Heather McKenzie

Senior Editor

Heather McKenzie is a professional journalist with more than five years experience in the biopharmaceutical industry. Since joining BioSpace, she has written more than 200 features and breaking news articles with a particular focus in neuroscience and gene therapy. She has also traveled internationally to cover global biotech hubs such as Israel. In previous roles, she has covered current affairs, sports, education and politics. She previously spent eight years as a senior content producer for executive-level business conferences in the pharma/biotech, legal, energy and business strategy sectors. In her free time, Heather enjoys creative writing, spending time with family and playing with her energetic Russian Blue cat Roofus. She hails from Toronto and has also lived in Chicago and Chesapeake, Virginia. You can reach her at heather.mckenzie@biospace.com.

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IPO

Eikon, Veradermics, Announce IPO Targets as Cautious Optimism Propels Biotech Market

Cancer-focused Eikon Therapeutics is seeking $273.5 million in its bid to trade on the Nasdaq, while hair growth specialist Veradermics is looking for $181.1 million in its foray onto the New York Stock Exchange.

January 29, 2026

3 min read

Tristan Manalac

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gene therapy

Advanced Therapies Week 2026: ‘Solving for Science’ and Weathering Global Complexity

Phacilitate’s annual event dawns as cell and gene therapies reach a new tipping point: the science has hit new heights just as regulatory and government policies spark momentum and frustration.

January 28, 2026

4 min read

Heather McKenzie

Podcast

Roche Makes Obesity Splash, Moderna Cans Vaccine Trials, Sarepta’s New Data, More

Roche’s obesity candidate achieves 22.5% weight loss in Phase II; Moderna pulls the plug on late-stage vaccine trials as Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy’s anti-vaccine policies and rhetoric continues; and embattled gene therapy maker Sarepta announces new data in Duchenne muscular dystrophy.

January 28, 2026

1 min read

Heather McKenzie

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Rare diseases

Rare Disease Biotechs Stand To Lose $4B if Priority Voucher Program Not Reinstated: Report

Some 200 rare disease therapies are at risk of losing eligibility for a pediatric priority review voucher, a recent analysis by the Rare Disease Company Coalition shows. That could mean $4 billion in missed revenue for already cash-strapped biotechs.

January 26, 2026

7 min read

Heather McKenzie

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Rare diseases

Rare Disease Vouchers Caught in Political Abyss. It Didn’t Have To Be This Way

The FDA’s rare pediatric disease priority review voucher program missed reauthorization at the last minute in 2024; advocates have been fighting to get it back ever since.

January 23, 2026

3 min read

Heather McKenzie

Podcast

JPM26 Recap, Novo’s Oral Wegovy Soars as Lilly’s Orforglipron Is Delayed, IPOs Return

The obesity market and Most Favored Nation drug pricing were among the topics de jour at the J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference last week, while smaller biotechs sought to assure investors that their regulatory ducks are in a row; Novo Nordisk’s oral obesity pill got off to a hot start while the FDA delayed a decision on Eli Lilly’s investigational offering; and SpyGlass Pharma and AgomAb Therapeutics join the 2026 IPO club.

January 21, 2026

1 min read

Heather McKenzie

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FDA

JPM26: Beam, Cabaletta, More Zero In on Regulatory Alignment After Tumultuous Year

As biotechs faced investors at the J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference this week, they emphasized agreement with the FDA on clinical trial design and regulatory pathways to approval. Atara, meanwhile, lamented the agency’s “complete reversal of position” after its therapy for a rare surgical complication was rejected.

January 19, 2026

6 min read

Heather McKenzie

AbbVie's office in South San Francisco, California

Cancer

JPM26: AbbVie Seeks Respect for Oncology Pipeline Following RemeGen Buy

Primarily known as an immunology and neuroscience company, AbbVie wanted to put the biopharma world on notice during its J.P. Morgan presentation: its oncology portfolio is underappreciated. This week, the Illinois-based company dove into the sizzling PD-1/VEGF space with a licensing deal with China-based RemeGen.

January 14, 2026

2 min read

Heather McKenzie

Neurodegenerative disease

JPM26: With Leqembi Launched, Biogen Looks To Expand Alzheimer’s Presence

Three years after the accelerated approval of its anti-amyloid Alzheimer’s therapy, Biogen—neck and neck in the market with Eli Lilly and its Kisunla offering—is focused on a near-term FDA decision for a subcutaneous induction dose of Leqembi, a presymptomatic readout in 2028 and a clutch of next-generation candidates.

January 14, 2026

5 min read

Heather McKenzie

Podcast

Deals Roll at JPM26, Policy Front and Center, IPOs Are Back, FDA Stays Busy

AbbVie and Novartis strike billion-dollar pacts while attendees at the J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference await that one big M&A deal and Merck teases limitless buying capacity; Eli Lilly readies for potential orforglipron launch while Novo Nordisk laments compounders; the IPO window cracks open; and the FDA concludes that GLP-1s do not pose a suicide risk.

January 14, 2026

2 min read

Heather McKenzie

South San Francisco, CA, USA - May 1, 2022: Exterior view of the Merck Researches Laboratories in South San Francisco, California. Merck & Co., Inc. is a global pharmaceutical company headquartered in Rahway, New Jersey. The company does business as Merck Sharp & Dohme (MSD) outside the United States and Canada.

Events

JPM26: Confident Merck Sees Growth Through Keytruda Loss of Exclusivity

Merck CEO Rob Davis expressed high confidence during the company’s J.P. Morgan presentation on Monday, revealing that the company is open to deals in the range of “multi tens of billions of dollars.”

January 13, 2026

1 min read

Heather McKenzie

Policy

Flagship CEO Calls Out Attacks on Science, Warns of China Dominance

In his annual letter, Flagship Pioneering’s Noubar Afeyan lays out a choice between near-term “human-made miracles” and a reversion to the pain and suffering of past diseases due to “growing contempt” in the U.S. for the scientific method.

January 12, 2026

4 min read

Heather McKenzie

Drug Development

Biopharma Momentum To Propel Rare Disease, Cancer, Neuro Forward in 2026

After years stuck in the “doldrums,” the biopharma sector is in a “very good place” heading into the new year, analysts told BioSpace, with both rare and chronic diseases headlining investor and R&D interest as JPM26 kicks off.

January 12, 2026

6 min read

Heather McKenzie

Podcast

Novo Launches Oral Obesity Pill, Lilly Targets Lofty Revenue, FDA and M&A in Focus

Novo Nordisk follows Christmas oral Wegovy approval with quick launch; Eli Lilly is headed for $94.3 billion in annual revenue by 2027, analysts predict; nine more pharmas strike Most Favored Nation deals but half remain unsigned; experts call for stability and rare disease action at FDA, and all eyes are on M&A ahead of the J.P. Morgan Healthcare conference next week.

January 7, 2026

2 min read

Heather McKenzie

Neuroscience

Deep Dive: Huntington’s at a Crossroads

Recent breakthroughs and three decades of progress in treating Huntington’s disease

January 6, 2026

2 min read

Heather McKenzie