Shows
Biotech HangoutEpisode 167 - December 19, 2025On the final episode of 2025, Daphne Zohar, Bruce Booth, and Eric Schmidt kick off with a general market overview, including a look back at 2025 and some predictions for 2026. The co-hosts discuss biotech rebounding in the last few months of 2025 after years of underperformance, driven by macro rotations and biopharma as an AI-trade hedge. They also discuss some recent follow-on activity from Immunome and Kyverna coming off positive data, before transitioning the conversation to the pros and cons of staying private versus going public. The recent FDA turmoil is also discussed, including reaction to the New York Times article on a p...
2025-12-1958 min
Making MedicineMaking Medicine ft. Daphne Zohar. Biotech Flywheels, Policy Risks, and the Future of InnovationIn this episode of the Making Medicine Podcast, John Stanford sits down with Daphne Zohar, Founder, CEO, and Board Member of Seaport Therapeutics to explore the forces shaping today’s biotech ecosystem. Daphne shares her entrepreneurial path from PureTech to Seaport, offering a rare inside look at building companies, catalyzing innovation, and scaling breakthrough science. The conversation dives into the Massachusetts biotech flywheel, competitiveness with China, U.S. policy risks like the pill penalty and MFN, and how regulatory uncertainty ripples through capital formation and patient impact. Daphne also highlights why she’s bullish heading into 2026 and offers tactical advice for...
2025-11-2537 minBiotech HangoutEpisode 161 - October 31, 2025On this week’s episode, Daphne Zohar, Bruce Booth, Sam Fazeli, Brian Skorney, Yaron Werber, and Eric Schmidt kick off with market updates, noting that the XBI is showing signs of a sustainable recovery after years of underperformance and highlighting that the IPO market is likely closed for the remainder of the year, but note optimism for early 2026. In deal news, Novartis’ $12B acquisition of Avidity is spotlighted as an unprecedented move for a company yet to read out Phase 3 data. The co-hosts also speculate on what this acquisition could mean for Dyne Therapeutics, has a similar RNA-based pipeline in rar...
2025-10-311h 00Biotech HangoutEpisode 155 - September 19, 2025On this week’s episode, Daphne Zohar, Josh Schimmer, Luba Greenwood and Matt Gline open with a look at overall market sentiment, spotlighting Stifel’s bullish report on the biotech sector’s nice recovery since April’s “liberation day” with the XBI up over 40%, the recent wave of M&A activity, and the Biotech Winter. The co-hosts then highlight recent deals, including Roche’s $3.5 billion acquisition of 89Bio and Novartis’s $5.7 billion licensing agreement with Monte Rosa Therapeutics. In data news, the group overviews aTyr Pharma’s Phase 3 results in pulmonary sarcoidosis, with Matt Gline sharing perspective on the therapeutic area after...
2025-09-1958 minBiotech HangoutEpisode 150 - August 1, 2025On this week's episode, Daphne Zohar, Josh Schimmer, Brian Skorney, Paul Matteis, Sam Fazeli, Brad Loncar, and Matt Gline cover top news surrounding Trump's pricing letters to 17 major pharma companies demanding U.S. price cuts on new drugs, and the relevance to his MFN initiative. They also touch on Dr. Mehmet Oz’s meetings with biotech leaders in D.C. and looming tariff risks. The group discusses Vinay Prasad’s departure from CBER, opining on implications for biotech, and sharing insights from the CEO listening session with Marty Makary and George Tidmarsh. Next, they review the latest Sarepta news, includ...
2025-08-111h 00Biotech HangoutEpisode 146 - June 27, 2025On this week’s episode, Chris Garabedian, Daphne Zohar, Sam Fazeli, Tess Cameron, Paul Matteis and Tim Opler share cautious optimism about the biotech market as IPOs and follow-ons gain momentum. Continuing on market sentiment, competitive pressure looms for small and mid-sized U.S. biotechs as the Chinese biotech market grows and big pharma continues to invest in these assets. Next, the group recapped #BIO2025, where sentiment was mixed due to sector uncertainty. In regulatory news, Daphne reflects on her time with Makary and Prasad at the FDA’s listening tour, highlighting positive opportunities for biotech as the new administrat...
