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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.

Pictured: Nasdaq signage and building in New York City
Deals
Boundless Bio Launches $100M IPO to Advance Cancer Therapy Candidates
Continuing 2024’s biotech initial public offering rally, Boundless Bio will debut Thursday on the Nasdaq with the proceeds used to advance its pipeline of extrachromosomal DNA cancer assets.
March 28, 2024
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Tristan Manalac
Novo Nordisk's corporate headquarters in Denmark
Policy
Sanders Blasts Novo Nordisk for ‘Outrageous’ Price of Ozempic, Wegovy
Citing a JAMA study that found Ozempic could be profitably produced at under $5 per month, Senator Bernie Sanders on Wednesday called on Novo Nordisk to lower prices for the diabetes treatment and the weight-loss drug Wegovy.
March 28, 2024
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Tristan Manalac
Pictured: Facade of Moderna's building in Massachusetts
Drug Development
Moderna Secures Up to $750M in Funding from Blackstone to Advance Flu Program
Moderna has entered into a development and commercialization funding agreement with asset management firm Blackstone Life Sciences to help advance its pipeline of flu vaccine candidates.
March 27, 2024
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Tristan Manalac
Pictured: Illustration of lungs with syringes/Nico
Policy
COPD Market Poised for ‘Paradigm Shift’ with Potential Approvals in 2024: GlobalData
Data analytics firm GlobalData expects potential FDA approvals this year of Sanofi and Regeneron’s Dupixent and Verona’s ensifentrine to transform the treatment of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.
March 27, 2024
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Tristan Manalac
Pictured: a cancer therapeutics collage/Nicole Bea
Avenzo Closes $150M Oversubscribed Series A-1 to Advance Cancer Therapies
Avenzo Therapeutics on Tuesday said it will use the financing round to advance its next-generation oncology pipeline, including a potentially best-in-class CDK2 selective inhibitor.
March 27, 2024
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Tristan Manalac
Pictured: Entrance to Pfizer's office in Belgium
Drug Development
Pfizer Terminates Phase III Sickle Cell Study Due to Slow Patient Recruitment
While Pfizer has ended one of its two Phase III studies for inclacumab in sickle cell disease, the company is still eyeing an approval for the antibody in the inherited blood disorder by 2026.
March 27, 2024
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Tristan Manalac
Pictured: White pills on a black background/iStock
Drug Development
Viking Touts Promising Phase I Data for Weight-Loss Pill Candidate
The early-stage study showed that Viking Therapeutics’ oral obesity candidate VK2735, a dual agonist of the GLP-1 and GIP receptors, elicited a 3.3% reduction in mean body weight. The company plans to start a Phase II trial.
March 26, 2024
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Tristan Manalac
Pictured: AstraZeneca signage at its office in Sweden
FDA
AstraZeneca’s Ultomiris Wins FDA Approval for Rare Autoimmune Disease
AstraZeneca’s Alexion on Monday secured the fourth indication for Ultomiris, which can now be used to treat the rare autoimmune condition neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder.
March 26, 2024
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Tristan Manalac
Pictured: Woman falling asleep at her workstation/
Drug Development
Axsome Therapeutics’ Small Molecule Clears Phase III Trial in Narcolepsy
Axsome clinched a late-stage victory for its chronic sleep disorder candidate AXS-12, which demonstrated significant improvement in cataplexy—the sudden loss of muscle tone while a person is awake—after five weeks.
March 26, 2024
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Tristan Manalac
Sign outside BioNTech's building in Germany
Policy
BioNTech Hit with NIH Notice of Default Over COVID-19 Vaccine Royalties
The National Institutes of Health claims BioNTech is in default regarding alleged royalty payments the agency contends it is owed in connection with the company’s COVID-19 vaccine Comirnaty.
March 26, 2024
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Tristan Manalac
Facade of Novo Nordisk's office in Fremont, California
Deals
Novo’s $1.1B Cardior Buy Continues Expansion into Heart Disease
Just weeks after Wegovy won FDA approval for cardiovascular disease, Novo Nordisk has bought mid-stage biotech Cardior Pharmaceuticals and its miRNA-targeting candidate for heart failure.
March 25, 2024
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Tristan Manalac
FDA signage at its office in Maryland
Policy
FDA Authorizes Invivyd’s Pemgarda to Prevent COVID-19 in Immunocompromised People
The regulator has allowed for emergency use of Invivyd’s monoclonal antibody Pemgarda as a COVID-19 pre-exposure prophylaxis for moderately or severely immunocompromised patients.
March 25, 2024
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Tristan Manalac
Pictured: J&J's office in Madrid, Spain
FDA
J&J Wins FDA Nod for Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension Combo Pill
Johnson & Johnson’s Opsynvi has been approved by the FDA for the treatment of pulmonary arterial hypertension, combining macitentan, which cuts the risk of clinical worsening and hospitalization, while tadalafil boosts patients’ exercise capacity.
March 25, 2024
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Tristan Manalac
AbbVie's office in South San Francisco, California
FDA
AbbVie Secures Full FDA Approval for ADC Elahere in Ovarian Cancer
AbbVie’s antibody-drug conjugate Elahere on Friday won the FDA’s full approval for the treatment of FRα-positive, platinum-resistant ovarian, fallopian tube and primary peritoneal cancers.
March 25, 2024
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Tristan Manalac
Roche's tower in Shanghai, China
Drug Development
Roche’s IL-6 Blocker Clears Phase III Bar, Still Falls Short of Expectations
Despite meeting its primary endpoint in a late-stage generalized myasthenia gravis trial, Roche and Chugai Pharmaceutical’s Enspryng did not demonstrate clinical benefit as expected, the companies announced Thursday.
March 22, 2024
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Tristan Manalac
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