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The Pharma Letter Podcast provides in-depth discussion and analysis focused on key trends, companies and events in the pharmaceutical and biotech industries. Our guests come from a broad array of sectors and business functions, from early stage research in biopharmaceuticals, to patient engagement and marketing, supply chain management and life sciences investing. Podcasts are typically 20-30 minutes in length and are released approximately once every two weeks.
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This week we’re focusing on an area of clinical research that has been of great interest for a number of years, that is NASH, also known as MASH. It’s a high area of unmet medical need, with over 20 million diagnosed cases across Europe and the USA, and while there are more than 80 therapies currently in the pipeline, only around 5% of these are in…
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How to develop cancer drugs faster, with Ellipses Pharma
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This week we are speaking with the chief executive of British drug development company Ellipses Pharma. Founded in 2018 to create new cancer therapies, the firm is following a unique multimodal approach to clinical development, leveraging a variety of technologies. That’s not the only way that Ellipses is rethinking drug development. The company us…
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In the world of outsourced clinical research, ICON is a big fish in a pond full of other increasingly big fish. In this episode of The Pharma Letter Podcast, we chat with the company’s chief commercial officer, George McMillan. Like many in the industry, the Dublin-headquartered clinical research organization (CRO) has sought to grow in size to tak…
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With an Accelerated nod for Aduhelm (aducanumab) and now full approval for Leqembi (lecanemab) in the USA, Biogen (Nasdaq: BIIB) and Eisai (TYO: 4523) have overturned decades of failure in Alzheimer’s. But at the annual meeting of the Alzheimer’s Association (AAIC), it’s another neurology heavyweight taking center stage, as Eli Lilly (NYSE: LLY) ma…
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AAIC preview with Eisai deputy CCO Michael Irizarry
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In the runup to the annual meeting of the Alzheimer’s Association, this week we are speaking with Michael Irizarry, deputy chief clinical officer at Eisai US. At the event in July, there will be plenty to discuss, with recent new data from Eli Lilly (NYSE: LLY) suggesting its anti-amyloid candidate, donanemab, is likely to provide healthy competiti…
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A new way to innovate, from Flagship Pioneering
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Set against a backdrop of foundering confidence in biotech stocks, the success of some companies incubated by Massachusetts-based Flagship Pioneering has been remarkable. Flagship has invested billions of dollars getting startups off the ground, many of which, such as Foghorn Therapeutics (Nasdaq: FHTX), Codiak Biosciences (Nasdaq: CDAK) and Rubius…
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Will radical new EU regs hobble industry?
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A draft of the European Commission’s ongoing review of pharmaceutical legislation has leaked, prompting a bitterly-worded reaction from drugmakers, which accuse legislators of “sabotaging” the industry. There is no doubt that the proposals represent serious change. Maarten Meulenbelt, partner and expert on EU regulatory affairs at Sidley Austin, de…
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This week on The Pharma Letter Podcast, we are joined by Galapagos (Euronext: GLPG) chief executive Paul Stoffels. After an illustrious career as chief scientific officer at Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ), Dr Stoffels is ready for a new chapter in his home country of Belgium. His instalment as Galapagos CEO is also a kind of homecoming. Founded in 1…
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US midterms and beyond: the outlook for pharma
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The outcome of the recent midterm elections in the USA surprised many by returning a Democrat-led Senate, preventing Republicans from gaining control of the next Congress. Analysts, having expected a stronger showing for Republicans, put some of the blame on former president Donald Trump, whose endorsements and active involvement in campaigning wer…
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Focus on rare liver diseases, with Albireo CEO Ron Cooper
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*Partnered content In Boston, Massachusetts, one company is now making significant headway in the development of an innovative treatment for rare pediatric liver diseases. Led by president and chief executive officer Ron Cooper, Albireo (Nasdaq: ALBO) has since 2021 boasted both US and EU approval for the novel bile acid modulator Bylvay (odevixiba…
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As President Joe Biden signs the Inflation Reduction Act into law, drugmakers in the USA are poring over the likely impact on drug prices, and how best to respond to its enactment. The legislation passed in the US Congress with Vice President Kamala Harris casting the decisive vote in an otherwise deadlocked Senate. That evident lack of bipartisans…
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For years, commentators have observed that drug prices in the USA are significantly higher than elsewhere in the world. Pointing to the high levels of innovation in the USA, a country where new drugs and biologics tend to get launched first, argue that market-based pricing funds essential research and development. As the US Congress debates more go…
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Can AI find new drugs for metabolic diseases?
