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.
Hi, I’m Luke Timmerman, a biotech journalist.
I’m carrying my 80-pound training backpack, up and down the hills of Seattle, for a reason.
I’m training to climb Mt. Everest, the highest mountain in the world, in 2018.
Why do this?
Of course, I love the mountains.
But mostly, I’m doing it to support the top-notch research at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center. I’m doing it to support my hometown of Seattle. And I’m doing it to support science itself.
As a biotech journalist for 15 years, I’ve had the privilege to meet scientists around the country doing amazing work. I see a cancer revolution happening. Immunotherapies are emerging that harness the power of the immune system to attack cancer cells much like the viruses and bacteria that we fight off every day. Fast DNA sequencers and other sensitive instruments are making it possible to detect cancer earlier than ever before, when it’s most easily treated.
Fred Hutch is at the leading edge of cancer cures. Their pioneering research is helping people with many types of cancer live longer, and lead better lives. We’re seeing just the beginning of what is possible.
We can’t let up — especially during this time of so much thrilling progress.
So I ask you to please give generously to this important cause at a crucial moment in time.
Let’s take this all the way. Donate to the Climb to Fight Cancer at Fred Hutch, and you’ll help scientists push to the top of the mountain – the cure.
Today’s guest on “The Long Run” podcast is Richard Pops.
He’s the chairman and CEO of Alkermes. He is one of the seniormost executives in the biopharma industry, having joined Alkermes as CEO back in 1991. The company is known for its technology around making long-lasting injectable drugs, especially for mass-market chronic diseases like schizophrenia and diabetes.
Richard Pops, chairman and CEO, Alkermes
I’ve known Pops for years, and know him to be a thoughtful and intense conversation partner on many biopharma issues. This particular talk was focused on Alkermes’ effort to fight one of our country’s most troubling public health threats – the opioid addiction crisis. Alkermes markets an injectable drug called naltrexone (Vivitrol).
It’s the only anti-addiction drug approved by the FDA that interferes with opioid receptors. It is designed to block the feeling that makes people get high. The Alkermes drug has an undeniably important role to play.
The drug, however, got off to a slow start in the market since FDA approval in 2010. Alkermes has gone up against an entrenched competitor, buprenorphine (marketed as Suboxone). The competitor is a mild opioid that’s supposed to help wean people off the opioid painkillers prone to abuse like Oxycontin, Vicodin, Percocet or Fentanyl.
The media has started paying more attention to the opioid crisis this year, and Alkermes has taken some heat along the way. The New York Times and NPR published hard-hitting works that wondered whether it is profiteering off this heartbreaking national tragedy, with limited data to support its drug’s efficacy and over-aggressive marketing.
It’s true that Alkermes has made political contributions to officials that had a hand in the 21st Century Cures Act, which put an additional $1 billion of government resources toward combatting the opioid epidemic. Alkermes has also done some consumer-focused advertising about Vivitrol and some targeted marketing outreach to drug courts and criminal justice authorities. It’s also true that Vivitrol sales are growing. They grew by 40 percent in the second quarter, according to Alkermes. The drug had sales of $66 million in the quarter ended June 30.
No one had reported on a head-to-head comparison of the two main anti-addiction treatments (Suboxone and Vivitrol) until recently. Researchers from Norway published work in the Journal of the American Medical Association Psychiatry, from a randomized study of 159 people with opioid dependence, which showed that Vivitrol met its goal of demonstrating that it’s not inferior (roughly equivalent) at helping people reduce their opioid dependence.
It’s fair to ask hard questions about what Alkermes is doing, like with any company. But fundamentally in my view, it has a drug that can be part of the solution, not a driver of the problem.
There are other companies that over-marketed opioid painkillers. There are distributors that kept opioid painkillers flowing like a river through their supply channels, turning a blind eye to the crisis. There are unscrupulous doctors running pill mills. There’s a lot of blame to go around.
No one company, or government agency, can fix this problem singlehandedly. This will take a long-term push from multiple players – doctors, public health authorities, law enforcement, the pharmaceutical industry and more. I hope by listening to this conversation, you’ll gain some appreciation for the complexity.