2025-07-221h 02Biotech HangoutEpisode 139 - April 25, 2025On this week’s episode, Daphne Zohar, Josh Schimmer, Tim Opler, John Maraganore, and Paul Matteis discuss the biotech market’s recent resurgence, and new FDA commissioner Marty Makary’s comments during his interview with former Fox News journalist Megyn Kelly. The discussion then shifts to the FDA’s reorganization, confusing return-to-work policies, and low morale at the agency, which resulted in slower review times. The conversation moves to BMS’ Cobenfy Phase 3 ARISE trial results and uniQure’s breakthrough therapy designation for its Huntington’s disease gene therapy. The group then revisits a discussion about biotech market updates and short selling. Th...
2025-04-2859 minBiotech HangoutEpisode 133 - March 7, 2025On this week’s episode, Daphne Zohar, Eric Schmidt, Tess Cameron, Brian Skorney, and Yaron Werber discuss the state of the biotech market, emphasizing the resilience of the sector despite current downtowns. The IPO market also remains stagnant, with many companies trading below IPO prices. The conversation shifts to notable deals, including Jazz Pharmaceuticals acquiring Chimerix for $935 million and AbbVie’s move into the obesity space with its $350 million acquisition of Gubra. The group also discusses Pliant Therapeutics' discontinuation of its Phase 2b trial in idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis and Biohaven's promising results from its Phase 1 study of BHV-1300, a poten...
2025-03-111h 02Biotech HangoutEpisode 130 - February 7, 2025On this week’s episode, Daphne Zohar, Paul Matteis, Brian Skorney, Tim Opler and Abe Ceesay kick off with a more optimistic yet cautious perspective that investor sentiment may be improving. The group notes positive market trends post-JPM with the XBI index rising from 86.5 to around 92 since early January. The discussion also touches on on the re-emergence of wall cross pipes and the impact on generalist investor interest. The hosts discuss the positive M&A outlook for 2025, noting Intra-Cellular’s recent acquisition by J&J. Staying on the neuro theme, GH Research announced impressive data from its Phase 2b tria...
2025-02-231h 00Biotech HangoutEpisode 127 - January 17, 2025On this week’s episode, Daphne Zohar, John Maraganore, Mike Yee and Sam Fazeli begin the show recapping JPM ’25, noting investor sentiment was muted and concerns on interest rates have contributed to mixed market sentiment. In terms of deals, three M&A transactions were announced this week including J&J’s plans to buy Intra-Cellular Therapies for $14B, Gilead’s $250M preclinical asset acquisition and GSK’s $1.2B deal with IDRx. Commenting on a challenging IPO market, the group discusses that more private companies are being acquired due to market difficulties and the overvaluation of public companies. The hosts are joined...
2025-02-2357 minBiotech HangoutEpisode 125 - December 20, 2024On this week’s episode, Brad Loncar, Daphne Zohar, Josh Schimmer, Yaron Werber and Michael Preminger kick off the show with Vertex’s much anticipated Phase 2 study results, highlighting the modest treatment effect and high placebo response. The group also comments on overly positive spin on data and the importance of credibility in interpreting data. The conversation turns to Novo Nordisk’s weight loss data and the market’s negative reaction with stock down 20%. The group also discusses Roche’s termination of its hemophilia gene therapy program, and Teva's TL1A data showing promise in inflammatory bowel disease. Turning to market...
2025-02-2359 minBiotech HangoutEpisode 120 - November 8, 2024On this episode, Daphne Zohar, John Maraganore, Josh Schimmer, Eric Schmidt and Sam Fazeli are joined by Endpoints’ Zach Brennan for a discussion on the election results and what we can expect with a Trump administration, including the negatives/risks for the biotech industry as well as the positives and potential opportunities. The hosts also cover other news from the week including Moderna’s Q3 earnings and the company’s CEO Bancel stepping down as sales chief, as well as BioNTech’s Q3 earnings and the potential softening of vaccine pricing. The group recapped the ASH conference and readouts includin...
2025-02-2359 minBiotech HangoutEpisode 118On this episode of Biotech Hangout, hosts Chris Garabedian, Daphne Zohar, Josh Schimmer, Tim Opler, Paul Matteis and special guest Allison DeAngelis kick off the show with a look at the renewed interest and recent funding in the neuropsychiatric disease space, including Seaport Therapeutics’ $225 million Series B financing. This progresses into a comparison of diversified versus focused pipelines as Roivant CEO Matt Gline joins the stage as an impromptu guest to share his perspective on the benefits and challenges of the hub-and-spoke model. The group also discusses recent biotech market performance and how the statistics show that biotech is ac...
