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Dan Samorodnitsky

Dan Samorodnitsky

News Editor

Dan Samorodnitsky is the news editor at BioSpace. He has a decade of experience covering biotech, genetics and medicine. Before coming to BioSpace he was an editor at Drug Discovery News and Massive Science, and his writing has appeared in outlets such as Quanta, STAT, GROW and many others. He is based in Minneapolis. You can reach him at dan.samorodnitsky@biospace.com.

Podcast
CAR T Expands, M&A Ticks Up, Two Psychedelics Read Out, and the Supreme Court Rules on PrEP
The high court sides with HHS on HIV PrEP drugs; Health Secretary RFK Jr.’s newly appointed CDC vaccine advisors discuss thimerosal in flu vaccines, skip vote on Moderna’s mRNA-based RSV vaccine; FDA removes CAR T guardrails; AbbVie snaps up Capstan for $1.2B to end first half; and psychedelics take off again with data from Compass and Beckley.
July 2, 2025
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1 min read
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Heather McKenzie
Photo collage of happy businesswoman funny person building stairs way success achieve goals to increase income isolated on white background.
Cancer
Amgen’s Antibody Improves Overall Survival in Phase III Gastric Cancer Test
In a detail-thin announcement, Amgen said that adding bemarituzumab to chemotherapy improved overall survival, though analysts pledged to wait for more data on safety and tolerability before assessing the drug.
June 30, 2025
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2 min read
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Dan Samorodnitsky
Contemporary art collage, female palms in the orange circle, a bag of money. Concept of business and finance.
Mergers & acquisitions
AbbVie Plunks Down $2.1B for Capstan and Its Novel CAR T Therapies
The all-cash buyout, which gives AbbVie access to Capstan Therapeutics’ in vivo edited CAR T therapy for B cell–mediated autoimmune diseases, adds to a growing sense of momentum in M&A, according to BMO Capital Markets.
June 30, 2025
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2 min read
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Dan Samorodnitsky
Human hand holds brilliant stone. Big gold Diamond in the arm.Concept of good creative idea or business insight, secret or dream. Vector illustration
Rare diseases
Ultrarare Therapies Could Be Reality with Advances in Tech, Delivery and Regulation
Changing how biopharmas package their products, how regulators review new drugs and how mutated genes are fixed could make ultrarare disease treatments possible.
June 30, 2025
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6 min read
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Dan Samorodnitsky
Small boat facing huge ocean waves, fantasy illustration.
Policy
Novavax Approval Process a Potential ‘Harbinger’ of Threat to FDA Integrity: Former Regulators
Writing in JAMA, four former government officials warn that the Trump administration’s involvement in delaying the approval of Novavax’s COVID-19 vaccine could indicate a politicization of the drug approval processes that could ‘imperil public health.’
June 26, 2025
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5 min read
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Dan Samorodnitsky
2006 James Gathany Captured by James Gathany, Centers for Disease Control's biomedical photographer, this 2006 image depicted the exterior of the new "Tom Harkin Global Communications Center", otherwise known as Building 19, located on the organization's Roybal Campus in Atlanta, Georgia. The facility houses the CDC's Information Center/Library, auditoria and meeting halls, which are used to accommodate in-house staff meetings, and national/international conferences hosted by the CDC, and the National Center for Health Marketing's, Division of Creative Services, which includes a full service television broadcast facility. The exhibit area currently features the "Global Symphony", the first of several permanently installed exhibitions, and changing exhibitions that focus on a variety of public health topics. The exhibits in the Center are self-guided, and require no advance reservations. Additional curriculum-based exhibits and programming will be added in the future. Tom Harkin Global Communications Center Exhibit Area Centers for Disease Control and Prevention - 1600 Clifton Road, N.E., Atlanta, Georgia 30333 - Hours: Monday – Friday, 9 am – 5 pm, except for federal holidays Admission is free - Government-issue photo ID is required for entry. Please note that CDC is a working federal facility and as such does not provide public tours of its campus and laboratories. - For more information please call 404-639-0830.
Vaccines
What To Watch for as ACIP’s New Era Begins
The newly appointed members of the CDC’s influential vaccine committee meet Wednesday and Thursday under an unusually rapid timeline, with unexpected topics on the agenda.
