline dig into an in-depth discussion on the Trump Administration’s recent executive order aimed at lowering drug prices as part of a broader “Most Favored Nation.” The group discusses the 30-day ultimatum, the 180- days for negotiations and concerns that biotechs may not be adequately represented at the table. The convers...

On this week’s episode, Grace Colón, Josh Schimmer, Sam Fazeli, Tess Cameron, Eric Schmidt, and Yaron Werber kick off with a discussion on recent policy moves including the appointment of Vinay Prasad as the director of the FDA’s CBER division and nomination of Casey Means for U.S. Surgeon General, noting the impact on the XBI and uncertainty around vaccine gene therapy approvals. The group ponder...

On this week’s episode, Eric Schmidt and Sam Fazeli are joined by special guests Adam Feuerstein and Peter Kolchinsky to discuss the upward movement of the biotech market along with strong drug launches, deals, and net-positive Q1 earnings, all signaling things may be improving. Next, the group notes the FDA is unlikely to undergo significant reorganization and while this stability is reassuring,...

On this week’s episode, Daphne Zohar, Josh Schimmer, Tim Opler, John Maraganore, and Paul Matteis discuss the biotech market’s recent resurgence, and new FDA commissioner Marty Makary’s comments during his interview with former Fox News journalist Megyn Kelly. The discussion then shifts to the FDA’s reorganization, confusing return-to-work policies, and low morale at the agency, which resulted in...