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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: Woman stepping onto scale/Courtesy Getty
Drug Development
Lilly’s GLP-1 Receptor Agonist Cuts Weight by Almost 15% in Mid-Stage Trial
New Phase II data, published in the New England Journal of Medicine, showed Lilly’s oral GLP-1 receptor agonist orforglipron induced nearly 15% weight loss in obese and overweight adults.
June 26, 2023
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2 min read
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Tristan Manalac
Pictured: Apogee CEO Michael Henderson/courtesy of
Deals
Apogee Files for IPO with Promising Preclinical Immuno Asset
Banking on its lead antibody APG777 for atopic dermatitis, Apogee Therapeutics is filing an initial public offering for an as-yet-undisclosed value.
June 23, 2023
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2 min read
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Tristan Manalac
FDA sign in front of its building in Maryland
Policy
Intercept Cuts All NASH Investments, One-Third of Staff After Second FDA Rejection
A day after the FDA denied Intercept’s application for its non-alcoholic steatohepatitis treatment, the pharma announced it has axed all NASH investments and one-third of its staff.
June 23, 2023
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3 min read
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Tristan Manalac
Pictured: Federal Trade Commission Sign/Courtesy o
Policy
States Back FTC in Lawsuit Seeking to Block Amgen-Horizon Deal
Citing anti-trust issues, six states—California, Illinois, Minnesota, New York, Washington and Wisconsin—are joining the FTC’s legal challenge to Amgen’s nearly $27.8 billion buyout of Horizon.
June 23, 2023
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2 min read
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Tristan Manalac
FDA Headquarters_Grandbrothers/Adobe Stock
Drug Development
FDA Action Alert: Regeneron, BioMarin, Eton and Amneal
Regeneron envisions new dosing for Eylea’s label and it’s the moment of truth for BioMarin’s gene therapy for hemophilia A. For that and more, see inside.
June 23, 2023
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4 min read
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Tristan Manalac
FDA sign outside its office in Maryland
Policy
FY22 Drug Recalls Highest in Five Years: FDA Report
The FDA’s fiscal year 2022 report on the State of Pharmaceutical Quality also flagged a spike in inspections, non-compliant products and import alerts.
June 22, 2023
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2 min read
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Tristan Manalac
Pictured: A dry eye/Kryuchka Yaroslav_Adobe Stock
Policy
FDA Rejects Aldeyra’s Eye Cancer Injection, Citing Lack of Well-Controlled Studies
With no well-controlled data to support its efficacy, the FDA rejected Aldeyra’s methotrexate injection for primary vitreoretinal lymphoma.
June 22, 2023
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2 min read
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Tristan Manalac
Pictured: A researcher working to develop new drug
Business
Flagship-Backed Empress Therapeutics Launches to Accelerate Small Molecule Development
The startup launches with $50 million to improve its Chemilogics platform, which is designed to speed up the identification and development of small molecule drug candidates.
June 21, 2023
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2 min read
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Tristan Manalac
Pictured: A diabetes patient checking her blood su
FDA
Lilly and Boehringer Drugs Approved as New Options for Type 2 Diabetes in Kids
The FDA has approved Jardiance and Synjardy as the first SGLT-2 inhibitors to treat pediatric Type 2 diabetes, providing a new class of oral medicines.
June 21, 2023
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2 min read
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Tristan Manalac
A Novo Nordisk flag flies in the wind/Courtesy jor
Policy
Novo Cracks Down on Counterfeit, Compounded Semaglutide Products
Following an FDA warning in May, Novo Nordisk has filed several lawsuits against spas, clinics and pharmacies selling compounded version of semaglutide.
June 21, 2023
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2 min read
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Tristan Manalac
Courtesy of Michael Vi/Getty Images
Deals
Lilly Aims to Boost Immuno Business with $2.4B DICE Buy
Eli Lilly stands to gain access to DICE Therapeutics’ DELSCAPE platform, which enables the design of orally available molecules for autoimmune and inflammatory diseases.
June 20, 2023
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2 min read
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Tristan Manalac
Pictured: Healthcare working holding an injection/
FDA
Lupin Launches Generic Thiamine Hydrochloride Injection in US
Following the FDA’s approval in March, India-based Lupin is launching its generic thiamine hydrochloride injection USP in the U.S. for treating vitamin B1 deficiency.
June 20, 2023
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2 min read
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Tristan Manalac
Pictured: Chinese flags in a row/iStock
Business
AstraZeneca Mulls China Unit Spin-Off Amid Rising Tensions
As geopolitical tensions rise in the region, AstraZeneca is looking at potentially spinning off its China unit into its own independent business.
June 20, 2023
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2 min read
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Tristan Manalac
Pictured: Healthcare worker examining a hand X-ray
Drug Development
BioSenic Puts Fracture Cell Therapy Program on Hold After Mid-Stage Failure
Following disappointing Phase IIb results, BioSenic is pausing the development of its tibial fracture cell therapy ALLOB derived from mesenchymal stem cells.
June 19, 2023
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2 min read
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Tristan Manalac
Pictured: Eli Lilly Campus in San Diego
Drug Development
Lilly’s Migraine Drug Emgality Fails to Outperform Pfizer’s Nurtec
In the first head-to-head trial of CGRP antagonists, Lilly’s Emgality failed to demonstrate that it was significantly better than Pfizer’s Nurtec ODT at easing migraine headaches.
June 19, 2023
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2 min read
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Tristan Manalac
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