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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: Blue upward trendline showing rising sto
Business
Vertex Q3 Revenue Falls Short, Looks to Potential CRISPR Therapy Approval
In the third quarter, Vertex Pharmaceuticals reported revenue of $2.48 billion, a 6% increase from the same period in 2022. However, these figures fell short of Wall Street’s consensus estimates.
November 7, 2023
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2 min read
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Tristan Manalac
Pictured: Entrance to the U.S. Department of Healt
Policy
HHS Considers Removing J&J’s Stelara from Medicare Drug Price Negotiations
The Department of Health and Human Services in a court filing last week said that the blockbuster treatment could be “deselected” from the drug price negotiation list, given the recent approval of Amgen’s Stelara biosimilar.
November 7, 2023
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2 min read
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Tristan Manalac
Pictured: Pfizer office in Brussels, Belgium/iStoc
Business
Pfizer’s $3.5B Cost-Cutting Program Claims 200 Jobs at Michigan Site
Seeking to weather declining sales from its COVID-19 business in the third quarter, Pfizer is laying off approximately 200 employees at its manufacturing facility in Kalamazoo, Michigan.
November 6, 2023
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2 min read
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Tristan Manalac
Pictured: Artistic illustration of the kidneys, sh
Drug Development
Travere Touts Phase III Kidney Disease Data for Filspari After Trial Failures
Following two late-stage failures, Travere Therapeutics has unveiled the results of two Phase III studies, attempting to regain Filspari’s footing in IgA nephropathy and focal segmental glomerulosclerosis.
November 6, 2023
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2 min read
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Tristan Manalac
Pictured: Nasdaq signage and building in New York City
Deals
Lexeo Therapeutics Launches $100M IPO to Fund Cardio, Alzheimer’s Candidates
The New York-based genetic medicine company, which expects gross proceeds of approximately $100 million, joins a small group of biotechs that have launched initial public offerings this year.
November 3, 2023
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2 min read
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Tristan Manalac
Pictured: Sign of U.S. Department of Health & Huma
Policy
HHS Challenges AstraZeneca’s Motion for Summary Judgement in IRA Lawsuit
The U.S. government has requested that a Delaware federal judge deny an AstraZeneca motion for summary judgement in its Inflation Reduction Act case, arguing that the company’s core claims are meritless.
November 3, 2023
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2 min read
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Tristan Manalac
Pictured: Man sitting in a chair holding his forea
Drug Development
Neurocrine Touts Phase III Huntington’s Data, Posts 29% YoY Growth
In a late-stage study, most Huntington’s disease patients reported that their symptoms of chorea were “much improved” or “very much improved” following treatment with Neurocrine Biosciences’ VMAT2 inhibitor Ingrezza.
November 3, 2023
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2 min read
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Tristan Manalac
Facade of Novo Nordisk's office in Fremont, California
Business
Novo Logs Over 700% Wegovy Sales Growth in Q3, Raises 2023 Outlook
Riding a wave of skyrocketing Wegovy and Ozempic sales, the company on Thursday raised its sales and operating profit outlook for the rest of the year as part of its third-quarter earnings announcement.
November 2, 2023
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2 min read
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Tristan Manalac
Pictured: Novartis' logo outside its building in S
FDA
Novartis Adds Hidradenitis Suppurativa to Cosentyx’s Label in Challenge to Humira
The Swiss pharma has set up its challenge to AbbVie’s blockbuster immunosuppressive drug Humira with a label expansion for Cosentyx in hidradenitis suppurativa, a painful long-term skin condition.
November 2, 2023
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2 min read
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Tristan Manalac
Amgen sign at its headquarters in Thousand Oaks, California, USA.
FDA
Amgen Contests J&J’s Stelara with FDA Approval for Interchangeable Biosimilar
Ahead of the Inflation Reduction Act’s drug price negotiations, the regulator has approved Amgen’s biosimilar challenge to Johnson & Johnson’s Stelara—with an interchangeable designation to boot.
November 2, 2023
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3 min read
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Tristan Manalac
Pictured: GSK laboratories in Dresden, Germany
Business
GSK Touts Strong Q3 Performance on the Back of Arexvy, Shingrix Sales
The British biopharma company reported 10% sales growth in the third quarter, driven mainly by robust sales of its respiratory syncytial virus shot Arexvy and shingles vaccine Shingrix.
November 1, 2023
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2 min read
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Tristan Manalac
FDA signage at its office in Maryland
Policy
FDA Lifts Hold on Mersana’s Antibody-Drug Conjugate Following Patient Death
The regulator has released Mersana Therapeutics’ antibody-drug conjugate XMT-2056 from its clinical hold, allowing the biotech to proceed with Phase I studies of the candidate with a lower starting dose.
November 1, 2023
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2 min read
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Tristan Manalac
Pictured: Three doctors holding their thumbs up/iS
Policy
FDA Adcomm Sides with Vertex, CRISPR on Safety Testing for SCD Gene Therapy
The regulator’s advisory committee on Tuesday found Vertex Pharmaceuticals and CRISPR Therapeutics’ off-target analysis for its sickle cell disease candidate exa-cel to be sufficient.
November 1, 2023
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2 min read
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Tristan Manalac
Pictured: Facade of Novartis building in Switzerland
Drug Development
Novartis’ $3.2B Chinook Buy Pays Off with Promising Phase III IgAN Data
Following the recent Chinook Therapeutics acquisition, the Novartis experimental IgA nephropathy therapeutic atrasentan significantly reduced protein in the urine of patients compared to placebo.
October 31, 2023
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2 min read
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Tristan Manalac
Pictured: Boy in a wheelchair looking out the window
Drug Development
Sarepta Fails Confirmatory Trial for DMD Therapy, Still Eyes Label Expansion
Despite failing to hit the primary endpoint in the Phase III EMBARK study, the company plans to file for a label expansion for its Duchenne muscular dystrophy gene therapy Elevidys.
October 31, 2023
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2 min read
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Tristan Manalac
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