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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.

AbbVie headquarters building facade of an American publicly traded biopharmaceutical company. - South San Francisco, California, USA - 2021
Patents
AbbVie Adds Four Years of Exclusivity to Rinvoq Franchise With Generics Settlement
The settlement agreement will extend market exclusivity for AbbVie’s JAK inhibitor in the U.S. until 2037—providing pediatric exclusivity is granted.
September 12, 2025
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Tristan Manalac
Crisis. Sanctions. Withdrawal of investment and capital. Stop participation. The collapse of the company, the split of business partners.
Autoimmune disease
Intercept Withdraws Embattled Liver Drug from US Market
Ocaliva won accelerated approval for primary biliary cholangitis in 2016, which the FDA refused to upgrade to full approval last year after an advisory committee was unable to verify a favorable risk/benefit profile.
September 12, 2025
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Tristan Manalac
Stack of coins balancing on seesaw over a bottle of pills.
Tariffs
Trump Carves Tariff Exemptions for Some Pharma Products
President Donald Trump is considering tariff exemptions for certain “non-patented” pharmaceuticals, though the White House has yet to release specific guidelines.
September 12, 2025
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Tristan Manalac
Focal seizure. Vector illustration of human brain and electroencephalograhy or EEG originating from temporal lobe.
Gene therapy
Capsida Reports Patient Death in Gene Therapy Trial
Capsida has yet to disclose the exact cause of death. The patient had received the gene therapy CAP-002 for a type of epilepsy.
September 11, 2025
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Tristan Manalac
Joint pain anatomy medical concept
Pain
FDA Looks To Streamline Development of Non-Opioid Painkillers
New draft guidelines suggest the FDA is open to exercising regulatory flexibility for non-opioid drugs being developed for chronic pain.
September 11, 2025
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Tristan Manalac
Goal concept. Human hand in dotted pop art style pointing on the target for red paper plane. Vector illustration
Duchenne muscular dystrophy
Avidity Touts Functional Improvements for DMD Therapy, Clearing Way to FDA
Analysts at BMO Capital Markets expect the lack of other exon-44-skiping therapies to facilitate a “smooth” approval process for Avidity’s del-zota.
September 11, 2025
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Tristan Manalac
Merck & Co. headquarters in Silicon Valley; Merck & Co. Inc. is an American multinational pharmaceutical company
Layoffs
Merck Abandons $1.3B R&D Center in London, Boots 125 Employees
Claiming that the domestic market undervalues pharma innovation, Merck has decided to pull the plug on all of its R&D efforts in the U.K.
September 11, 2025
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Tristan Manalac
Concept art for large layoffs showing a line of blocks a cliff
Layoffs
Lundbeck Offloads Assets to Three Partners as it Exits 27 Markets, Leaving 602 Jobless
These 27 markets, comprising countries across Asia, Europe and South America, together contributed some 12% of Lundbeck’s earnings in 2024.
September 10, 2025
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Tristan Manalac
Set your goals is shown using the collage with aim and the hand. Business targeting, aiming, focus concept and way to achieve a goal
Immunology and inflammation
Amgen, Kyowa Kirin Bolster Safety Profile for Atopic Dermatitis Hopeful
Jefferies analysts expect a regulatory filing for rocatinlimab later this year, with a product launch in 2026.
September 10, 2025
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Tristan Manalac
Creative collage image young man builder architect engineer occupation lungs healthcare illness disease drawing background.
Lung cancer
Cullinan, Taiho’s NSCLC Hopeful Shows ‘Strong Activity,’ Clearing Road to FDA
Cullinan Therapeutics and Taiho Oncology’s zipalertinib elicited promising response rates in two mid-stage studies of non-small cell lung cancer patients with typical and uncommon EGFR mutations.
September 10, 2025
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Tristan Manalac
CDC
Ousted CDC Director Monarez to Testify In Front of Senate After RFK Jr. Clash
Former CDC director Susan Monarez and former chief medical officer Debra Houry will appear in front of the Senate HELP Committee on Sept. 17.
September 10, 2025
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Tristan Manalac
Corporate headquarters of Novo Nordisk in Denmark
Layoffs
Novo Axes 9,000 Employees Worldwide as New CEO Makes Good on Cost Reallocation Promise
Novo Nordisk also lowered its full-year profit growth guidance in connection with the restructuring effort. The pharma now anticipates operating profit to grow from 4% to 10%, down from its prior projection of 10% to 16%.
September 10, 2025
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Tristan Manalac
Contemporary art collage showing a hand giving a thumbs down surrounded by red arrows pointing down, concept of negative feedback and bad review
Complete response letters
FDA Turns Away Ultra-Rare Disease Therapy
After receiving a complete response letter for its pyruvate dehydrogenase complex deficiency candidate, Saol Therapeutics anticipates it will need “several years” and “significant financial resources” to address the FDA’s concerns.
September 9, 2025
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Tristan Manalac
Hand holding a lung shape symbol against a blue background. World tuberculosis day, world no tobacco day, lung cancer, pulmonary hypertension, pneumonia
Lung cancer
BMS, BioNTech Post Geographically Consistent Mid-Stage PD-L1/VEGF Data in SCLC
Truist Securities called pumitamig’s data on Monday “very reassuring,” given the consistency between its performance in Chinese and global patient populations.
September 9, 2025
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Tristan Manalac
Marburg, Germany - July 6, 2013: Marburg Office of Swiss multinational company Novartis AG
Mergers & acquisitions
Novartis Deals in Cardio Again, Dropping $1.4B To Acquire Tourmaline
Novartis has been investing heavily in its cardiovascular pipeline this year, forging partnerships with Flagship startup ProFound Therapeutics and China’s Argo Biopharmaceutical, among others.
September 9, 2025
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2 min read
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Tristan Manalac
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