BioCentury This Week

The first biotech IPO in a month, Electra's upsized $350 million offering, fell in its trading debut, testing investor appetite while a wave of reverse mergers showcases an alternate route to NASDAQ. On the latest BioCentury This Week podcast, BioCentury's analysts examine momentum in the biotech IPO market.
The team also unpacks fatal toxicities in Novartis' autoimmune CAR-T trials and what they reveal about manufacturing, dosi...

Note: This episode was briefly published with an incorrect audio file, which has since been corrected.

FDA is prepared to approve psychedelic therapies for chronic psychiatric disorders before sponsors have fully determined how long the effects last or when patients should receive second or subsequent doses. On the latest BioCentury This Week podcast, BioCentury's analysts assess the latest guidance on psychedelics from FDA....

A pair of high profile clinical setbacks has wiped out more than $40 billion in market cap for Novartis, most of which stemmed from the Phase III miss of antisense oligonucleotide therapy pelacarsen. On the latest BioCentury This Week podcast, BioCentury's analysts unpack the fallout for Lp(a) as a cardio target and whether issues with the target, modality or treatment setting contributed to the therapy's lack of efficacy. The anal...

Mid-sized biopharma companies are under growing pressure to accept most-favored nation drug pricing deals with the White House. On the latest BioCentury This Week podcast, BioCentury's analysts assess the trade-offs companies face, the litigation risks around mandatory Medicare MFN pricing demonstrations, and what happens to companies that don't sign on.
The analysts also discuss Eli Lilly's acquisition of Merida, its thirteenth...

China has changed the global narrative on delivering early human clinical data, with a new bar for speed and efficiency. And now drug developers and policymakers around the world have gotten the message and know that this is no time for complacency. On a special edition of the BioCentury This Week podcast, BioCentury's analysts discuss why transformational reform for early clinical development will require rethinking the risk-contr...

A Phase III win for a melanoma vaccine from Moderna and Merck & Co. has opened the door to personalized neoantigen vaccines. On the latest BioCentury This Week podcast, BioCentury’s analysts discuss the vaccine’s prospects and the broader implications. The analysts also discuss Roche/Genentech’s deal with Hanmi, which will add to the MNC’s obesity pipeline an asset that the pharma believes could be first...

A baker’s dozen of biotechs shrugged off the summer haze to raise nearly $800 million in venture cash. On the latest BioCentury This Week podcast, BioCentury’s analysts discuss the financings, which included money for a potential challenger to Amgen’s blockbuster Tepezza and a new venture from immunology professor Georg Schett with backing from Deerfield Management, Boulevard Bio.
The analysts also discuss new ...

Pressure is on FDA, policymakers and academic centers in the U.S. to respond to challenges from China, Australia, and beyond to run first in human trials faster and more efficiently. On the latest BioCentury This Week podcast, BioCentury’s analysts discuss how stakeholders in the U.S. are responding to the challenge.
The analysts also discuss the next frontiers of federated learning in drug discovery and the latest crop of...

Rumors flew this weekend about a mega-merger of AstraZeneca and Bristol Myers — but would such a deal make sense? On the latest BioCentury This Week podcast, BioCentury’s analysts explain why they aren’t buying it.
The team also discusses what lessons can be learned from the regulatory roller-coaster ride of Replimune’s RP1 vusolimogene oderparepvec and psychedelic therapies’ inflection point in tre...

Argenx the tier-jumping European biotech, believes its proposed $2.2 billion purchase of Forte Biosciences will add a second multi-indication product upon which it can run the strategy that has made autoimmune drug Vyvgart efgartigimod alfa a blockbuster. On the latest BioCentury This Week podcast, BioCentury’s analysts discuss the deal and put it in the context of a new cohort of large-cap companies increasingly active in bi...

The departure of U.K. Science Minister Patrick Vallance is a blow for U.K. biotech. On the latest BioCentury This Week podcast, BioCentury’s analysts discuss what Vallance’s exit, the appointment of John Healey as Chancellor of the Exchequer and other changes arriving with the new Prime Minister could mean for life sciences in the country. BioCentury’s analysts also discuss an ambitious U.K. data initiative launch...

After nearly three years of sluggish job growth, hiring is turning a corner in the U.S. life sciences industry, while the talent pool is expanding beyond the sector’s traditional hubs. On a special episode of the BioCentury This Week podcast, Ian Anderson, senior director, head of U.S. life sciences & healthcare research at CBRE, joins BioCentury’s analysts to discuss the company’s recent report on life scienc...

M&A enthusiasm is carrying biotech amid tepid reception for launches. On the latest BioCentury This Week podcast, BioCentury’s analysts discuss BioCentury’s 3Q26 Public Markets Preview, asking whether M&A momentum can carry biotech through year-end and what happens if the AI trade goes bust?
Editor in Chief Simone Fishburn gives her perspective on what incoming Prime Minister Andy Burnham’s agenda means...

Novartis is deepening its antibody-drug conjugate capabilities with its $1.1 billion acquisition of U.K. biotech Myricx Pharma. On the latest episode of the BioCentury This Week podcast, BioCentury’s analysts discuss how the deal fits with the Swiss pharma’s cancer toolkit.
The analysts then discuss MHRA CEO Lawrence Tallon’s Guest Commentary in BioCentury on making regulation a catalyst for U.K. life sciences ...

New Parkinson’s disease programs aim to move beyond the historical norm of symptom management, branching into targeted therapeutics and cell therapies. On the latest BioCentury This Week podcast, BioCentury’s analysts review the most promising targets and trends shaping the Parkinson’s treatment landscape.
The team then turns to AstraZeneca’s build-out of its obesity portfolio, followed by FDA’s Ope...

AbbVie's $10.9 billion deal to acquire Apogee will expand its immunology pipeline by delivering assets for atopic dermatitis and asthma. On the latest BioCentury This Week podcast, BioCentury’s analysts discuss the takeout and the assets AbbVie gains.
The analysts then discuss moves by FDA to reverse controversial setbacks that occurred under the agency’s former leadership and assess Acting CDER Director Michael Davi...

Biotech IPOs that are getting out remain hot — but will that continue into the fall? On the latest BioCentury This Week podcast, BioCentury’s analysts discuss the market for fresh biotech paper on NASDAQ, including the $770 million debut by  Parabilis, the largest IPO in the sector’s history.
The analysts also discuss the Biosecure Act and U.S. policy toward China; the cachexia pipeline; and BioCentury&rsq...

Getting into the clinic fast to de-risk assets has become the name of the game in biotech, and at the academia-industry interface, too.
From AI to NAMs to starting a Phase I trial in the U.S., BioCentury’s 3rd Grand Rounds-U.S. conference brought together academic innovators, biopharma leaders and early-stage investors to debate key bottlenecks in translation and how to make early-stage R&D investible.
Sam Blackman,...

FDA’s new leadership is sailing the agency into calmer waters amid a search for a permanent commissioner and permanent center directors. On the latest BioCentury This Week podcast, BioCentury Washington Editor Steve Usdin discusses how FDA’s new, interim leaders have changed the tone at the agency and why they are putting medicines derailed under former FDA Commissioner Marty Makary back on track. Usdin also highlights ...