Biotech Hangout

On this episode of Biotech Hangout, hosts Chris Garabedian, Daphne Zohar, Josh Schimmer, Tim Opler, Paul Matteis and special guest Allison DeAngelis kick off the show with a look at the renewed interest and recent funding in the neuropsychiatric disease space, including Seaport Therapeutics’ $225 million Series B financing. This progresses into a comparison of diversified versus focused pipelines as Roivant CEO Matt Gline joins the stage as an impromptu guest to share his perspective on the benefits and challenges of the hub-and-spoke model. The group also discusses recent biotech market performance and how the statistics show that biotech is actually having a really good year. Turning to data, the hosts cover Alto Neurosciences’ Phase 2 results and discuss the idea of precision psych and the use of biomarkers in clinical trials. The group also discusses Vertex’s Phase 2 pain data and how Intellia’s positive Phase 2 data in hereditary angioedema moved the stock in the surprisingly wrong direction. Other topics discussed include Sangamo’s accelerated path for its Fabry gene therapy, Starboard takes on Pfizer, Alkermes and Roche earnings highlights, and more. *This episode aired on October 25, 2024.

On this week’s episode of Biotech Hangout, hosts Daphne Zohar, Josh Schimmer, Brad Loncar, John Maraganore, Paul Matteis, Mike Yee and Tess Cameron open up with market commentary and how derivatives, debates and dynamics are impacting stocks including Scholar Rock, Biohaven, Roche and Regeneron. The group also highlights CeriBell, which is the first medtech IPO in years. The hosts turn to neuro sentiment with a look at Lundbeck’s acquisition of Longboard at an approximate value of $2.5 billion net of cash. The conversation turns to the idea of competitors benefiting from M&A and data, with this week’s example of Bright Minds Bioscience’s market cap going from $4 million to $172 million. The group also discusses the FDA’s approval of Novocure’s Optune device for the treatment of metastatic non-small cell lung cancer before turning to a conversation on vaccines, including Moderna’s upcoming Phase 3 CMV data. Wave Life Sciences first-ever therapeutic RNA was also covered, which led to a discussion on how important milestones open new doors. Other topics discussed include the launch of City Therapeutics, Benitec’s gene therapy update, and more. *This episode aired on October 18, 2024.

On this week’s episode of Biotech Hangout, hosts Chris Garabedian, Bruce Booth, Josh Schimmer, Eric Schmidt and Sam Fazeli start the show on the topic of M&A and ponder “where are the deals?” as they consider potential reasons such as the U.S. election, too few assets or too few buyers. The conversation turns to the venture funding environment with a preview of the third quarter venture funding numbers. On the theme of stock price reactions, the group digs into why Sarepta’s has dropped despite its gene therapy now fully approved and discusses Soleno’s stock jump on the news from regulators to not hold an advisory meeting over its new drug application. In other news, the group highlights another China deal, this time between AstraZeneca and CSPS Pharma for a pre-clinical novel lipid-lowering therapy. The hosts also discuss the move by Lily to go after the compounding pharmacies, GSK agrees to settle Zantac lawsuits and the latest on Pfizer and Starboard which leads to a broader discussion on activism in biopharma. Regarding data, the hosts cover GSK’s RSV data, Scholar Rock’s spinal muscular atrophy data, among other topics. *This episode aired on October 11, 2024.

On this week’s Biotech Hangout, hosts Josh Schimmer, Brad Loncar, Sam Fazeli and Tess Cameron kick off the show digging into some macro trends and the potential of an incoming M&A wave. The conversation then turns to a range of topics related to China, including the impact of the stimulus, recent innovation, and the latest obesity assets & China-sourced drugs. The hosts also discuss the updates coming out of Roche’s business day, including the company’s acquisition of a CDK inhibitor from China’s Regor. On the data front, the hosts discuss Poseida and Roche’s myeloma data and J&J / Legend’s Carvytki data, then turn to other news of the week including J&J’s battle to implement a 340B rebate model, BioNTech & Instadeep AI Day updates, IGM Biosciences pivots to immunology, Harrow relaunches Triesence, and more. *This episode aired on October 4, 2024.

