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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.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals' headquarters in Boston, Massachusetts
Drug Development
Vertex Finally Reaches Pricing Deal With England’s NHS for Cystic Fibrosis Drugs
Vertex Pharmaceuticals’ three cystic fibrosis drugs—Kaftrio/Trikafta, Symkevi and Orkambi—will now be available through England’s National Health Service, following the signing of a long-term reimbursement agreement.
June 21, 2024
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2 min read
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Tristan Manalac
Businessman rejecting money in white envelope offered by his partner in the dark, anti bribery concept - panoramic banner
Deals
Vanda Turns Down Cycle, Future Pak Offers as Proposals ‘Undervalue’ Company
Vanda Pharmaceuticals has rejected two unsolicited takeover offers, saying that they are “opportunistic attempts” to acquire the biotech at a heavily discounted price.
June 21, 2024
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2 min read
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Tristan Manalac
Pictured: Man prepares his GLP-1 injection
Drug Development
Zealand Deepens Weight-Loss Portfolio With Strong Phase Ib Data for GLP-1 Alternative
Zealand Pharma’s petrelintide cut body weight by more than 8% on average, with a good overall safety and tolerability profile.
June 21, 2024
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2 min read
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Tristan Manalac
Pictured: Eli Lilly's biotechnology center in California
Policy
Lilly Takes More Legal Actions Over Compounded Tirzepatide, Warns About Counterfeits
Eli Lilly on Thursday said it is again suing spas and clinics over compounded and counterfeit forms of tirzepatide, the active ingredient in blockbusters Mounjaro and Zepbound, which the pharma says can cause harmful side effects.
June 20, 2024
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2 min read
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Tristan Manalac
Pictured: Entrance to the FTC's office in Washington, DC
Policy
FTC Supports PTO Push for Patent Settlement Scrutiny, Better Antitrust Oversight
The Federal Trade Commission is supporting the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office’s proposed new rules requiring parties to a patent dispute to disclose all settlement agreements, including pharmaceutical drug settlements.
June 20, 2024
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2 min read
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Tristan Manalac
Dementia in senior people. Memory loss. Awareness of Alzheimer's, Parkinson's disease, stroke, seizure, or mental health. Neurology and Psychology care. Science and medicine concept
Prostate Drugs May Find New Use in Reducing Risk of Dementia: Study
A new observational study from the University of Iowa points to the potential of alpha-blocker drugs, commonly used to treat enlarged prostates, as a preventive therapeutic option for dementia with Lewy bodies.
June 20, 2024
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2 min read
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Tristan Manalac
Pictured: The National Institutes of Health's main building in Maryland
Drug Development
NIH Finds Non-Chemo Drug Combo Induces Lasting Remission in DLBCL Patients
National Institutes of Health researchers in a Phase Ib/II study found a five-drug combination elicits strong remission rates in diffuse large B-cell lymphoma patients without using chemotherapeutic agents.
June 20, 2024
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2 min read
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Tristan Manalac
Pictured: AstraZeneca's manufacturing facility in Sweden
Drug Development
AstraZeneca’s Truqap Flops in Phase III Triple-Negative Breast Cancer Trial
Bucking its recent winning streak in oncology, AstraZeneca reported Tuesday that its AKT inhibitor Truqap failed to significantly boost overall survival in patients with triple-negative breast cancer.
June 18, 2024
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2 min read
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Tristan Manalac
Pictured: Photo illustration of hundred dollar bill and graph
Decheng Capital Eyes $700M Raise for Fifth Life Sciences Fund as VC Heats Up
On the heels of last week’s announcements from Foresite Capital and J.P. Morgan Private Capital, Decheng is planning to raise $700 million for its fifth life sciences fund.
June 18, 2024
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2 min read
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Tristan Manalac
GSK's office in Dresden, Germany
Drug Development
GSK Reignites Blenrep Blockbuster Aspirations With Data from Phase III Studies
Promising data from the DREAMM-7 and DREAMM-8 trials have revitalized GSK’s blockbuster goals for its antibody-drug conjugate Blenrep, positioned as a second-line treatment for multiple myeloma.
June 18, 2024
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2 min read
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Tristan Manalac
Pictured: Merck's head office in Quebec, Canada
FDA
Merck Wins FDA Approval for First Pneumococcal Vaccine Designed for Adults
Merck on Monday secured the FDA’s green light for its 21-valent pneumococcal vaccine Capvaxive, which covers serotypes responsible for around 84% of invasive pneumococcal disease cases.
June 18, 2024
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2 min read
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Tristan Manalac
Pictured: A scientist with pill bottles in front of FDA headquarters/Taylor Tieden for BioSpace
FDA
FDA Action Alert: Merck, Verona, AbbVie and Rocket
The FDA is facing four big target action dates in the final week of June, including one label expansion for a bispecific antibody and another for an investigational gene therapy.
June 18, 2024
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4 min read
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Tristan Manalac
Pictured: Takeda sign at its office in Massachusetts
Drug Development
Takeda’s Epilepsy Drug Stumbles in Back-to-Back Phase III Rare Disease Failures
Takeda’s soticlestat, licensed from Ovid Therapeutics, did not significantly reduce seizures in patients with Dravet syndrome and Lennox-Gastaut syndrome, respectively, according to two late-stage readouts on Monday.
June 17, 2024
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2 min read
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Tristan Manalac
Pictured: Novo Nordisk's office in Fremont, California
Policy
Novo Nordisk CEO Agrees to Testify at Senate Hearing After Sanders’ Subpoena Threat
Novo Nordisk CEO Lars Jørgensen has agreed to appear before the Senate health committee in a hearing on the prices of its blockbuster drugs Ozempic and Wegovy.
June 17, 2024
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2 min read
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Tristan Manalac
Pictured: Sign at J&J Vision offices in Silicon Valley
Drug Development
J&J’s $6.5B Momenta Buy Pays Off With Phase II Sjögren’s Disease Win
Johnson & Johnson’s FcRn inhibitor nipocalimab in a mid-stage study significantly improved disease activity across various organ systems in patients with the chronic autoimmune Sjögren’s disease.
June 17, 2024
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2 min read
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Tristan Manalac
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