15
Jul
2020
Do We Need Models Anymore?
Long ago, in the early days of the pandemic, models were everywhere in the news. As our lives were upended and everything became uncertain, models were there to provide some predictability in the face of the unknown. Never mind that predictions varied wildly – between models, and even within the same model at different time points. The models agreed that... Read More
15
Jul
2020
Next-gen Synthetic Biology Pushes Further Into Drug Discovery, mRNA and DNA on the Desktop
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13
Jul
2020
Ovid Therapeutics Finds European Partner to Advance Treatment for Rare Neurological Disease
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13
Jul
2020
Playing the Long Game for Antibiotic R&D
This week’s unveiling of the AMR Action Fund, a $1 billion public/private consortium anchored by 23 pharmaceutical companies to support the development and commercialization of antibiotics, is a welcome development in the fight against antimicrobial resistant infections. The money is important, but it was very encouraging to see the leadership of major pharmaceutical companies — Pfizer, Merck, and Eli... Read More
11
Jul
2020
Can Novartis Digitally Transform Clinical Development?
In 2018, Dr. Vas Narasimhan, newly-installed as CEO, told the Wall Street Journal he saw Novartis as “a focused medicines company that’s powered by data science and digital technologies.” Since then, Novartis has tried to grow into this ambition, embracing the concept of digital transformation perhaps more conspicuously than any other large pharma. It’s not easy, as Narasimhan himself acknowledged... Read More
10
Jul
2020
The Remdesivir Pricing Letter Gilead Should Have Written
Dear America, We’ve decided to grossly underprice remdesivir. Hundreds of thousands of COVID-19 patients in America, and even more around the world, need our drug. But the US insurance system is corrupt and heartless. It has demonstrated that it will go to great lengths to prevent patients from getting appropriate, physician-prescribed treatments. You know their tricks: high deductibles, high copays,... Read More
9
Jul
2020
Novavax Nabs $1.6B, BD Secures Fast Antigen Test OK, & a Tribute to Tony Fauci
The United States, it pains me to say as a patriotic believer in our Constitutional system and institutions and generally decent and hardworking people, looks like a disaster zone. A tally of 3.1 million COVID-19 cases, 133,000 deaths, and record numbers of new infections adding up every day can shake one’s faith. Confidence in US institutions, and faith in government... Read More
7
Jul
2020
The Vintage of 2020: How COVID-19 is Molding Biotech Startups
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6
Jul
2020
Writing in the Language of DNA: Kevin Ness on The Long Run
Today’s guest on The Long Run is Kevin Ness. He’s the CEO of Boulder, CO-based Inscripta. This is a startup that calls itself the “digital genome engineering company.” The aspiration, which Inscripta described in a statement last December, was to create: The world’s first fully automated benchtop instrument for genome-scale engineering. Consisting of an instrument, consumables, software, and assays, it... Read More
1
Jul
2020
Simcha Therapeutics Locks in $25 Million in Series A; Renews Interest in IL-18
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1
Jul
2020
Cygnal Therapeutics Zeroes in on Unorthodox Peripheral Nervous System Approach to Cancer
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1
Jul
2020
Pfizer, BioNTech Vaccine Shows Life, but Cases Surge, Testing Falters & Prices Haunt
Catch up on the main happenings in biotech this week, and consolidate your knowledge heading into the holiday weekend. Stay healthy. The US recorded 50,000 new cases on July 1 – a worrisome indicator of things to come, indeed. This Week in Drug Pricing The pharmaceutical industry entered the COVID-19 pandemic as Public Enemy No. 1. Polls showed that... Read More
29
Jun
2020
Q&A with Regeneron SVP David Weinreich on Therapeutic Neutralizing Antibodies
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29
Jun
2020
Lassen Therapeutics Emerges from Stealth with Antibody to IL-11 Receptor
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26
Jun
2020
Leadership, Strategy and Capabilities: How We Are Losing The Fight Against the Virus
“The problem with the world is that the intelligent people are full of doubts, while the stupid ones are full of confidence” –Charles Bukowski The quote above is presented with more than a hint of self-deprecating irony (I did spend some formative years in the UK). Indeed, I am often told I am a little bit too confident in my... Read More
25
Jun
2020
The Exponential Curves Re-Emerge
The curves are telling the story. They were flat for a while. Now they’re heading up the exponential slope again. Texas, Arizona, Florida – and even California, which did so well for so long – are among the couple dozen states that are beginning to look up at those scary curves of new COVID-19 cases. We still have no idea... Read More
24
Jun
2020
Bit Bio, With $50M From Arch, Foresite and Klausner, Looks to Reprogram Cells
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22
Jun
2020
Codiak Scales Up Exosome Capabilities, Snags $72.5M from Sarepta
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22
Jun
2020
From Heart to Head, Corporations Can Step Up Against Systemic Racism
The raw, painful emotions emanating from Minneapolis, in the aftermath of George Floyd’s killing by police, have prompted millions of people to stand up in defiance of racism and inequality. The passionate reaction is right, and long overdue. George Floyd was just the latest in a terrible list of victims of police brutality. What’s most important is how activists have... Read More
18
Jun
2020
Merck Wins 2 Big Approvals, a Surprise from Old ‘Dex,’ and a Digital Therapeutics First
For 40 days, the numbers on new COVID-19 cases have been traversing along a flat, steady ridgeline. Now it is back on the ascent. The President may wish to do less testing to make it appear as though case numbers are coming down. But that won’t make the SARS-CoV-2 virus go away. The 7-day moving average shows new cases are... Read More