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Tristan Manalac

Tristan Manalac

Senior Staff Writer

Tristan is BioSpace‘s senior staff writer. Based in Metro Manila, Tristan has more than eight years of experience writing about medicine, biotech and science. Being formally trained in molecular biology, he once dreamed of collecting degrees and starting his own lab. But these days, he finds his greatest joy in a bottle of beer and a beautiful sentence. He can be reached at tristan.manalac@biospace.com, tristan@tristanmanalac.com or on LinkedIn.

Merck Research Laboratories headquarters in Silicon Valley
Mergers & acquisitions
Merck Puts Up Potential $1.3B to Acquire Curon’s B Cell Depletion Therapy
Merck is paying $700 million upfront to buy Curon Biopharmaceutical’s bispecific antibody which depletes B cells and is being investigated for non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma and B cell acute lymphocytic leukemia.
August 9, 2024
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Tristan Manalac
Photo of a judge's gavel, a balance and a stack of papers
Legal
Federal Judge Tosses Chamber of Commerce Challenge to IRA’s Drug Price Negotiation Program
In the latest setback for the pharma industry and its allies, the United States District Court for the Southern District of Ohio dismissed a U.S. Chamber of Commerce lawsuit on the grounds of improper venue.
August 9, 2024
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Tristan Manalac
Gilead's headquarters in Silicon Valley
Earnings
Gilead Beats Q2 Wall Street Estimates on Strong HIV, Cancer, Liver Disease Sales
Gilead Sciences’ liver disease portfolio delivered surprisingly robust performance in the second quarter, jumping 17% as the company awaits next week’s potential FDA approval of seladelpar in primary biliary cholangitis.
August 9, 2024
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Tristan Manalac
FDA sign in front of its building in Maryland
Approvals
Citius Scores FDA Approval in Cutaneous T Cell Lymphoma
Citius Pharmaceuticals’ Lymphir is a reformulated version of denileukin diftitox—an FDA-approved cancer therapy—and the only treatment for cutaneous T cell lymphoma that targets the IL-2 receptor located on malignant T cells and Tregs.
August 9, 2024
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Tristan Manalac
Eli Lilly's Biotechnology Center in California
Earnings
Lilly Beats Q2 Expectations as Tirzepatide Supply Stabilizes, Raises Full-Year Revenue Guidance by $3B
Eli Lilly comfortably cleared analyst estimates in the second quarter after improving supply of its blockbuster tirzepatide brands Mounjaro and Zepbound, which together generated more than $4 billion in sales.
August 8, 2024
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Tristan Manalac
Novartis' office building in Marburg, Germany
IgA nephropathy
Novartis’ Fabhalta Gets FDA Accelerated Approval, Becomes First Complement Inhibitor for IgAN
Fabhalta is approved for the treatment of IgAN patients who are at risk of rapid disease progression, which is indicated by a urine protein-to-creatinine ratio of at least 1.5 g/g.
August 8, 2024
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Tristan Manalac
MRI scans of the brain
Parkinson’s disease
Amneal Wins FDA Approval for Extended-Release Oral Parkinson’s Drug
Crexont was previously rejected by the regulator in June 2023, citing insufficient safety data. However, Amneal Pharmaceuticals’ resubmission included findings from a healthy volunteer study.
August 8, 2024
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Tristan Manalac
Entrance to Vertex's office in Boston, Massachusetts
Government
Vertex Reaches Reimbursement Deal with UK for Casgevy Gene Therapy in Thalassemia
Patients in the U.K. with transfusion-dependent beta-thalassemia will have access to Vertex Pharmaceuticals’ gene editing therapy Casgevy, thanks to an agreement with the National Health Service on the price.
August 8, 2024
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Tristan Manalac
Novo Nordisk headquarters in Silicon Valley
Earnings
Novo Lowers Full-Year Profit Guidance Amid Disappointing Q2 Semaglutide Sales
Novo Nordisk’s semaglutide brands Ozempic and Wegovy fell short of analyst expectations in the second quarter, mainly held back by supply headwinds. The company’s shares dropped more than 7% in Wednesday morning trading.
August 7, 2024
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Tristan Manalac
Novo Nordisk's corporate headquarters in Denmark
Supply chain
Novo Nearly Catches Up to Lilly, Clears Ozempic and Wegovy from FDA Drug Shortage List
A day after Eli Lilly’s obesity and weight-loss therapies were removed from the regulator’s database, Novo Nordisk also made strides in boosting the supply of all but one of semaglutide’s shortages.
August 7, 2024
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Tristan Manalac
Exeternal view of the Servier's headquarters in France
Approvals
Servier Gets FDA Approval for First Targeted Therapy for Grade 2 IDH-Mutant Glioma
Servier Pharmaceuticals’ vorasidenib on Tuesday secured the FDA’s green light for the treatment of patients with grade 2 gliomas carrying mutations in the IDH gene.
August 7, 2024
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Tristan Manalac
Amgen sign at its headquarters in Thousand Oaks, California, USA.
Earnings
Amgen Touts Q2 Growth Bolstered by Horizon Buy, Promising Obesity Pipeline
The company is projecting that future growth will be driven by geographic and label expansions for its rare disease assets, as well as potential approvals in obesity.
August 7, 2024
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Tristan Manalac
Bayer's factory and office in Berlin
Earnings
Bayer Touts ‘Modest’ Q2 Performance Amid Sweeping Reorganization
Bayer’s surprising growth in the second quarter was driven in large part by two pharma products: the prostate cancer drug Nubeqa and the chronic kidney disease treatment Kerendia.
August 6, 2024
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Tristan Manalac
BioMarin's headquarters in San Francisco
Gene therapy
BioMarin Narrows Roctavian Efforts to U.S., Germany, Italy as Sales Stagnate
BioMarin Pharmaceuticals on Monday said it is restricting sales of its hemophilia A gene therapy to three countries in an effort to reduce costs and help the treatment become profitable by 2025.
August 6, 2024
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Tristan Manalac
Business partners shaking hands after closing a deal
Mergers & Acquisitions
Mallinckrodt Offloads Therakos Photopheresis Business to CVC Capital Partners for $925M
The specialty pharmaceutical company has twice filed for bankruptcy in recent years, driven by opioid-related litigation. Mallinckrodt’s deal with CVC will allow it to pay off more than half of its net debt.
August 6, 2024
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2 min read
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Tristan Manalac
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