Now, join me for The Long Run.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
George Yancopoulos, the president and chief scientific officer, started his biotech career in 1989 at Regeneron Pharmaceuticals. He’s been there ever since, and has pretty much seen it all.
It was a pleasure to have him as the guest for Episode 3 of The Long Run podcast.
Yancopoulos, in this recording at Regeneron offices in Tarrytown, NY, talks about how he and CEO Len Schleifer built the company together.
George Yancopoulos, president and chief scientist, Regeneron Pharmaceuticals
These two recall the lean years when investors wondered if they were running a science project, or building a real drug company. But Regeneron has broken out as one of biotech’s big successes. The company has developed 6 FDA-approved drugs so far. It’s the third-best performing stock in the S&P 500 over the past decade. Now Regeneron is attempting to the lay the foundation for many more drugs by investing in an ambitious genomics-based discovery center.
Yancopoulos is a forceful personality. You’ll hear his passion for science come through clearly in this conversation.
Before you take a listen, a couple quick plugs. If you like this show, you’ll love my subscription newsletter, Timmerman Report. You can go to timmermanreport.com to subscribe, either as an individual, or with a group discount for your company or university.
If you are interested in sponsorship opportunities for this podcast, this will be a great way to get your company’s name in front of a high-value audience of biotech executives and investors. Send me an email. luke@timmermanreport.com.
The next episode of The Long Run will feature a conversation with Richard Pops, the CEO of Alkermes, about his company’s anti-addiction drug, and the role it can play in combating the opioid painkiller epidemic.
This was a serious conversation, and an uncomfortable one at times. Some in industry have been irresponsible in overmarketing opioid painkillers. There is no silver bullet for this scourge. This will take a long-term push from multiple players – doctors, public health authorities, law enforcement, and the pharmaceutical industry. You won’t want to miss that upcoming conversation with Richard Pops.
Now, join me for The Long Run. Thanks for listening.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Podcast listeners, check it out: Today, I’m starting a new podcast for biotech adventurers like you – executives, investors, scientists.
It’s called The Long Run. Here’s the gist:
Antarctic explorer Ernest Shackleton, if he were alive, would appreciate biotech. Today’s scientific entrepreneurs must be ready for the “hazardous journey, bitter cold, long months of complete darkness, constant danger, safe return doubtful, honor and recognition in case of success.” Today, the men and women who strive to apply science for the betterment of human health have a historic opportunity. They need stamina, and resilience, to achieve something meaningful. Biotech’s relationship with the society that sustains it has never been more tenuous.
This show will provide a forum for thoughtful conversations with biotech leaders, typically between 45-60 minutes, airing every other week.
John Maraganore, CEO, Alnylam Pharmaceuticals.
The debut episode (click here) features John Maraganore, the CEO of Alnylam Pharmaceuticals and the chairman of the Biotechnology Innovation Organization. We covered some of Alnylam’s 15-year history, making the transition to a commercial enterprise on the cusp of long-awaited Phase III clinical trial data, and the industry’s ongoing problem with drug pricing.
LISTEN
Like all podcasts, this show is being made free to all listeners – no TR subscription necessary. As an independent production of Timmerman Report, it will be available here first.
The next episode of The Long Run will feature Katrine Bosley, CEO of Editas Medicine, a drugmaker based on CRISPR-based genome editing technology. In Ep. 3, hear Regeneron Pharmaceuticals chief scientist George Yancopoulos talk passionately about creating a scientific culture that is so productive at creating new medicines that it doesn’t need to resort to price-gouging stunts. Expect a wide range of fascinating people and topics to come over time.
Thanks go out to my excellent collaborators. Pedro Rosado of Headstepper Media was the editor and producer. Music comes from D.A. Wallach. Todd Bennings created the logo. Steve White developed the landing page on TimmermanReport.com.
If you, or someone you know, is interested in sponsoring The Long Run, let’s talk. This will represent a rare opportunity for one, maybe two, sponsors to deeply engage with biotech leaders who will be listening. Email: luke@timmermanreport.com
Don’t miss an episode. Subscribe for free at the links below. Thanks for listening!
