Episode 85

01/18/24 • 60 min

On this week’s Biotech Hangout, hosts Daphne Zohar, Josh Schimmer, Brad Loncar, Dawn Bell and Sam Fazeli discuss the latest in biotech news, including their takeaways from last week’s JPM 2024 conference and Brad’s BiotechTV interviews with several attendees. The hosts also discuss the many deals from the week including Merck’s acquisition of Harpoon Therapeutics ($680M), Johnson & Johnson’s acquisition of Ambrx ($2B), GSK acquires Aiolos Bio ($1.4B), Boston Scientific acquires Axonics ($3.7B) and several Novartis deals including their dropped pursuit of Cytokinetics, acquisition of Calypso ($250M), their licensed drugs from a China biotech ($185M) and their deal with Eli Lilly and Isomorphic Labs ($3B). Other topics include two preclinical companies, Metagenomi and ArriVent file for IPO, Vertex pauses its diabetes cell therapy trial and Astellas gets a CRL. *This episode aired on January 12, 2024

Previous Episode

Episode 84

In the first Biotech Hangout of 2024, RA Capital’s Peter Kolchinsky joins hosts Daphne Zohar, Josh Schimmer, Tim Opler, Paul Matteis and Luba Greenwood to discuss the latest biotech news. They start with the last M&A deals of 2023 including Bristol Myers Squibb’s acquisition of Karuna and Rayzebio, and AstraZeneca’s acquisition of Gracell. They discuss insights from RA Capital’s latest sector analysis and the outlook for the sector in 2024, plus JPM predictions. The hosts also cover news from the first week of 2024 including Longboard Pharmaceuticals and Dyne Therapeutics data, Novartis’ expanded collaboration with Voyager, the FDA’s hold on Iovance’s TIL therapy and their approval of AstraZeneca and Ionis’ rare nerve disease treatment. Other topics include Goldman Sachs life science investment fund and ImmunityBio’s royalty financing. *This episode aired on January 5, 2024

Next Episode

Episode 86

This week, hosts Daphne Zohar, Brad Loncar, Josh Schimmer, John Maraganore and Grace Colon discuss the news of the week including several early-stage IPO filings that kicked off the year: Kyverna Therapeutics, CG Oncology and Alto Neuroscience. The hosts also cover AI enabled biomarkers following the FDA’s clearance of two AI diagnostic tools, plus the FDA expands approval of Vertex and CRISPR’s Cagevy as a first CRISPR-edited therapy for beta-thalassemia. They also discuss early-stage funding and an amicus brief that many biotech executives have signed, following the decision on Mifepristone. Other topics include BridgeBio Pharma securing capital from Blue Owl Capital and Canada Pension Plan Investments, Regenxbio Phase 2 data, Wiley Chambers retires and Vivek Ramaswamy drops out of the presidential race. Plus, Bernat Olle, Vedanta Biosciences CEO, joins the group to discuss his recent Timmerman Report article on investor and entrepreneur discussions. *This episode aired on January 19, 2024