June 25, 2025
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3 min read
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Dan Samorodnitsky
Podcast
FDA Churn Continues, RFK Faces Congress, Obesity Insights at ADA, BIO2025 Recap
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. testified in front of largely combative congresspeople on vaccine policy, his MAHA report and more; the mass leadership exodus at the FDA continues as CDER and CBER shed key staff; Kennedy’s revamped CDC vaccine advisors convene for their first meeting; Novo and Lilly present new data at the American Diabetes Association’s annual meeting; and BioSpace recaps BIO2025.
June 25, 2025
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2 min read
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Heather McKenzie
A group of people sitting before microphones at a table on a stage
Government
Acting CDER Head Becomes Latest in String of FDA Leaders to Leave Agency
Jacqueline Corrigan-Curay, who stepped into the role as the agency’s top drug regulator in January, is departing in July, according to an email sent to agency staff.
June 23, 2025
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1 min read
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Dan Samorodnitsky
Refusal to contact. Barrier to negotiations. Division, separation. Protagonist, antagonist, minions. Mediation and conflict resolution.
Vaccines
Experts Say Axed ACIP Members’ Conflicts of Interest Are ‘a Red Herring’
In advance of this week’s CDC vaccine advisory meeting, HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. restacked the committee, claiming problematic industry ties within the previous group. Experts say ACIP had long navigated COIs appropriately and that the new appointees risk the apolitical nature of membership.
June 23, 2025
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4 min read
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Dan Samorodnitsky
A woman speaking into a microphone while standing behind a lectern
Government
Nicole Verdun Exits FDA as CBER Director Vinay Prasad ‘Consolidates Power’
The well-respected director of the FDA’s cell and gene therapy office was seen as a stabilizing and trustworthy voice inside the quickly reshaping FDA, especially since the late-March exit of CBER Director Peter Marks.
June 20, 2025
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3 min read
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Dan Samorodnitsky
Gilead's headquarters in Silicon Valley
FDA
Gilead Wins Historic Approval for Twice-Yearly HIV Drug
Lenacapavir, to be marketed as Yeztugo, could “redefine the PReP market,” according to analysts.
June 18, 2025
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2 min read
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Dan Samorodnitsky
Contemporary art collage. employee mowing forward to success, stepping ladder of professional growth. Concept of business.
Obesity
Scholar Rock Jumps on Weight Loss Data for Zepbound/Repurposed Antibody Combo
In combination with Eli Lilly’s tirzepatide, marketed as Zepbound for obesity, Scholar Rock’s monolonal antibody helped patients lose the same amount of weight as patients on tirzepatide alone while preserving more muscle mass.
June 18, 2025
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2 min read
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Dan Samorodnitsky
Podcast
Another Gene Therapy Death; Biopharma M&A Picks Up; a Vaccine Board of Vaccine Skeptics
Another patient has died from acute liver failure after receiving Sarepta’s gene therapy for DMD ; After a quiet start to the year, M&A is back with one deal for a gene editing biotech reinvigorating that sector; and RFK Jr. installs a suite of new vaccine board members who share his skeptical views on vaccines.
June 18, 2025
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1 min read
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Heather McKenzie
Business concept illustration of a businessman digging and mining to find treasure
Antibody-drug conjugate (ADC)
NextCure Joins China-ADC Gold Rush with $745M Simcere Deal
The deal gets NextCure the rights to Simcere’s novel ADC for solid tumors outside of China.
June 16, 2025
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1 min read
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Dan Samorodnitsky
Biotechnology and molecular genetic engineering. 3D illustration of science and molecular technology.
Duchenne muscular dystrophy
UPDATE: Second Patient Dies After Receiving Sarepta’s DMD Gene Therapy Elevidys
Sarepta’s shares crashed 41% in premarket trading Monday morning to $21.01 after the biotech reported a second death from acute liver failure, a known side effect of adeno-associated virus-based gene therapies.
June 16, 2025
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3 min read
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Tristan Manalac
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