15
Apr
2021
Diversity in Clinical Trials is in Everyone’s Interest
Please subscribe and tell your friends why it’s worthwhile. Quality journalism costs money. When you subscribe to Timmerman Report at $169 per year, you reward quality independent biotech reporting, and encourage more. Subscribe Now Sign in to your account.
9
Apr
2021
Timmerman Traverse for Life Science Cares: A Biotech Community Drive to Fight Poverty
Like many people, I’m itching to get outside. Today, I’m excited to announce a new outdoor experience for a good cause: The Timmerman Traverse for Life Science Cares. It’s a Presidential Traverse hike scheduled for Sept. 13-15, 2021. A fantastic group of 20 biotech leaders — 10 women and 10 men — will hit the trails. We’ll cover the iconic... Read More
7
Apr
2021
The Long Run Mentality for Diversity and Inclusion in Biotech
I can never forget the video of George Floyd, a black man, being suffocated to death under the knee of a white police officer. My worldview was changed by it. As the CEO of a mid-sized public biotech company, I supported equal rights and opportunities. In my day job, it mainly meant hiring and promoting a diverse team, and supporting... Read More
5
Apr
2021
The Glory of John Martin: an Understated Leader Who Built a Biotech Powerhouse
John C. Martin was an unassuming man with an ordinary name. But his leadership qualities and accomplishments as a biopharma CEO were extraordinary. Martin, the CEO of Foster City, Calif.-based Gilead Sciences from 1996 to 2016, didn’t seek to dominate the room or inspire legions with a charismatic personality. He didn’t make the cover of magazines, even when he led... Read More
5
Apr
2021
Compassionate Use Policy Has Everything We Need…Except Policy and Compassion
Biogen is in a bind. The way it navigates a tricky compassionate use situation today could reverberate across the industry for years to come. Full disclosure before diving in — I used to work at Biogen, but left there five years ago. I hold the company in high regard, and am hopeful the company will find a way to solve... Read More
5
Apr
2021
COVID-19 Testing: Going to the Dogs?
For at least the 15,000 years since the first-known burial of two humans with their dog, dogs and humans have cooperated intimately. Dogs get food and shelter in exchange for performing work they can do uniquely well. Working dogs use capabilities, such as strength, speed, alertness and willingness to please (trainability). From the very beginning, it is likely that it... Read More
2
Apr
2021
Building An Easy On-Ramp For Consumer Fitness
A comprehensive 2018 review of the scientific literature commissioned by the Department of Health and Human Services reported that physical activity not only helps you “sleep better, feel better, and function better,” but also “reduces the risk of a large number of diseases and conditions,” including dementia, hypertension, diabetes, and a range of cancers. The report specifically highlights the benefits... Read More
1
Apr
2021
Pfizer’s Vaccine Passes Kid Test, J&J’s Costly Error, and FTC Challenges Illumina
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31
Mar
2021
Asian Americans in Biotech: Breaking the Silence
As a first generation Asian-American working in biotech in San Diego, I identified with the many good points in Kevin Kwok’s piece on Mar. 9 about the rise in hate crimes. Fast forward to the end of March, and we have seen more horrific attacks. The element of race (and gender) in these attacks is sometimes overtly declared; at other... Read More
30
Mar
2021
Amgen Acquires Rodeo, Lean Startup With Dual Mechanism for Crohn’s, Colitis
Please subscribe and tell your friends why it’s worthwhile. Quality journalism costs money. When you subscribe to Timmerman Report at $169 per year, you reward quality independent biotech reporting, and encourage more. Subscribe Now Sign in to your account.
29
Mar
2021
Flying Blind on the Origin of a Pandemic
I was always curious. An early elementary school memory is my mother returning from a parent-teacher conference to report that my teacher thought I had “an enquiring mind.” Curiosity is what led me to a life of research, as a biostatistician and population scientist. Because in research, the questions you ask are just as important as their answers. The questions... Read More
29
Mar
2021
Writing with DNA at Scale: Emily Leproust on The Long Run
Today’s guest on The Long Run is Emily Leproust. Emily is the co-founder and CEO of South San Francisco-based Twist Bioscience. It’s a DNA synthesis company. It uses a silicon-based system to “write” in the language of DNA – that is, make synthetic genes to test ideas in a lab, or to perform some basic biomedical or industrial workhorse function.... Read More
28
Mar
2021
Needed: Planet Fitness for The Digital World
Digital platforms such as Peloton and Tonal have clearly learned how to use emerging technologies to cultivate healthy exercise habits and a loyal base of fitness-focused customers. These same technologies would seem ideally suited – if presented in the right way – to coax more people off the couch in the first place. This represents an enormous health — and... Read More
27
Mar
2021
Digital Health: From Pharma To…Fitness?
Astute TR readers might have noticed that I’ve been writing a lot about digital fitness lately, in contrast to digital pharma. This is deliberate, and represents an evolution of my thinking. I was first drawn to digital health over a decade ago, in the context of a translational medicine training program for medical scientists that I developed with Dr. Denny... Read More
25
Mar
2021
Can Digital Fitness Extend Beyond Hardy Base To Reach Those Who May Benefit Most?
Whether you are an “exercist,” who relentlessly talks up the benefits of regular exercise to anyone who will listen, or instead are like the vast majority of people and conscientiously avoid exercise, you will find something appealing in the recently published Exercised, by Harvard anthropologist Daniel Lieberman. Those who assiduously avoid unnecessary exertion – pretty much the definition of exercise... Read More
25
Mar
2021
A Glimpse Into a Price-Controlled Future
Imagine if H.R. 3 — the drug price-control bill that has significant support in the House of Representatives — were to become law. What would it look like if some of the bill’s provisions, like indexing US prices to 120 percent of prices in Europe, were enacted? How would entrepreneurs adapt? What types of drug discovery programs might be prioritized,... Read More
25
Mar
2021
Eliem Therapeutics Debuts with $80M to Tackle Chronic Pain, Depression
Please subscribe and tell your friends why it’s worthwhile. Quality journalism costs money. When you subscribe to Timmerman Report at $169 per year, you reward quality independent biotech reporting, and encourage more. Subscribe Now Sign in to your account.
24
Mar
2021
Crossing the Blood-Brain Barrier: Interview With Denali’s Ryan Watts
Please subscribe and tell your friends why it’s worthwhile. Quality journalism costs money. When you subscribe to Timmerman Report at $169 per year, you reward quality independent biotech reporting, and encourage more. Subscribe Now Sign in to your account.
22
Mar
2021
AZ Tells Us Its Vaccine is OK. Rebuilding Trust Will Take a While
Credibility can be lost in a heartbeat. It can take years to rebuild. That maxim kept running through the back of my mind when reading the press release on the AstraZeneca Phase III clinical trial conducted with 32,449 participants in the US, Peru and Chile, in partnership with the NIH’s COVID-19 Prevention Network. The top line was encouraging — 79... Read More
20
Mar
2021
Enticing Some With Social Cues, Others With Health, Exercise Rewards Body And Mind
I recently discussed the rise of digital fitness, and specifically how companies like Peloton are succeeding by delivering an engaging experience. The new crop of digital fitness companies have figured out how to make health-promoting activities that are intrinsically tedious – like riding a stationary bike – into something compelling and sustaining. A New York Times writer, Amanda Hess, captures... Read More