2024-10-301h 01Biotech HangoutEpisode 117On this week’s episode of Biotech Hangout, hosts Daphne
Zohar, Josh Schimmer, Brad Loncar, John Maraganore, Paul Matteis, Mike Yee and Tess Cameron open up with market commentary and how derivatives, debates and
dynamics are impacting stocks including Scholar Rock, Biohaven, Roche and Regeneron. The group also highlights CeriBell, which is the first medtech IPO
in years. The hosts turn to neuro sentiment with a look at Lundbeck’s acquisition of Longboard at an approximate value of $2.5 billion net of cash. The conversation turns to the idea of competitors benefiting from M&A and data, with this week’s exam...
2024-10-3058 minBiotech HangoutEpisode 14
On this week’s Biotech Hangout, hosts Daphne Zohar, Brad Loncar, Josh Schimmer, Chris Garabedian, John Maraganore and Sam Fazeli kick off the show sharing perspectives on the markets and its effects on the growing queue of biotech IPOs, particularly following the influx of large private deals over the past few months. As the founding CEO of Alnylam, John provides his thoughts on the Helios-B full study data presentation at the ESC Congress while the broader group weighs in on the competitive implications of the data. The hosts also discuss Recursion, which shared some mixed data this week on it...
2024-09-251h 00Biotech HangoutEpisode 113On this week’s Biotech Hangout, hosts Brad Loncar, Tim Opler, Josh Schimmer and Sam Fazeli assess the recent macro trends, including the current state of the US economy and some good news for biotech. The group also discussed the big reveal this week on Medicare drug pricing issues and industry perspectives on whether it was more of a whimper versus a bang. In M&A, the Revance and Crown Laboratories merger was discussed as well as broader M&A trends including how a potential change in the White House could impact the FTC and scrutiny on pharma deals. In...
2024-08-2759 minBiotech HangoutEpisode 112On this week’s Biotech Hangout, hosts Eric Schmidt, Brad Loncar, Brad Skorney, Luba Greenwood and Josh Schimmer kick off the episode summarizing the wild week for biotech stocks. The group also recaps some of the big earning announcements from the week, including a larger discussion on overall learnings from the Q2 earnings season. The hosts discuss Charles River Laboratories as a harbinger of pharma cost cutting and share general perspectives on the IRA impact on pharma. The FDA’s approval of Agios/Servier’s vorasidenib (Voranigo) for glioma was also discussed, with a look back at Servier’s earlier...
2024-08-191h 00
Lifers with Christina FarrBreaking down biotech with Daphne Zohar: VC dynamics, drug development, and the Biosecure ActIn this episode of Second Opinion, hosts Christina Farr, Ash Zenooz, and Luba Greenwood are joined by Daphne Zohar, Founder and CEO of Seaport Therapeutics. They talk about the complexities of drug development, the investment in biotech via big tech VCs, and the future of mental health treatments. Daphne also shares her insights on biotech today, drug development misconceptions and complex regulatory challenges the industry is facing. Daphne was the founder, CEO and a Board Member of PureTech Health (Nasdaq: PRTC, LSE: PRTC) where she also co-founded PureTech’s entities, including Karuna Therapeutics (acquired by Bristol Myers Squibb)....
2024-08-0736 minBiotech HangoutEpisode 110On this week’s episode, hosts Josh Schimmer, Sam Fazeli, Brian Skorney, Michal Preminger and Eric Schmidt kick off the show by discussing the recent growth in XBI performance. The group weighs in on IPO dynamics, hypothesizing on the influence of investors and the power of FOMO. They go on to note the success of Viking Therapeutics as they’re moving into Phase 3 for their GLP-1 agonist, and what the future may hold for the weight-loss drug market. Shifting gears, the hosts raise concerns on CHMP issuing a negative opinion of Leqembi for Alzheimer’s disease, signaling a shift in the...
2024-08-021h 01Biotech HangoutEpisode 109On this week’s episode, hosts Daphne Zohar, Josh Schimmer, Sam Fazeli, Luba Greenwood, Brian Skorney and Paul Matteis begin the show with commentary on the Republican National Convention, including former President Trump’s pick of former biotech entrepreneur and Senator J.D. Vance as his running mate and the potential impact of this administration on the biotech sector, if elected. The discussion transitions to the week’s theme of biotech catalysts, including stock reactions in the current environment and some key catalysts that the hosts are watching closely. The group begins with a roundup of catalysts from the last f...