On this week’s Biotech Hangout, hosts Daphne Zohar, Brad Loncar, Josh Schimmer, Chris Garabedian, John Maraganore and Sam Fazeli kick off the show sharing perspectives on the markets and its effects on the growing queue of biotech IPOs, particularly following the influx of large private deals over the past few months. As the founding CEO of Alnylam, John provides his thoughts on the Helios-B full study data presentation at the ESC Congress while the broader group weighs in on the competitive implications of the data. The hosts also discuss Recursion, which shared some mixed data this week on its lead AI-derived drug candidate. In other data news, the group discussed the battle of the BTK inhibitors with both Sanofi and Roche announcing multiple sclerosis clinical trial readouts. The management theme was prominently featured in this week’s discussion as the hosts talk about some rules of engagement for biotech executives, ‘founder mode versus manager mode’ leadership styles, and ponder the sweep of management changes announced by Dyne Therapeutics. The hosts also set the stage for anticipated data announcements at the upcoming World Conference on Lung Cancer (WCLC) and European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO), and much more. *This episode aired on September 6, 2024.

On this week’s Biotech Hangout, hosts Brad Loncar, Tim Opler, Josh Schimmer and Sam Fazeli assess the recent macro trends, including the current state of the US economy and some good news for biotech. The group also discussed the big reveal this week on Medicare drug pricing issues and industry perspectives on whether it was more of a whimper versus a bang. In M&A, the Revance and Crown Laboratories merger was discussed as well as broader M&A trends including how a potential change in the White House could impact the FTC and scrutiny on pharma deals. In other news, the hosts shared differing perspectives on Genentech shutting down its cancer immunology group and the company’s wider R&D prioritization. The group also discussed the World Health Organization declaring MPOX a global health emergency and the vaccines in development from Bavarian Nordic, Moderna and BioNTech. Other topics covered on this episode include Zealand’s earnings, positive data from Rivus and Denali, a look ahead at The World Conference on Lung Cancer (WCLC) and European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO) and more. *This episode aired on August 16, 2024.

On this week’s Biotech Hangout, hosts Eric Schmidt, Brad Loncar, Brad Skorney, Luba Greenwood and Josh Schimmer kick off the episode summarizing the wild week for biotech stocks. The group also recaps some of the big earning announcements from the week, including a larger discussion on overall learnings from the Q2 earnings season. The hosts discuss Charles River Laboratories as a harbinger of pharma cost cutting and share general perspectives on the IRA impact on pharma. The FDA’s approval of Agios/Servier’s vorasidenib (Voranigo) for glioma was also discussed, with a look back at Servier’s earlier acquisition of Agios’ oncology business. The group also engages in a discussion on muscle disease as a growing area with potential to address large unmet medical needs and highlights some innovative companies in the space. Other topics covered include the Recursion and Exscientia merger, the biotech bubble, the potential impact of the election on the pharma industry and more. *This episode aired on August 9, 2024.

On this week’s episode, hosts Josh Schimmer, Sam Fazeli, Brian Skorney, Michal Preminger and Eric Schmidt kick off the show by discussing the recent growth in XBI performance. The group weighs in on IPO dynamics, hypothesizing on the influence of investors and the power of FOMO. They go on to note the success of Viking Therapeutics as they’re moving into Phase 3 for their GLP-1 agonist, and what the future may hold for the weight-loss drug market. Shifting gears, the hosts raise concerns on CHMP issuing a negative opinion of Leqembi for Alzheimer’s disease, signaling a shift in the relation of CHMP and FDA standards. The group also discusses PBM execs facing heat from the House Oversight Committee as well as recent rare disease news including the FDA’s launch of a Rare Disease Innovation Hub. The hosts also highlight the growing success of gene therapy and close the show by discussing one of the top ten rules of engagement for biotech executives. *This episode aired on July 26, 2024.

