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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.

Sanofi's Distribution Center in Quebec, Canada
Radiopharmaceuticals
Sanofi Inks $326M Radiopharma Deal With Orano
Thursday’s agreement with Orano Med is the second in as many months. Sanofi in September made its first foray into the radioligand space with a $110 million licensing deal with Orano Med and Texas biotech RadioMedix.
October 17, 2024
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2 min read
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Tristan Manalac
Deerfield - Circa June 2019: Takeda Pharmaceutical Company. Takeda recently acquired Irish drugmaker Shire I
Huntington’s disease
Takeda Walks Away From Wave Huntington’s Partnership After Sinking $260M in Collaboration
Wave Life Sciences in a Tuesday filing with the SEC said Takeda has elected to terminate its option to continue work on Wave’s WVE-003 clinical-stage Huntington’s disease program—a potential $5 billion commercial opportunity, according to the biotech.
October 16, 2024
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3 min read
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Tristan Manalac
Pictured: GSK laboratories in Dresden, Germany
Patents
GSK Sues Moderna for Alleged Patent Infringement on COVID-19, RSV Vaccines
The lawsuits claim that Moderna used and profited from crucial mRNA technology in its COVID-19 vaccine Spikevax and respiratory syncytial virus shot mResvia.
October 16, 2024
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2 min read
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Tristan Manalac
Pictured: J&J's office in Madrid, Spain
Pipeline
J&J Scraps Pipeline Assets Including Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s Candidates
Johnson & Johnson is cutting several programs—most of which are in neurology and psychiatry—as the company also pulls back from the infectious diseases market.
October 16, 2024
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2 min read
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Tristan Manalac
Doctor looks at a chest x-ray film
Lung cancer
Jazz Touts Survival Benefit for First-Line Maintenance Therapy in SCLC
Jazz Pharmaceuticals contends that its alkylating agent Zepzelca significantly improved both overall survival and progression-free survival in patients with extensive-stage small cell lung cancer, when used as a front-line maintenance therapy with Roche’s Tecentriq.
October 16, 2024
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2 min read
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Tristan Manalac
Johnson & Johnson's business center in Switzerland
Earnings
J&J Gets Q3 Beat, Raises Full-Year Guidance on Strong Darzalex Sales
Sales of Johnson & Johnson’s oncology drugs jumped nearly 19% in the third quarter, driven by cancer treatment Darzalex which brought in more than $3 billion.
October 15, 2024
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2 min read
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Tristan Manalac
Pictured: Eli Lilly's biotechnology center in San Diego, California
Inflammatory bowel disease
Lilly’s Omvoh Beats J&J’s Stelara in Head-to-Head Phase III Crohn’s Disease Trial
At 52 weeks of follow-up, more patients on Eli Lilly’s monoclonal antibody Omvoh demonstrated histologic response, suggesting better long-term outcomes than Johnson & Johnson’s blockbuster therapy Stelara.
October 15, 2024
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2 min read
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Tristan Manalac
Close-up of back skin with urticaria
Immunology and inflammation
Jasper Posts Promising Mid-Stage Data for Urticaria Drug, Eyes Challenge to Blockbusters
With positive results for patients with the chronic skin condition, Jasper Therapeutics’ briquilimab is looking to take on Novartis and Genentech’s Xolair as well as Sanofi and Regeneron’s Dupixent.
October 15, 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
Business
Vanda Rejects Another Acquisition Offer From Cycle, Affirms Confidence in Business
Cycle’s second unsuccessful takeover bid comes on the heels of the FDA denying approval for Vanda’s tradipitant, which was being proposed for the treatment of gastroparesis.
October 15, 2024
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2 min read
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Tristan Manalac
Puzzle Brain and US Currency. 3D rendering
Mergers & acquisitions
Lundbeck Deepens Neuro, Rare Disease Portfolio With $2.6B Longboard Buy
Under the deal, the Danish pharma will gain access to Longboard’s 5-HT2C receptor superagonist that is currently in late-stage development for seizures in various developmental and epileptic encephalopathies, including Dravet syndrome.
October 14, 2024
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2 min read
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Tristan Manalac
Pictured: Eli Lilly's headquarters in Indianapolis
Drug shortages
Lilly’s Tirzepatide Could Land Again on FDA Drug Shortage List, Opens Door for Compounders
While the regulator conducts another review into the supply of Eli Lilly’s tirzepatide, compounders will be able to continue selling their own remixed versions of the blockbuster drug.
October 14, 2024
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2 min read
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Tristan Manalac
Pictured: Pfizer office at its South San Francisco
Approvals
Pfizer Wins FDA Nod for Hemophilia Therapy Amid Activist Investor Challenge
The approval makes Pfizer’s Hympavzi the first once-weekly subcutaneous prophylactic injection for hemophilia B in the U.S., according to the company, which is currently embroiled in a row with activist investor Starboard Value.
October 14, 2024
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2 min read
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Tristan Manalac
A scientist with pill bottles in front of FDA headquarters
Regulatory
FDA Action Alert: Amgen, Camurus, Iterum and Lexicon
The FDA is looking at four events for the remainder of October, one of which is an advisory committee meeting for a dual SGLT inhibitor for use alongside insulin in type 1 diabetes and chronic kidney disease.
October 14, 2024
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4 min read
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Tristan Manalac
Outside view of an empty meeting and a city view in the window beyond
Adcomms
Stealth Wins Adcomm’s Unexpected Support for Ultra-Rare Disease Drug Candidate
Despite substantial variability in the presented data and no well-controlled trial, the FDA advisory committee voted in favor of Stealth BioTherapeutics’ Barth syndrome therapy elamipretide, citing the urgent unmet need.
October 11, 2024
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2 min read
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Tristan Manalac
Roche's signage at its office in France
Approvals
Roche Wins First-Line Breast Cancer Nod for Oral PI3K Blocker, Projects $2.3B in Peak Sales
With the regulatory approval for advanced breast cancer, Roche’s inavolisib is a potential challenger to Novartis’ PI3K inhibitor Piqray, which last year generated $505 million in revenue.
October 11, 2024
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2 min read
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Tristan Manalac
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