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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.

Pictured: The National Institutes of Health's main building in Maryland
Drug Development
NIH Finds Non-Chemo Drug Combo Induces Lasting Remission in DLBCL Patients
National Institutes of Health researchers in a Phase Ib/II study found a five-drug combination elicits strong remission rates in diffuse large B-cell lymphoma patients without using chemotherapeutic agents.
June 20, 2024
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2 min read
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Tristan Manalac
Pictured: AstraZeneca's manufacturing facility in Sweden
Drug Development
AstraZeneca’s Truqap Flops in Phase III Triple-Negative Breast Cancer Trial
Bucking its recent winning streak in oncology, AstraZeneca reported Tuesday that its AKT inhibitor Truqap failed to significantly boost overall survival in patients with triple-negative breast cancer.
June 18, 2024
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2 min read
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Tristan Manalac
Pictured: Photo illustration of hundred dollar bill and graph
Decheng Capital Eyes $700M Raise for Fifth Life Sciences Fund as VC Heats Up
On the heels of last week’s announcements from Foresite Capital and J.P. Morgan Private Capital, Decheng is planning to raise $700 million for its fifth life sciences fund.
June 18, 2024
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2 min read
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Tristan Manalac
GSK's office in Dresden, Germany
Drug Development
GSK Reignites Blenrep Blockbuster Aspirations With Data from Phase III Studies
Promising data from the DREAMM-7 and DREAMM-8 trials have revitalized GSK’s blockbuster goals for its antibody-drug conjugate Blenrep, positioned as a second-line treatment for multiple myeloma.
June 18, 2024
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2 min read
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Tristan Manalac
Pictured: Merck's head office in Quebec, Canada
FDA
Merck Wins FDA Approval for First Pneumococcal Vaccine Designed for Adults
Merck on Monday secured the FDA’s green light for its 21-valent pneumococcal vaccine Capvaxive, which covers serotypes responsible for around 84% of invasive pneumococcal disease cases.
June 18, 2024
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2 min read
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Tristan Manalac
Pictured: A scientist with pill bottles in front of FDA headquarters/Taylor Tieden for BioSpace
FDA
FDA Action Alert: Merck, Verona, AbbVie and Rocket
The FDA is facing four big target action dates in the final week of June, including one label expansion for a bispecific antibody and another for an investigational gene therapy.
June 18, 2024
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4 min read
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Tristan Manalac
Pictured: Takeda sign at its office in Massachusetts
Drug Development
Takeda’s Epilepsy Drug Stumbles in Back-to-Back Phase III Rare Disease Failures
Takeda’s soticlestat, licensed from Ovid Therapeutics, did not significantly reduce seizures in patients with Dravet syndrome and Lennox-Gastaut syndrome, respectively, according to two late-stage readouts on Monday.
June 17, 2024
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2 min read
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Tristan Manalac
Pictured: Novo Nordisk's office in Fremont, California
Policy
Novo Nordisk CEO Agrees to Testify at Senate Hearing After Sanders’ Subpoena Threat
Novo Nordisk CEO Lars Jørgensen has agreed to appear before the Senate health committee in a hearing on the prices of its blockbuster drugs Ozempic and Wegovy.
June 17, 2024
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2 min read
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Tristan Manalac
Pictured: Sign at J&J Vision offices in Silicon Valley
Drug Development
J&J’s $6.5B Momenta Buy Pays Off With Phase II Sjögren’s Disease Win
Johnson & Johnson’s FcRn inhibitor nipocalimab in a mid-stage study significantly improved disease activity across various organ systems in patients with the chronic autoimmune Sjögren’s disease.
June 17, 2024
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2 min read
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Tristan Manalac
Pictured: Signage outside Gilead's headquarters in California
Drug Development
Gilead’s Magrolimab Ineffective, Linked to Increase Risk of Death in MDS Patients
A final analysis of Gilead Sciences’ now-discontinued Phase III ENHANCE study showed a worrying trend of increased death risk in myelodysplastic syndromes patients treated with magrolimab.
June 17, 2024
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2 min read
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Tristan Manalac
Pictured: Nasdaq advertisements on Times Square in New York City
Deals
Telix Abandons IPO Plans at Last Minute, Cites ‘Current Market Conditions’
Telix abruptly pulled the plug on its initial public offering plans to begin trading Friday on the Nasdaq, saying the company “did not feel that the proposed discounts were aligned with its duty to its existing shareholders.”
June 14, 2024
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2 min read
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Tristan Manalac
Pictured: The Berlaymont building in Belgium, which houses the European Commission
Policy
EU Says India’s Alchem Is Part of International Drug Price-Fixing Cartel
The European Commission has tagged India-based pharma Alchem as being part of a global cartel that coordinates the pricing of a pharmaceutical ingredient in the antispasmodic drug Buscopan.
June 14, 2024
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2 min read
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Tristan Manalac
Pictured: The U.S. Supreme Court building in Washington, DC
Policy
SCOTUS Upholds Access to Abortion Pill, Pharma Industry Applauds Court’s Ruling
The U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday upheld access to the abortion pill mifepristone, unanimously rejecting a challenge by a group of anti-abortion doctors seeking to undo the FDA’s approval of the drug.
June 14, 2024
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2 min read
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Tristan Manalac
Pictured: BMS office in San Diego, California
FDA
BMS’ Augtyro Wins FDA Accelerated Approval for NTRK-Positive Solid Tumors
Based on promising response data from the Phase I/II TRIDENT-1 study, the FDA on Thursday granted Bristol Myers Squibb’s Augtyro accelerated approval for NTRK-positive locally advanced or metastatic solid tumors.
June 14, 2024
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2 min read
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Tristan Manalac
3d render of an immune system T cell killing a cancer cell
Drug Development
Secondary Cancer Risk Is Low After CAR T Cell Treatment: Stanford Study
Results of a large Stanford Medicine study, published Wednesday in The New England Journal of Medicine, finds CAR-T therapies carry a low risk of secondary malignancies not related to the T cells.
June 13, 2024
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2 min read
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Tristan Manalac
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