2024-07-241h 03Biotech HangoutEpisode 108
On this week’s episode, hosts Chris Garabedian, Brad Loncar, Tim Opler, Dawn Bell, John Maraganore and Eric Schmidt provide a deep dive into the obesity, diabetes and cardiometabolic space, beginning with an overview of the key findings in Stifel’s latest obesity report. The hosts also provide a recap of ADA and EASD abstract highlights and take a look at the next wave of injectable therapies and the trends in consumerization and access. They also discuss Pfizer’s update on its once daily oral GLP-1 pill as well as recent reports on patients discontinuing GLP-1 drugs in two years...
2024-07-231h 00Biotech HangoutEpisode 107On this week’s Biotech Hangout, hosts Daphne Zohar, Brad Loncar, Josh Schimmer, Tim Opler and Chris Garabedian open up with a conversation on recent trends in M&A for private biotechs versus public companies and the potential impact of the election year. The hosts also cover the important data readouts from the week, including Alnylam’s positive Phase 3 results for its ATTR drug and Lyell’s report of a patient death in its early-stage CAR T trial. Additional data covered includes Wave’s Huntington data readout, Intellia’s redosing of CRISPR gene editing therapy and Savara’s Phase 3 readout in r...
2024-07-021h 02Biotech HangoutEpisode 106On this week’s Biotech Hangout, hosts Daphne Zohar, Brad Loncar, Josh Schimmer, Eric Schmidt, Sam Fazeli, Bruce Booth and Grace Colon discuss the big news of the week including the FDA granting a landmark expanded approval for Sarepta’s Elevidys for patients with Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy. The hosts share their varying opinions on whether the expanded approval was the right decision. The group also engages in a few discussion topics around management, including the “everything is awesome CEO” and the best and worst practices for managing a board. With multiple companies dealing with a stock drop this week (Cabalett...
2024-07-021h 01Biotech HangoutEpisode 105On this week’s Biotech Hangout, hosts Eric Schmidt, Josh Schimmer, Dawn Bell, Brad Loncar, Tim Opler, Sam Fazeli and Paul Matteis kick off the show by discussing CPI data and how inflation is impacting the $XBI, with analysts hopeful that stability will bring lower interest rates soon. The hosts cover the obesity market, providing updates on new datasets, such as findings from $LLY and $NVO, which indicate promising results in liver fat reduction and potential fibrosis reversal with GLP1+ agents. They also discuss competitive dynamics and investor sentiment of the obesity market and highlight the involvement of various play...
2024-06-241h 00Biotech HangoutEpisode 104On this week’s Biotech Hangout, hosts Josh Schimmer, Brad Loncar, Tim Opler, Eric Schmidt and Sam Fazeli are joined by special guests Jacob Plieth and Madeleine Armstrong for a deep dive into ASCO 2024, including the highs and lows on the data front. The hosts also discuss the shifting interests from pharma companies as some suggest T-cell engagers may have overtaken ADCs and radios in the oncology space. In non-ASCO news, the group covers NASH data from Lilly and Viking and Structure’s data in obesity. The hosts also discuss the latest on BioSecure Act, improving inflation numbers and pick...
2024-06-241h 00Biotech HangoutEpisode 103On this week’s Biotech Hangout, hosts Daphne Zohar, Josh Schimmer, Yaron Werber, Luba Greenwood and Dawn Bell start the show with a look at the XBI and M&A activity from the week, including multiple deals topping over $1 billion. The hosts highlight a few of these big transactions, including Biogen acquiring Hi-Bio for $1.15 billion, Merck acquiring Eyebio for $1.3 billion, J&J buying Yellow Jersey for $1.25 billion, and Novartis buying out Mariana for $1 billion, among others. With private acquisitions in the spotlight, the group digs into some of the high caliber private companies emerging in biotech. The group also co...
2024-06-0557 minBiotech HangoutEpisode 102On this week’s Biotech Hangout, hosts Chris Garabedian, Josh Schimmer, Brad Loncar, Eric Schmidt and Tim Opler kick off the episode with a spotlight on women’s health, which was sparked by Bayer’s Phase 3 data readouts for menopause symptoms. The group also cover Incyte’s $2B share repurchase which leads into a discussion on stock buybacks and the ‘broken’ R&D model. The group also recaps ASGCT 2024 and new gene editing technologies. In deals of the week, the hosts discuss deals and financings from the week, including Takeda and AC Immune’s $100M license agreement, Uniquity Bio’s $300M launch a...
