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Heather McKenzie

Heather McKenzie

Senior Editor

Heather McKenzie is a professional journalist with more than 8 years’ experience in the biopharmaceutical industry. Since joining BioSpace, she has written more than 300 features and breaking news articles, including multiple award-winning stories. Her particular focuses are neuroscience, rare disease and regulatory science. She has also traveled internationally to cover global biotech hubs, including 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, watching her American League champion Toronto Blue Jays, 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.

Drug Development
Intranasal Approaches Have Potential As Vaccines & Therapies for COVID-19
With billions invested in R&D over the past year to find vaccines and therapies for the novel coronavirus, a few select life sciences companies and academic institutions are working on the hypothesis that intranasal vaccines and therapies could be key to stopping COVID-19 in its tracks, and provide greater protection against transmission of COVID-19.
February 12, 2021
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9 min read
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Heather McKenzie
Business
NeuroRX/Relief Therapeutics’ COVID-19 Respiratory Distress Drug Significantly Reduces Hospital Stay
ZYESAMI is intended to block the replication of SARS-CoV-2 in the ATII cell, as well as cytokine synthesis, thereby relieving respiratory distress. It is the only treatment in development that targets these ATII cells, and if approved, would be the first drug on the market for COVID-19 patients critically ill with respiratory failure.
February 9, 2021
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3 min read
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Heather McKenzie
Drug Development
COVID-19 Long-Hauler Therapy Space Beginning to Take Shape
While the space is just beginning to emerge, therapies for long-haul COVID-19 patients are still very much an unmet need.
February 9, 2021
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7 min read
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Heather McKenzie
Drug Development
Navigating the Minefield of Organ Donation During the COVID-19 Pandemic
When all is said and done, there will have been many forgotten victims of COVID-19. With the SARS-CoV-2 virus showing up in more and more human organs, will potential recipients be among them?
February 5, 2021
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5 min read
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Heather McKenzie
Drug Development
A Miracle Cure for COVID-19? We’ve Heard That One Before
On the other hand, when dealing with a novel coronavirus, a certain amount of speed and urgency is necessary. Professor Chris Molloy, Chief Executive Officer of the U.K,’s Medicines Discovery Catapult, told BioSpace that real-time data should be considered, with a different lens applied.
February 4, 2021
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7 min read
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Heather McKenzie
Bio NC
Bryn’s Fear-Free Emergency Epinephrine Solution for Anaphylaxis
Anaphylaxis is a serious and potentially fatal allergy to bee venom, food, and medication, and only 50-60% of the affected population is adequately prepared for an attack. Even less are prepared in severe cases where a second dose is required.
February 4, 2021
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5 min read
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Heather McKenzie
Business
An Early February Focus on U.S.-Asia Drug Development Deals - UPDATED
Cross-continental drug development and commercialization deals are good for business, and imperative for patients to receive access to the most valuable scientific breakthroughs. This month has already brought a number of these partnerships for the treatment of cancer and other diseases. Here’s a look at three of them.
February 2, 2021
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6 min read
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Heather McKenzie
Policy
How COVID-19 Has Permanently Changed The World of Medical Research
A spirit of urgency and collaboration broke down traditional informational barriers as industry and academia organized like never before in modern history to develop a vaccine in just nine months.
February 1, 2021
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5 min read
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Heather McKenzie
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
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