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.

Neurosurgeon analyzes an MRI, iStock, gorodenkoff

Drug Development

6 Neuro Data Readouts to Watch in the First Half of 2024

From ALS to depression to Huntington’s disease, many neuroscience-focused companies are anticipating key data over the next few months.

January 19, 2024

6 min read

Heather McKenzie

Pictured: Randomized data over a strand of DNA/Nic

Policy

FDA’s Marks Advocates for Flexibility in Rare Disease Gene Therapy Trials

CBER Director Peter Marks recently spoke in favor of single-arm trials in certain situations, but clinicians and ethicists say there are several variables to consider.

January 18, 2024

6 min read

Heather McKenzie

3d render of cytotoxic CAR exosomes secreted by engineered T immune cells

CAR T Cell Therapy Is a Comparatively Low-Risk Cancer Treatment: Industry Experts

Following the FDA’s November announcement of an investigation into 20 cases of T cell lymphoma recipients of CAR-T therapies, a cadre of cancer and cell therapy leaders published their assessment in Nature.

January 9, 2024

3 min read

Heather McKenzie

Business

The Therapeutic Areas that Stood Out in BioSpace’s NextGen Class of 2024

The therapeutic targets of many of our top startups are also reflected in recent big biopharma acquisitions and partnerships.

January 5, 2024

3 min read

Heather McKenzie

Policy

5 FDA Decisions to Watch in Q1

Iovance’s lifileucel for advanced melanoma and Madrigal’s resmetirom for nonalcoholic steatohepatitis are just a couple of the key decisions on the FDA’s docket this quarter.

December 19, 2023

6 min read

Heather McKenzie

FDA

FDA Approves Two Gene Therapies for Sickle Cell, First CRISPR-Based Medicine

Along with CRISPR/Cas9-based Casgevy—developed by Vertex Pharmaceuticals and CRISPR Therapeutics—the regulator on Friday approved bluebird bio’s Lyfgenia, a second gene therapy for sickle cell disease.

December 8, 2023

3 min read

Heather McKenzie

Pictured: An hourglass connected by strands of DNA

Policy

FDA Weighs Gene-Editing Treatments’ Curative Possibilities Against Potential Risks

As Vertex and CRISPR Therapeutics’ exa-cel and Verve Therapeutics’ VERVE-101 move forward, questions remain about possible drawbacks of such therapies.

December 8, 2023

6 min read

Heather McKenzie

Pictured: A collage of medical notes and anatomy/N

Drug Development

Moving RNA Therapeutics Beyond the Liver

From the skin to the lungs to the central nervous system, biotech companies are making progress toward delivering RNA therapeutics to multiple targets throughout the body. But challenges remain.

December 1, 2023

7 min read

Heather McKenzie

Drug Development

First ever CRISPR gene therapy approval: What happens next?

CRISPR gene-editing has had its first ever approval in the UK. Will the FDA follow suit? What can patients expect the price tag to be?

November 21, 2023

1 min read

Greg Slabodkin

Pictured: From left: Jackson, Kassie, Kenzie, Kayl

Business

First Rett Treatment Offers Hope to Morell Family

When twins Kenzie and Kaylie were diagnosed with Rett syndrome in 2016, there was no dedicated treatment for the neurodevelopmental disorder. That changed this year with the approval of Acadia Pharmaceuticals’ Daybue.

November 21, 2023

4 min read

Heather McKenzie

Drug Development

Deep Dive: How Four Companies are Leveraging AI in Drug Development

In this deep dive, BioSpace examines how small, medium and large companies are using artificial intelligence and machine learning to enhance their drug discovery efforts.

November 17, 2023

4 min read

Heather McKenzie

Pictured: An aerial picture of the Tel Aviv skylin

Business

Israeli Biopharma Execs Vow Resilience, Anticipate Long-Term Fallout from Gaza War

Executives from Israel-based companies express concern about future investment and other operational impacts, as the war rages on in Gaza with tragic loss of life amid political and economic uncertainties.

November 14, 2023

5 min read

Heather McKenzie

Pictured: abstract bokeh optical light/iStock, Ole

Drug Development

Companies Devise New Ways to Smuggle Drugs Across the Blood-Brain Barrier

To protect the central nervous system, the blood-brain barrier bars entry to around 98% of molecules—but approaches like Roche’s trontinemab could spell new hope in Alzheimer’s and beyond.

November 10, 2023

7 min read

Heather McKenzie

A maze representing the complexity of NASH /Nicole

Drug Development

NASH on the Cusp: An Emerging Market Opportunity

The non-alcoholic steatohepatitis space is still a “big mystery,” analysts tell BioSpace, but its connection to weight loss could provide an additional opportunity for contenders.

October 20, 2023

6 min read

Heather McKenzie

Pictured: Rare disease ribbon with cut-outs of people

Drug Development

Experts Implore FDA to Accept Biomarker Evidence in Ultra-Rare Diseases

Last year, the FDA declined to approve a drug that appears to reverse a rare and debilitating enzyme deficiency. Some experts say it’s emblematic of a need for more flexibility around therapeutics targeting rare diseases.

October 13, 2023

6 min read

Heather McKenzie