2024-05-281h 01Biotech HangoutEpisode 101On this week’s Biotech Hangout, hosts Eric Schmidt, Daphne Zohar, Josh Schimmer and Paul Matteis kick off the show with a look at M&A in the sector and debate whether we’re in a “good market” for biotech, if the sector is overly dependent on M&A as an investment thesis and the therapeutic areas that are most attractive for M&A. The hosts also discuss “hot” targeted oncology modalities including radiopharm, ADCs and bispecifics, and predict which of these technologies will likely continue to benefit from M&A interest. Following earnings this week, the hosts cover Janux Therap...
2024-05-2859 minBiotech HangoutEpisode 100On this week’s Biotech Hangout, hosts Daphne Zohar, Eric Schmidt, Yaron Werber and Luba Greenwood are joined by special guest and STAT reporter, Adam Feuerstein. The episode kicks off with the hosts sharing their thoughts on industry sentiment and some of the revealing trends in the week’s Stifel report before diving into Q1 earning reports from Ascendis, Amgen and SpringWorks. The hosts talk about ONO’s acquisition of Deciphera for $2.4B, X4’s FDA approval of XOLREMDI, and how COVID fatigue could be causing us to minimize the threat of the avian influenza H5N1. The group also disc...
2024-05-101h 00Biotech HangoutEpisode 99On this week’s Biotech Hangout, hosts Daphne Zohar, Josh Schimmer, Sam Fazeli and Yaron Werber discuss macro updates from the week including President Biden’s proposal to increase capital gains and apply a tax on unrealized capital gains and FTC’s rule to ban non-competes nationwide. The group also covers the roller coaster ride of Q1 earnings including reports from AstraZeneca, BMS, Novartis and Biogen. In oncology news, the hosts review the underwhelming ASCO titles, Acrivon’s positive data for ovarian and endometrial cancers, the FDA approval of ImmunityBio’s Anktiva and Sam Blackman from Day One joins the panel...
2024-04-3059 minBiotech HangoutEpisode 98On this week’s Biotech Hangout, Chris Garabedian, Josh Schimmer, Tim Opler and John Maraganore discuss how it’s been a big year for PIPEs and some of the controversy that has come along with it. The hosts also open up a discussion on supply and demand of venture capital and then pivots to Genentech ending its strategic collaboration with Adaptimmune. The group discusses other deals and financings of the week including Future Pak’s proposal to acquire Vanda Pharmaceuticals, Sanofi’s plans to divest Amuniz Pharmaceuticals and Regeneron enters venture investing with a $500 million fund. The hosts also discuss...
2024-04-3059 minBiotech HangoutEpisode 97On this week’s episode of Biotech Hangout, hosts Brad Loncar, Daphne Zohar, Luba Greenwood and Eric Schmidt kick off the discussion with Vertex’s plans to acquire Alpine Immune Sciences for almost $5 billion in cash, making it the largest deal for the sector in 2024. The hosts also discuss inflation effects on biotech stocks and M&A, macro takeaways from AACR and more fallout from the BioSecurity Act and implications for the industry. The group covers the US Department of Justice’s complaint filed against Regeneron related to its eye drug, Eylea, and the unfortunate impact on the industry’s reputa...
2024-04-161h 01Biotech HangoutEpisode 96On this week’s Biotech Hangout, Chris Garabedian, Josh Schimmer, Dawn Bell, Paul Matteis and Yaron Werber discuss the white hot ADC space as Genmab pays $1.8 billion to acquire Profound Bio and its ADC portfolio, Ispen’s $900 million pact with Sutro and Merck KGaA’s $1.4 billion ‘BioBucks’ AI deal with Caris Discovery. The hosts also cover the week’s big private deals including Metsera $350 million funding, Oruka’s $275 million PIPE, Obsidian’s $175 million Series C, Alterome’s $132 million Series B and Neurosterix $63m spinout from Addex. The group also discusses Amylyx’s decision to withrawl ALS drug and Acorda and Eiger both file...