On this week’s episode, hosts Daphne Zohar, Josh Schimmer, Sam Fazeli, Luba Greenwood, Brian Skorney and Paul Matteis begin the show with commentary on the Republican National Convention, including former President Trump’s pick of former biotech entrepreneur and Senator J.D. Vance as his running mate and the potential impact of this administration on the biotech sector, if elected. The discussion transitions to the week’s theme of biotech catalysts, including stock reactions in the current environment and some key catalysts that the hosts are watching closely. The group begins with a roundup of catalysts from the last five days, including Revolution Medicines pancreatic cancer drug data, Lexeo’s positive interim Phase 1/2 data for the treatment of Friedreich Ataxia Cardiomyopathy, 4D Molecular’s Phase 2 interim results in Broad Wet AMD, Pathom Pharma’s approval of VOQUENZA for relief of heartburn associated with Non-Erosive GERD, and Roche’s early data from its Phase 1 obesity drug trial. The discussion then shifts to upcoming catalysts with the hosts sharing the companies and catalysts on their watchlists. Some of the key catalysts highlighted include Amgen’s MariTide Phase 2 readout in obesity, Biogen’s Phase 3 readout for its lupus program, three big data events in depression including from Neumora, J&J and Alto Neuroscience, plus an expected FDA decision for AutoImmune, Alnylam’s Phase 3 full study results of vutrisiran and more. *This episode aired on July 19, 2024.

On this week’s episode, hosts Chris Garabedian, Brad Loncar, Tim Opler, Dawn Bell, John Maraganore and Eric Schmidt provide a deep dive into the obesity, diabetes and cardiometabolic space, beginning with an overview of the key findings in Stifel’s latest obesity report. The hosts also provide a recap of ADA and EASD abstract highlights and take a look at the next wave of injectable therapies and the trends in consumerization and access. They also discuss Pfizer’s update on its once daily oral GLP-1 pill as well as recent reports on patients discontinuing GLP-1 drugs in two years and GLP-1s for obesity-related cancers. Shifting gears, the hosts spotlight a report on the evolving pharma landscape and the future landscape of the blockbuster drug category. In deals of the week, the group discusses Eli Lilly agreeing to buy Morphic for $3.2 billion and Flagship’s new $3.6 billion fund. In data news, the hosts cover Roche’s setback with its pivotal TIGIT trial, uniQure’s positive data for its Huntington’s gene therapy and IDEAYA’s positive interim phase 2 MAT2a data. *This episode aired on July 12, 2024.

On this week’s Biotech Hangout, hosts Daphne Zohar, Brad Loncar, Josh Schimmer, Tim Opler and Chris Garabedian open up with a conversation on recent trends in M&A for private biotechs versus public companies and the potential impact of the election year. The hosts also cover the important data readouts from the week, including Alnylam’s positive Phase 3 results for its ATTR drug and Lyell’s report of a patient death in its early-stage CAR T trial. Additional data covered includes Wave’s Huntington data readout, Intellia’s redosing of CRISPR gene editing therapy and Savara’s Phase 3 readout in rare lung disease. In financing news, the hosts recap Curie.bio’s $380M Pro Rata Series A Fund, Formation’s $372M Series D and Recursion’s $200M offering. This leads into a conversation on AI in drug development and how this is an area full of both promise and hype. On the management theme, the group discusses Gingko’s recent layoffs, business model & revenues. Rounding out the show on the management theme, Amylyx’s pivot to license GLP-1 was mentioned as an example of a management team earning credibility for following through on their word. *This episode aired on June 28, 2024.

On this week’s Biotech Hangout, hosts Daphne Zohar, Brad Loncar, Josh Schimmer, Eric Schmidt, Sam Fazeli, Bruce Booth and Grace Colon discuss the big news of the week including the FDA granting a landmark expanded approval for Sarepta’s Elevidys for patients with Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy. The hosts share their varying opinions on whether the expanded approval was the right decision. The group also engages in a few discussion topics around management, including the “everything is awesome CEO” and the best and worst practices for managing a board. With multiple companies dealing with a stock drop this week (Cabaletta Bio, Kyverna Therapeutics, Taysha Gene Therapies, Aerovate Therapeutics, Ovid Therapeutics), the hosts discuss the different issues these pose for management teams and how to deal with market reactions. The group also shares thoughts on the 2024 class of IPOs, EHA 2024 highlights, BioNTech’s clinical hold on its early-stage cancer drug study, and much more. This episode aired on June 21, 2024.

