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.

London-based Pheon Therapeutics will use the funds to push its three lead antibody-drug conjugate candidates through clinical proof-of-target studies.
As part of an ongoing Senate investigation into pharma companies’ tax rates, Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) has asked Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla to explain irregularities in its reported revenues, losses and taxes paid.
Johnson & Johnson on Tuesday released Phase II/III results showing its monoclonal antibody Tremfya is better than its blockbuster Stelara in terms of endoscopic outcomes in Crohn’s disease.
AstraZeneca on Tuesday laid out an ambitious plan to boost growth in its existing oncology, biopharma and rare disease portfolios, as well as launch 20 new medicines before the end of the decade.
Late-stage results from the NOTUS trial showed Sanofi and Regeneron’s Dupixent lowered moderate to severe chronic obstructive pulmonary disease exacerbations by 34% and led to significantly better lung function.
Following its recent about-face on the BIOSECURE Act, designed to combat China’s influence in the biopharma industry, lobbying group Biotechnology Innovation Organization in a realignment is laying off 30 employees.
FDA
The regulator on Monday approved two interchangeable biosimilars to Regeneron’s Eylea, providing additional competition for the pharma’s blockbuster as key patent protections are set to expire.
Despite weathering a difficult year, biopharma continues to see massive pay gaps between CEOs and their median employees, with top executives often earning hundreds of times more.
To support its growing antibody-drug conjugate portfolio, AstraZeneca on Monday said it is investing $1.5 billion in a Singapore production site that will include all steps of the ADC manufacturing process.
The European Patent Office last week upheld one of Moderna’s key patents, handing the biotech an important victory in its protracted COVID-19 vaccine battle with Pfizer and BioNTech.
Pfizer’s Wyeth unit notched a legal victory over AstraZeneca on Friday as a federal jury found the British-Swedish company violated two key patents in developing and marketing its lung cancer drug Tagrisso.
While Eli Lilly and Novo Nordisk currently dominate the GLP-1 receptor agonist space, there are more than 50 candidates in clinical development for obesity and type 2 diabetes, according to analytics firm GlobalData.
FDA
Bolstered by promising response data from its Phase II study, Amgen announced Thursday it got the FDA’s green light for its first-in-class bi-specific T-cell engager Imdelltra for extensive-stage small lung cancer.
GSK said Thursday it plans to divest its remaining 4.2% stake in the consumer health spinout, its fourth and final round of selling off Haleon shares worth approximately $1.52 billion.
Disappointed with Phase I/II results for two Ionis-partnered programs, one for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and another for Angelman syndrome, Biogen has opted to not proceed with their development.