2024-04-1657 minBiotech HangoutEpisode 95On this week’s episode of Biotech Hangout, hosts Brad Loncar, Josh Schimmer, Grace Colon, Chris Garabedian, and Eric Schmidt discuss the latest biotech industry news including M&A, regulatory news, pricing strategies, and progress within women’s health and neurological disorders. The hosts cover data from Roche’s IL-6 program, Biohaven’s degrader program, followed by Crinetics’ Phase 3 data in acromegaly. On the M&A front, the hosts discuss AstraZeneca’s acquisition of Fusion Pharmaceuticals. The group also talks through Orchard Therapeutics’ breakthrough $4.25 million drug, and the impact of high drug prices on the industry as a whole. They also weigh in on t...
2024-03-271h 01Biotech HangoutEpisode 94On this week’s episode of Biotech Hangout, hosts Daphne Zohar, Brad Loncar, Tim Opler, Michal Preminger, Eric Schmidt and Yaron Werber discuss the latest biotech news, including commentary on the biotech sector performance in 2024 and a pharma R&D investment overview. The hosts cover the week’s notable M&A, including AstraZeneca’s acquisition of Amolyt plus Novartis’ acquisition of IFM Due and a related discussion on option-to-buy deals. The group also discusses Ionis meeting the primary endpoint in its Phase 2 MASH trial and Madrigal’s historic accelerated approval for NASH/MASH. Other topics include Eli Lilly’s partnership...
2024-03-271h 01Biotech HangoutEpisode 93On this week’s episode of Biotech Hangout, hosts Brad Loncar, Daphne Zohar, Tim Opler, Brian Skorney, Luba Greenwood and Yaron Werber discuss the latest biotech news, including the delay of Eli Lilly’s Alzheimer’s drug donanemab as the FDA requires an AdComm and Amylyx’s ALS Phase 3 trial failure that caused the stock to drop 80%. The hosts also weigh in on how the 2024 presidential election will impact biopharma and takeaways from the 2024 Cowen conference, including the number of generalist investors in attendance and how obesity has become a dominant narrative in the industry. The group also discusses the Boun...
2024-03-201h 03Biotech HangoutEpisode 92On this week’s Biotech Hangout, hosts Daphne Zohar, Josh Schimmer, Eric Schmidt, Bruce Booth, Brian Skorney and Prakhar Agrawal discuss the latest biotech news, including the recent sector melt-up and what is driving the latest rally. When discussing the week’s financing news, the hosts share different vantage points on wall-crossed PIPEs and the impact on stock performances. The group also discussed Viking Therapeutics soaring stock price on the heels of robust data for VK2735, its experimental weight loss drug. Other positive data discussed was from Akili and Shionogi announcing EndeavorRx met its primary endpoint and Shionogi has file...
2024-03-201h 00Biotech HangoutEpisode 91On this week’s Biotech Hangout, hosts Daphne Zohar, Brad Loncar, Josh Schimmer, Eric Schmidt and Yaron Werber discuss the latest biotech news, including the IPO window creaking back open and aftermarket performance up 12-19% for secondary offerings and IPOs. The hosts also discuss the FTC challenges facing industry M&A and another roadblock for AbbVie’s Cerevel deal. The retirement of AbbVie CEO Richard Gonzalez prompts a discussion amongst the hosts on important qualities of a CEO. A range of FDA-related news from the week is also covered including the approval of Iovance’s Amtagvi as first T-cell therap...
2024-03-201h 04Biotech HangoutEpisode 89
On this week’s Biotech Hangout, hosts Daphne Zohar, Josh Schimmer, Tim Opler, Chris Garabedian and Grace Colon discuss the latest in biotech news, including another strong week of IPOs, most notably with Kyverna Therapeutics’ IPO upsizing by 49% to $300M. On the acquisition theme, the hosts discuss Novartis’ plans to acquire MorphoSys for $2.9B and Gilead walking away from its acquisition of Tizona. The hosts also cover some obesity-related updates, including Lilly’s tirzepatide Phase 2 trial for MASH and Amgen’s Phase 1 data for weight-loss candidate, MariTide. Other data discussed this week includes Vertex’s ‘vanza triple,’ 4D Molecular Therapeutics’ in...