On this week’s Biotech Hangout, hosts Eric Schmidt, Josh Schimmer, Dawn Bell, Brad Loncar, Tim Opler, Sam Fazeli and Paul Matteis kick off the show by discussing CPI data and how inflation is impacting the $XBI, with analysts hopeful that stability will bring lower interest rates soon. The hosts cover the obesity market, providing updates on new datasets, such as findings from $LLY and $NVO, which indicate promising results in liver fat reduction and potential fibrosis reversal with GLP1+ agents. They also discuss competitive dynamics and investor sentiment of the obesity market and highlight the involvement of various players, including new startups and established pharma companies. In addition, the hosts share updates on Alzheimer’s treatments, including takeaways from the EULAR meeting and $LLY’s lecanemab panel, alongside the competitive landscape between $LLY, $ESAIY and $BIIB. The hosts also explore the role of patient advocacy within the biotech industry, focusing on $PFE’s DMD study and $SRPTA’s upcoming PDFUA, the role that patient advocacy groups have on regulatory decisions,  and the impact these groups have on influencing industry standards and guidelines. *This episode aired on June 14, 2024.

On this week’s Biotech Hangout, hosts Josh Schimmer, Brad Loncar, Tim Opler, Eric Schmidt and Sam Fazeli are joined by special guests Jacob Plieth and Madeleine Armstrong for a deep dive into ASCO 2024, including the highs and lows on the data front. The hosts also discuss the shifting interests from pharma companies as some suggest T-cell engagers may have overtaken ADCs and radios in the oncology space. In non-ASCO news, the group covers NASH data from Lilly and Viking and Structure’s data in obesity. The hosts also discuss the latest on BioSecure Act, improving inflation numbers and pickup in the XBI, Moderna’s first vaccine approval outside of COVID, and more. This episode aired on June 7, 2024.

On this week’s Biotech Hangout, hosts Daphne Zohar, Josh Schimmer, Yaron Werber, Luba Greenwood and Dawn Bell start the show with a look at the XBI and M&A activity from the week, including multiple deals topping over $1 billion. The hosts highlight a few of these big transactions, including Biogen acquiring Hi-Bio for $1.15 billion, Merck acquiring Eyebio for $1.3 billion, J&J buying Yellow Jersey for $1.25 billion, and Novartis buying out Mariana for $1 billion, among others. With private acquisitions in the spotlight, the group digs into some of the high caliber private companies emerging in biotech. The group also covers data updates and related stock price reactions from Summit (the company’s shares tripled after cancer treatment data), Insmed (shares rocketed following Phase 3 trial results for the company’s experimental airway disease drug), Biohaven (its protein-degrader drug falls short of investor expectations), and Roivant’s update on FcRn development plans. In a lively discussion, the hosts share varying viewpoints on whether a CEO should respond or comment to criticism on social media, plus they look ahead to ASCO, and more. This episode aired on May 31, 2024.

On this week’s Biotech Hangout, hosts Chris Garabedian, Josh Schimmer, Brad Loncar, Eric Schmidt and Tim Opler kick off the episode with a spotlight on women’s health, which was sparked by Bayer’s Phase 3 data readouts for menopause symptoms. The group also cover Incyte’s $2B share repurchase which leads into a discussion on stock buybacks and the ‘broken’ R&D model. The group also recaps ASGCT 2024 and new gene editing technologies. In deals of the week, the hosts discuss deals and financings from the week, including Takeda and AC Immune’s $100M license agreement, Uniquity Bio’s $300M launch and J&J;s $850M purchase of Proteologix. In other data news, hosts discuss Merck’s TIGIT/PD-1 Phase 2 safety concerns, Ionis/Biogen discontinue ALS treatment, COVID-19 data from Shionogi and AstraZeneca, and a look at obesity ‘limited data’ versus Vertex’s data transparency. Other topics include Bolt Therapeutics discontinuing its oncology asset, Dynavax denied expanded use by FDA, Recursion’s stock surges with fastest supercomputer claim, and short selling and meme stocks in biotech. *This episode aired on May 17, 2024.