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Interest in the potential for artificial intelligence to transform different aspects of the drug discovery and development process is at an all-time high. According to industry analyst GlobalData, the number of AI deals in pharma has doubled in the last three years, reaching 85 in 2021, and more pharmaceutical companies are hiring for AI roles than…
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With the approval of Aduhelm (aducanumab), the first new Alzheimer’s treatment in decades, people affected by dementia were given new hope that a breakthrough had finally arrived. A year later, the product is yet to gain traction in the USA, the only country to have approved it, and developers Biogen (Nasdaq: BIIB) and Eisai (TYO: 4523) have been f…
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Is there a data capture crisis in biotech?
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In recent years there has been an explosion of digital tools and platforms in the life sciences industry, designed to improve processes ranging from drug discovery and development, through to registration and commercialization. As with everything in pharma and biotech, the value of these tools hinges on the strength of the underlying data, making i…
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Companies developing microbiome-based treatments have garnered a lot of interest recently, following many years of uncertainty over the therapeutic potential of the approach. This has led to more money from venture capitalists, and increased valuations for publicly-listed companies. Life sciences investor Flagship Pioneering, for example, has helpe…
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At the national level, drug pricing continues to be a hot button issue for lawmakers, drugmakers and patients in the USA. For many years, successive administrations have proposed a range of regulatory reforms designed to contain what some regard as excessive drug prices, with Congress typically unable to agree on a way forward. Meanwhile, at the st…
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Will decentralized clinical trials become the new standard?
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This week, we look at the potential impact of decentralized clinical trials. During the The COVID-19 pandemic, we have seen increased adoption of this kind of study, as part of a general movement towards greater use of innovative digital platforms for collecting and distributing clinical data. As well as improving the experience for patients and do…
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In this podcast, we discuss an exciting new collaboration between pharmaceutical majors in the field of AI. Around the world, ever increasing investments are being made in artificial intelligence, as drugmakers spy an opportunity to drive efficiencies and spur innovation. One estimate puts the total amount of venture capital funding in AI-led biote…
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In August 2020, Russia approved its homegrown coronavirus vaccine Sputnik V, months ahead of rival programs in the west. But despite the bleak pandemic outlook, there was no clamour in Europe or the USA to place orders, as scientists criticized a lack of transparency over the development process and the available clinical data. Many seemed to regar…
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In the early days of the coronavirus pandemic, many drugmakers saw major share price declines as investors got to grips with the likely impact on prescribing, developing medicines, and supply chain interruptions. The second half of 2020 pointed to a more positive outlook, with stocks recovering, but economic and supply chain volatility have continu…
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The importance of patient empowerment in multiple sclerosis care
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Patient empowerment is a hot topic in many areas of medicine. Particularly so for diseases that are more complex to manage, and present with symptoms that aren’t immediately obvious and which vary greatly among individuals. Multiple sclerosis (MS) is one such disease. An estimated 2,500,000 people in the world have MS, a condition which can cause a…
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High-risk MDS, often referred to as preleukemia, is a chronic form of blood cancer with a significant level of unmet medical need. MDS is a complicated disease, presenting several obstacles to drug developers, and no new therapies have been approved for the condition in over a decade. But that may be about to change, with multiple drugmakers, inclu…
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With all signs pointing to an M&A boom in late 2021 and throughout 2022, our guest will provide valuable insight into current and emerging trends in the biotech investing landscape. In this episode of The Pharma Letter Podcast, we speak with Lance Minor, principal and national co-leader of the life sciences practice at BDO, a global business intell…
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For many years, industry commentators have observed that there could be huge untapped therapeutic potential for psychedelics, should the correct development pathways be found. Investment in this area is now at an all-time high, with waves of neurological research yielding encouraging results, including in depression, where data have shown that peop…
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The USA continues to wrestle with the legacy of an epidemic of opioid abuse, believed to have cost the lives of over half a million people through overdose. Until the pandemic struck, it looked as though the tide had turned, thanks to remedial actions on the part of drugmakers - prompted no doubt by a raft of lawsuits - as well as changes to prescr…
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Israel-based Belong.Life is the creator of the world’s largest social network for cancer patients, and has ambitions to provide a range of networks across therapy areas. The platform may of interest for drug developers and other industry participants looking for opportunities to conduct market research or marketing efforts, or to boost clinical tri…
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