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Tristan Manalac

Tristan Manalac

Contributing Writer | News

Tristan is an independent science writer based in Metro Manila, with 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.

Pictured: Entrance to Pfizer's office in Belgium
Drug Development
Pfizer’s $43B Seagen Buy Starts to Pay Off with Adcetris Phase III Data in DLBCL
Antibody-drug conjugate Adcetris, when used with rituximab or lenalidomide, improved overall survival in patients with relapsed or refractory diffuse large B-cell lymphoma. Pfizer secured access to Seagen’s ADC in March 2023.
March 12, 2024
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2 min read
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Tristan Manalac
Facade of the FDA's office in Maryland
Policy
FDA Updates Use of Biomarkers in Draft Guidelines for Alzheimer’s Drug Development
The regulator’s new draft guidance, released on Monday, provides additional details regarding the use of surrogate and biomarker endpoints to support accelerated approvals.
March 12, 2024
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2 min read
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Tristan Manalac
Pictured: Roche Diagnostics building in California
Drug Development
Roche Plots Neuro Comeback with Promising Mid-Stage Alzheimer’s Data
In Monday’s neurology update for investors, Roche touted data from a small Ib/IIa trial for trontinemab, an investigational therapy for Alzheimer’s disease which demonstrated “rapid and robust” amyloid plaque reduction.
March 12, 2024
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Tristan Manalac
Pictured: Man leaning against wall/iStock, Katarzy
Policy
Acadia Axes Antipsychotic Candidate After Phase III Schizophrenia Failure
Acadia Pharmaceuticals is terminating development of its antipsychotic drug pimavanserin, which did not demonstrate a statistically significant improvement over placebo in the late-stage study’s primary endpoint.
March 12, 2024
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Tristan Manalac
Pictured: Illustration of antibodies attacking a nerve cell
Policy
FDA Rejects Viatris, Mapi’s Long-Acting Multiple Sclerosis Injection
With Monday’s FDA rejection of their long-acting glatiramer acetate formulation, Viatris and Mapi Pharma continue the biopharma industry’s recent losing streak in multiple sclerosis.
March 11, 2024
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Tristan Manalac
Pictured: Novartis' logo outside its building in S
Drug Development
Novartis’ Remibrutinib Shows Promise in Small Mid-Stage Hidradenitis Suppurativa Study
Early Phase IIb data from 66 patients showed Novartis’ BTK inhibitor remibrutinib has potential outside chronic spontaneous urticaria, leading to symptomatic relief in patients with hidradenitis suppurativa.
March 11, 2024
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Tristan Manalac
Pictured: Woman scratching skin lesions on her elb
Drug Development
Alumis’ TYK2 Blocker Clears Phase II in Plaque Psoriasis on Heels of Series C
Fresh off its $259 million Series C funding round, Alumis unveiled mid-stage data Saturday for its TYK2 inhibitor ESK-001 demonstrating strong symptomatic improvement in moderate-to-severe plaque psoriasis.
March 11, 2024
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Tristan Manalac
Pictured: J&J's office in Madrid, Spain
Drug Development
J&J Gets Phase II Win for First Targeted Oral Peptide in Plaque Psoriasis
Johnson & Johnson’s Protagonist-partnered oral psoriasis candidate was able to sustain its therapeutic benefit through one year, according to data presented on Saturday at the American Academy of Dermatology annual meeting.
March 11, 2024
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Tristan Manalac
Pictured: Eli Lilly's headquarters in Indianapolis
Policy
Lilly’s Donanemab Hit with Surprise Delay, Set to Face FDA Adcomm
The FDA will convene its Peripheral and Central Nervous System Drugs Advisory Committee to discuss Eli Lilly’s application for its Alzheimer’s disease antibody donanemab, the company announced Friday.
March 8, 2024
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3 min read
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Tristan Manalac
Pictured: Infant in the hospital wearing a ventila
Drug Development
AstraZeneca, Sanofi’s Beyfortus 90% Effective at Preventing RSV Hospitalizations: CDC
AstraZeneca and Sanofi’s respiratory syncytial virus immunizing antibody Beyfortus reached effectiveness of 90% against infection-related hospitalization in infants, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
March 8, 2024
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Tristan Manalac
Pictured: The inside of a federal courtroom/iStock
Policy
NJ Federal Judge Skeptical of Pharma’s Challenge to IRA Drug Price Negotiations
Judge Zahid Quraishi on Thursday appeared unconvinced by the pharmaceutical companies’ arguments that the Inflation Reduction Act’s Drug Price Negotiation Program violated the U.S. Constitution.
March 8, 2024
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Tristan Manalac
FDA signage at its office in Maryland
FDA
BeiGene Secures Fifth Approval for Brukinsa, Expands into Follicular Lymphoma
BeiGene’s Brukinsa becomes the first BTK inhibitor approved for follicular lymphoma, the most common type of low-grade non-Hodgkin lymphoma.
March 8, 2024
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Tristan Manalac
Pictured: A scientist with pill bottles in front o
Policy
FDA Action Alert: Mirum, BMS, Madrigal and More
The FDA’s busy week ahead involves three decision dates for potential industry firsts and a highly anticipated advisory committee meeting for two CAR-T therapies.
March 7, 2024
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6 min read
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Tristan Manalac
Facade of Novo Nordisk's office in Fremont, California
Drug Development
Novo Touts Phase I Data for Next-Generation Obesity Candidate
Novo Nordisk’s early-stage amylin and GLP-1 co-agonist elicited a 13.1% reduction in body weight, with an overall favorable safety profile, the Danish drugmaker reported Thursday at an investor event.
March 7, 2024
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Tristan Manalac
External view of AstraZeneca's production plant in Sweden
Drug Delivery
AstraZeneca Invests $827M in UK Footprint, Focuses on Vaccine Manufacturing and R&D
The Anglo-Swedish drugmaker is making the investment to bolster its vaccine manufacturing and research and development capabilities in the U.K.
March 7, 2024
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2 min read
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Tristan Manalac
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