On this week’s Biotech Hangout, hosts Eric Schmidt, Daphne Zohar, Josh Schimmer and Paul Matteis kick off the show with a look at M&A in the sector and debate whether we’re in a “good market” for biotech, if the sector is overly dependent on M&A as an investment thesis and the therapeutic areas that are most attractive for M&A. The hosts also discuss “hot” targeted oncology modalities including radiopharm, ADCs and bispecifics, and predict which of these technologies will likely continue to benefit from M&A interest. Following earnings this week, the hosts cover Janux Therapeutics’ stock price dropping 11.5% while CytomX stock moves +120% to -40% in a matter of minutes. Acelyrin’s founder stepped down as CEO, which opens up a discussion amongst the hosts on how disruptive change at the top can be for an organization and when investors should and shouldn’t care about CEO transitions. The group also discusses Bluebird and Vertex prepping for the first commercial use of sickle cell gene therapies. The episode wraps up with a review of other news from the week including Maze’s deal with Shionogi for Pompe disease, Walking Fish shuts down, Denali’s regulatory update, and FDA sets June date for Eli Lilly’s Alzheimer's drug donanemab adcomm. *This episode aired on May 10, 2024.

On this week’s Biotech Hangout, hosts Daphne Zohar, Eric Schmidt, Yaron Werber and Luba Greenwood are joined by special guest and STAT reporter, Adam Feuerstein. The episode kicks off with the hosts sharing their thoughts on industry sentiment and some of the revealing trends in the week’s Stifel report before diving into Q1 earning reports from Ascendis, Amgen and SpringWorks. The hosts talk about ONO’s acquisition of Deciphera for $2.4B, X4’s FDA approval of XOLREMDI, and how COVID fatigue could be causing us to minimize the threat of the avian influenza H5N1.  The group also discusses Biden’s Cancer Moonshot getting killed by Congress, a federal judge throws out two drugmaker IRA lawsuits and the FTC goes after drug company’s “junk” patents in obesity and other device combos. Adam sparks a group discussion around his exclusive STAT article on how an emerging safety issue in MorphoSys’ Phase 3 cancer study may complicate its acquisition by Novartis. Other topics covered this week include BridgeBio spinning out an oncology company as it focuses on the anticipated launch of its heart drug, US government moving to reclassify marijuana from schedule 1 to schedule 111 drug, and more. *This episode aired on May 3, 2024.

On this week’s Biotech Hangout, hosts Daphne Zohar, Josh Schimmer, Sam Fazeli and Yaron Werber discuss macro updates from the week including President Biden’s proposal to increase capital gains and apply a tax on unrealized capital gains and FTC’s rule to ban non-competes nationwide. The group also covers the roller coaster ride of Q1 earnings including reports from AstraZeneca, BMS, Novartis and Biogen. In oncology news, the hosts review the underwhelming ASCO titles, Acrivon’s positive data for ovarian and endometrial cancers, the FDA approval of ImmunityBio’s Anktiva and Sam Blackman from Day One joins the panel to discuss the accelerated approval of OJEMDA. In financings and deals, the hosts cover Xaira Therapeutics $1B raise, Incyte’s acquisition of Escient, Metsara’s launch in obesity, Cellares/BMS collaboration and a joint venture between Takeda, Astellas and Sumitomo. The hosts also get into a stimulating discussion on liked versus unliked CEOs. *This episode aired on April 26, 2024.

On this week’s Biotech Hangout, Chris Garabedian, Josh Schimmer, Tim Opler and John Maraganore discuss how it’s been a big year for PIPEs and some of the controversy that has come along with it. The hosts also open up a discussion on supply and demand of venture capital and then pivots to Genentech ending its strategic collaboration with Adaptimmune. The group discusses other deals and financings of the week including Future Pak’s proposal to acquire Vanda Pharmaceuticals, Sanofi’s plans to divest Amuniz Pharmaceuticals and Regeneron enters venture investing with a $500 million fund. The hosts also discuss data readouts from Ultragenyx, Biohaven, Sage, Cerevel/Abbvie, Eli Lilly, Roche and Novartis. The show closes out with the latest on WuXi and the impact on biotech, Humira biosimilars grabbing huge market shares and Baker Brothers returns $10 billion to investors. *This episode aired on April 19, 2024.