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Heather McKenzie

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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Neuroscience
Rapport Jumps 180% on ‘Best Case’ Mid-Stage Data for Epilepsy Pill
Shares of Rapport Therapeutics popped Monday morning after Phase IIa data for RAP-219 exceeded analyst and Wall Street expectations, reducing seizures by almost 78% in patients with drug-resistant focal onset seizures.
September 8, 2025
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2 min read
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Heather McKenzie
Bright streaks of light of a spinning carousel in motion, capturing the energy and excitement of a night at the fairground
FDA
5 Companies Caught on a Carousel of FDA Confusion
Amid an unprecedented turnover in leadership at the FDA and mass layoffs of staff, communication has crumbled and uncertainty runs rampant, leaving small and medium biopharma companies without a clear path forward for their therapies.
September 8, 2025
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8 min read
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Heather McKenzie
Robert F Kennedy Jr speaking in front of the Senate finance committee
Government
Senate Hearing Devolves Into Theater as Kennedy Accused of Breaking Vaccine Promises
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. repeated a series of anti-vaccine talking points during his appearance in front of the Senate finance committee on Thursday, as Democratic and Republican senators alike hammered the Health Secretary on recent COVID-19 vaccine restrictions and his views on Operation Warp Speed.
September 5, 2025
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4 min read
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Dan Samorodnitsky
Podcast
CDC Faces Critical Meetings Amid COVID Vaccine Uncertainty, Plus Deals, FDA Approvals, More
Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. will appear before the Senate Finance Committee Thursday, ahead of a vaccine advisory committee meeting later in September. Meanwhile, deal-making appetite appears healthy, and the weight loss space continues generating clinical data and other news.
September 3, 2025
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1 min read
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Jef Akst
FDA
Offit Out at FDA Vaccine Advisory Committee After HHS Rebuff
Paul Offit, longtime member of the FDA’s vaccine advisory committee and an outspoken critic of Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., was recently informed by the Department of Health and Human Services that his services are no longer required.
September 2, 2025
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3 min read
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Heather McKenzie
Building a rocket. Halftone hands assemble a rocket shaped puzzle. Concept of a startup, new business. Hasty rocket launch. Innovation, teamwork, development of ideas and technologies
Deals
Vertex, Enlaza Declare War on Autoimmune Disease in Potential $2B+ Pact
Vertex Pharmaceuticals commits $45 million upfront to leverage Enlaza Therapeutics’ War-Lock platform to create drug conjugates and T cell engagers for autoimmune diseases and gentler conditioning for sickle cell/beta thalassemia gene-editing therapy Casgevy.
September 2, 2025
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2 min read
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Heather McKenzie
Hand holding a puzzle piece shaped like a brain, sunlight shining through in a forest setting.
ALS
New Wave of ALS Therapies Signals Renaissance After Incremental Regression
After a demoralizing period punctuated by the withdrawal of one of the few marketed therapies for ALS, investment in new biotechs, state-backed collaborative initiatives and buzz at BIO2025 suggest a new day in drug development for one of medicine’s most intractable diseases.
September 2, 2025
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6 min read
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Heather McKenzie
Policy
Kennedy Promised Medical Freedom. New COVID-19 Vaccine Restrictions Provide the Opposite
During the COVID-19 pandemic, Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.—along with FDA Commissioner Marty Makary and CBER Director Vinay Prasad—argued against vaccine mandates, partly because they limited medical choice. This week, the FDA under their leadership approved updated COVID-19 vaccines with restrictions that do the same.
August 29, 2025
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5 min read
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Heather McKenzie
Susan Monarez speaking to a senator at her confirmation hearing as CDC director
Policy
Monarez Fired From Top CDC Spot Following Friction Over New COVID-19 Vaccine Policy
The CDC director—the first to be confirmed by the Senate under new legislation—has been ousted after less than a month following internal unrest regarding new, more restrictive approvals for updated COVID-19 vaccines, according to multiple sources.
August 28, 2025
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3 min read
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Heather McKenzie
Podcast
Lilly’s Obesity Pill Heads to the FDA, AbbVie Bets on Psychedelics, HHS Unveils More Change
Eli Lilly drops a second Phase III readout for orforglipron; AbbVie committed to the psychedelic therapeutics space with the $1.2 billion acquisition of Gilgamesh’s depression asset; the CDC taps vaccine skeptic Retsef Levi to lead its COVID-19 immunization working group; and the FDA prioritizes overall survival in cancer drug development.
August 27, 2025
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1 min read
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Jef Akst
Podcast
Oral Weight-Loss Race Heats Up as New Data From Lilly, Viking Reset Expectations
Closely watched data from Eli Lilly and Viking Therapeutics this month have reignited the discussion around oral weight-loss drugs—and their ultimate place within the anti-obesity medication market.
August 26, 2025
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1 min read
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Jef Akst
Colorful, cartoon capsules on a race track
Weight Loss
Oral Obesity Candidates Disappoint With Novo Emerging as Leader of the Pack
With results from highly anticipated trials of Eli Lilly’s orforglipron and Viking Therapeutics’ VK2735 “underwhelming” investors, William Blair’s Andy Hsieh predicts weight loss pills will play a bigger role in low- and middle-income countries than in the U.S.
August 22, 2025
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5 min read
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Heather McKenzie
Podcast
MAHA Report Emphasizes Vaccines, Safety Vexes Viking’s Obesity Win, Novo Gains Momentum
A draft copy of an upcoming MAHA report reveals a strategy in lockstep with recent HHS actions such as reviving the Task Force on Safer Childhood Vaccines; Viking Therapeutics reports robust efficacy from mid-stage oral obesity candidate but is tripped up by tolerability concerns; Novo Nordisk wins approval for Wegovy in MASH; and Lilly takes a pricing stand.
August 20, 2025
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2 min read
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Heather McKenzie
Glowing red neon heartbeat pulse rate line. Health and Medical concept. EKG Pulse Wave, cardiogram and rhythm
Duchenne muscular dystrophy
With Prasad Back at FDA, Capricor To Fight DMD Cardiomyopathy Rejection
Capricor Therapeutics met with the FDA last week for a type A meeting, during which CEO Linda Marbán aimed to explain to the regulator that it got it wrong. Capricor plans to resubmit the application based on deramiocel’s existing dataset.
August 20, 2025
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7 min read
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Heather McKenzie
FDA
Leaked MAHA Strategy Emphasizes Vaccine Overhaul, Streamlined Access to Novel Therapies
A draft copy of the Make America Healthy Again Commission’s latest report, obtained by Politico, focuses on vaccine-related injuries and expediting access to investigational medicines for children—even though the FDA has recently rejected several of them.
August 18, 2025
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3 min read
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Heather McKenzie
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