2024-03-031h 01Biotech HangoutEpisode 90On this week’s Biotech Hangout, hosts Daphne Zohar, Tim Opler, Dawn Bell, Ethan Perlstein and Eric Schmidt discuss the latest in biotech news, including the overall performance of IPOs this year, including Metagenomi’s IPO this week and what it means for the IPO window. The hosts also debate the value of tracking 13Fs as an investment strategy, M&A news including Gilead’s $4.3B acquisition of CymaBay, plus offerings and some related data for Larimar ($150M offering and Phase 2 data), PRIME Medicine ($140M offering), Sana ($165M offering), Crispr ($250M offering) and KalVista ($160M offering and Phase 3 data). The gr...
2024-02-2859 minBiotech HangoutEpisode 88On this week’s Biotech Hangout, Daphne Zohar, Josh Schimmer, Grace Colon, Paul Matteis and guest host Yuval Cohen, Corbus CEO, discuss the latest industry news including Corbus’ recent data and offering, plus Immunocore’s private offering ($352M), Vaxcyte’s public offering ($750M) and Alto Neuroscience’s IPO ($120M). They also cover Evaluate’s top 10 most anticipated drug list, Vertex’s non-opioid drug meets its goal in trials, Dyne Therapeutics weighs takeover interest options and Biogen ends development and sales of Alzheimer’s Disease drug. The hosts debate whether the week’s deals (Regeneron buying 2seventy bio’s pipeline and Protagonist Ther...
2024-02-1558 minBiotech HangoutEpisode 87On this week’s Biotech Hangout, hosts Brad Loncar, Tim Opler, Luba Greenwood and Brian Skorney discuss the latest industry news including 2 biotech IPOs from ArriVent Bio ($175M) and CG Oncology ($380M). They also discuss Sanofi buying Inhibrx ($2.2B), Kura Oncology’s private placement ($150M) and Gilead’s failed phase 3 study. The hosts cover class-wide black box warnings from the FDA, including Amgen’s Prolia, plus Eli Lilly’s investigational gene therapy for hearing loss data, HPV vaccine study in Scotland and The House Ways and Means Committee approves restoration of R&D tax credit. *This episode aired on January 26
2024-02-0258 minBiotech HangoutEpisode 86This week, hosts Daphne Zohar, Brad Loncar, Josh Schimmer, John Maraganore and Grace Colon discuss the news of the week including several early-stage IPO filings that kicked off the year: Kyverna Therapeutics, CG Oncology and Alto Neuroscience. The hosts also cover AI enabled biomarkers following the FDA’s clearance of two AI diagnostic tools, plus the FDA expands approval of Vertex and CRISPR’s Cagevy as a first CRISPR-edited therapy for beta-thalassemia. They also discuss early-stage funding and an amicus brief that many biotech executives have signed, following the decision on Mifepristone. Other topics include BridgeBio Pharma securing capital from...
2024-01-251h 02Biotech HangoutEpisode 85On this week’s Biotech Hangout, hosts Daphne Zohar, Josh Schimmer, Brad Loncar, Dawn Bell and Sam Fazeli discuss the latest in biotech news, including their takeaways from last week’s JPM 2024 conference and Brad’s BiotechTV interviews with several attendees. The hosts also discuss the many deals from the week including Merck’s acquisition of Harpoon Therapeutics ($680M), Johnson & Johnson’s acquisition of Ambrx ($2B), GSK acquires Aiolos Bio ($1.4B), Boston Scientific acquires Axonics ($3.7B) and several Novartis deals including their dropped pursuit of Cytokinetics, acquisition of Calypso ($250M), their licensed drugs from a China biotech ($185M) and their deal...
2024-01-181h 00Biotech HangoutEpisode 84In the first Biotech Hangout of 2024, RA Capital’s Peter Kolchinsky joins hosts Daphne Zohar, Josh Schimmer, Tim Opler, Paul Matteis and Luba Greenwood to discuss the latest biotech news. They start with the last M&A deals of 2023 including Bristol Myers Squibb’s acquisition of Karuna and Rayzebio, and AstraZeneca’s acquisition of Gracell. They discuss insights from RA Capital’s latest sector analysis and the outlook for the sector in 2024, plus JPM predictions. The hosts also cover news from the first week of 2024 including Longboard Pharmaceuticals and Dyne Therapeutics data, Novartis’ expanded collaboration with Voyager, the FDA’s hold on Io...
