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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.

Pictured: J&J sign and office in Ontario/i
Drug Development
Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 Vaccine’s 66% Efficacy Rate Not the Entire Story
Overall, against moderate-severe COVID-19 infection, the vaccine was 72% effective 28 days after vaccination in the U.S., 66% in hard-hit Latin America, and bottomed out at 57% in South Africa.
January 29, 2021
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3 min read
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Heather McKenzie
Drug Development
Elevian Targets Aging to Solve Humanity’s Toughest Diseases
Elevian believes that this single protein, a key player in the circulatory system, could be a game-changer in regenerative medicine.
January 29, 2021
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6 min read
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Heather McKenzie
Drug Development
Genocea’s ATLAS Platform May Be Game Changer in Cancer Immunotherapy
While the ATLAS platform has the potential to lead to an effective vaccine in itself, its greatest impact in the field of immunotherapy may be that it offers a new way of understanding how a tumor evades the therapy’s boundaries by identifying bad Inhibigens that lead to suppressive, or inhibitory, responses.
January 28, 2021
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3 min read
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Heather McKenzie
Bumble Dee/Shutterstock
Business
J.P. Morgan: Will Biotech’s Virtual 2021 Launch Become the New Reality?
At the annual J.P. Morgan conference, the biotech industry launched its encore to a wildly successful 2020 – virtually. And, as is becoming the common scenario, attendees found both pros and cons to our new (temporary?) reality.
January 27, 2021
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5 min read
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Heather McKenzie
Drug Development
COVID-19 Vaccine Leaders Turn Attention to Kids, But Results Not Expected Until 2022
Pfizer, Moderna, AstraZeneca, and Johnson & Johnson all have trials of their respective vaccines underway in various age-groups.
January 25, 2021
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2 min read
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Heather McKenzie
Business
CSL: Driven by Its Promise to Deliver for COVID-19 Patients
Industry-leading biotech CSL is leveraging its integrated global portfolio to bring urgently needed therapeutic COVID-19 treatments to patients around the world.
January 25, 2021
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5 min read
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Heather McKenzie
What You Need to Know About Working at Alexion Pharmaceuticals
Alexion Pharmaceuticals is a global biopharmaceutical company developing life-transforming therapies for patients with the rarest of diseases. So, it stands to reason that they are also looking for a rare combination in their employees. BioSpace we spoke with Alexion’s Head of Talent Acquisition, Matt McSherry, to find out just what those key ingredients are.
January 25, 2021
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5 min read
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Heather McKenzie
How to Get Hired at Alnylam Pharmaceuticals
As the industry leader in translating RNA interference (RNAi) into innovative medicines for debilitating diseases, Alnylam employs over 1,400 people worldwide. The company boasts a robust pipeline of therapeutics for genetic, cardio-metabolic, infectious and CNS diseases with four registered products. With this kind of groundbreaking work, it comes as no surprise that they spend a lot of time looking for the right fit – and insist on the importance of the right mutual fit.
January 25, 2021
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7 min read
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Heather McKenzie
Business
The Future of Cancer Treatment Lies in Vaccines, Say These Pioneers
NEUVOGEN’s official strategy revolves around covering the entire immune system so that the tumor cannot perform an “immune escape”. Past immune priming efforts have fallen short because they focus on only a handful of important targets that some tumor cells may not express, thereby allowing them to escape the therapy’s boundaries.
January 20, 2021
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6 min read
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Heather McKenzie
Drug Development
Verrica Presents Promising Phase III Results for Molluscum & Genital Warts Treatment
VP-102, which has the potential to be the first product approved by the FDA for the treatment of molluscum contagiosum, contains a GMP-controlled formulation of cantharidin (0.7% w/v), which is delivered via a single-use applicator that allows for precise topic dosing and targeted administration.
January 19, 2021
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2 min read
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Heather McKenzie
Policy
Trade Secrets, Theft Allegations Levied Against Merck Employee
The filing to the U.S. District Court District of New Jersey, dated December 31st, 2020, states that the materials include compound data, strategic plans related to translational and biomarker data, therapeutic program reviews, abstract publications, plans for Congressional presentations, drug monitoring, and compound publication.
January 14, 2021
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3 min read
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Heather McKenzie
Drug Development
COVAXX CEO Works to Redefine the Idea of a Vaccine
The COVID-19 pandemic that has upended life across the globe has also ignited a reawakening to the value of vaccines, and Hu believes the momentum will carry forward into the new year.
January 13, 2021
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5 min read
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Heather McKenzie
Keitma/Shutterstock
Business
Sanofi Keeps on Rolling With Biond Biologics Partnership
The novel immune checkpoint inhibitor Sanofi deemed worthy of such an investment is BND-22, a humanized IgG4 antagonist antibody targeting the Ig-like transcript 2 (ILT2) receptor, an inhibitory receptor expressed on both innate and adaptive immune cells.
January 12, 2021
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3 min read
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Heather McKenzie
Drug Development
Sutro Maximizes Synergy to Treat Cancer and Preserve Quality of Life
While Sutro’s technological platform opens multiple therapeutic doors, the company’s singular focus on homogeneous molecules is a key part of its competitive strategy.
January 11, 2021
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6 min read
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Heather McKenzie
Policy
New COVID-19 Mutation Could Mess Up Tests, Trigger False Negatives
On Friday, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued an official alert stating that it could trigger false negatives in COVID-19 tests.
January 11, 2021
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2 min read
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Heather McKenzie
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