2024-01-161h 05Biotech HangoutEpisode 83Guest host Nick Shipley, Bio’s policy expert joins Daphne Zohar, Brad Loncar, Mike Yee and Yaron Werber on this week’s Biotech Hangout. The group discusses policy affecting biotech, including march-in rights, PBMs, IRA and FTC involvement plus bipartisan initiatives like the Orphan Cures Act. They also discuss the state of the XBI and industry sentiment, Bluebird Bio’s setbacks following FDA approval and Pfizer’s stock after its 2024 forecast revenue. They cover data from Vertex, Icosavax, Arcellx and Legend, plus several ADC deals including Bristol Meyers Squibb, SystImmune, C4 Therapeutics, Merck, Nona Biosciences and Pfizer. Other topics include...
2024-01-101h 09Biotech HangoutEpisode 82On this week’s episode of Biotech Hangout, Josh Schimmer, Tim Opler, Chris Garabedian, Dawn Bell and guest host Eric Schmidt, Biotech Analyst, discuss the latest industry news. They cover the JPM year in review, XBI performance, plus Abbvie’s acquisition of Cerevel and the implications for Karuna. They also discuss a big GLP-1 deal from Roche and Carmot, the AstraZeneca/ IRA case and EV negative biotechs. They also talk about three big investors days from J&J, Sanofi and Neurocrine Biosciences, plus CVS’s update on how they will cover drugs, Eyepoint Pharmaceutical’s wet AMD data and much mor...
2024-01-0459 minBiotech HangoutEpisode 81On this week’s episode of Biotech Hangout hosts Daphne Zohar, Tim Opler, Josh Schimmer, Chris Garabedian, John Maraganore and Ethan Perlstein discuss the latest industry news including takeaways and sentiment from the recent Jefferies, Stifel, American Heart Association and ACR conferences. They also discuss Ajinomoto acquiring Forge Biologics ($620M), Crispr and Vertex MHRA approval in the UK, Verve data and Novo Nordisk’s SELECT trial details. They hosts discuss Astellas’ acquisition of Propella ($175M) and the differences between Propella and PureTech’s lymphatic-focused technologies, on the back of PureTech’s Phase 2 data. Other topics include three merger agreements: Graphite B...
2024-01-0457 minBiotech HangoutEpisode 80Hosts Brad Loncar, Tim Opler, Josh Schimmer, Dawn Bell and Yaron Werber discuss the latest industry news on this week’s episode of Biotech Hangout. They cover several upcoming conferences including the American Heart Association, which the hosts say will highlight market moving data and a “biologics revolution”, plus ACR, which will highlight CAR-T data, and the Liver Meeting. The hosts also discuss Eli Lilly’s drug approval for weight management, Cargo Therapeutics’ IPO terms and Adverum’s 3-year AMD data. There is also news in the I&I space from Moonlake Therapeutics, who was off by more than 20% after announ...
2023-11-201h 02Biotech HangoutEpisode 79On this week’s episode of Biotech Hangout, hosts Daphne Zohar, Tim Opler, Josh Schimmer, Brian Skorney and guest Matthew Gline, Roivant CEO discuss the current market for public biotechs plus Pharma performance including Sanofi, Pfizer, Bristol Myers Squibb, Roche, Biogen and Abbvie. The hosts also discuss Sarepta’s trial miss, and Matt shares additional commentary to Roivant’s deal with Roche. They also share thoughts on Lexeo Therapeutics’ IPO ($100M), 4D Molecular Therapeutics’ CF Phase 1 data and AstraZeneca’s investment in Cellectic ($245M). There were several large funds from the week including Abingworth’s fundraise ($365M), Blue Owl- Cowen Investme...
2023-11-171h 00Biotech HangoutEpisode 78Guest host Paul Matteis, Biotech Analyst at Stifel, joins Daphne Zohar, Brad Loncar, Josh Schimmer, Dawn Bell and Bruce Booth on this week’s episode of Biotech Hangout to discuss market sentiment, biotech’s bear market, CTAD and World Sleep meetings and Roche to acquire Telavant ($7.1B). The hosts also cover industry issues such as the Orphan Cures Act, More Transparency Act, PRVs and more after Daphne attended meetings with senators and congressmen in DC. Additionally, they talk about the second largest A round of funding in 2023 from Aiolos Bio ($245M) plus OrbiMed’s $4.3B raise, CARGO Therapeutics’ IPO and >40...
2023-11-021h 01Biotech HangoutEpisode 77
Guests Jacob Plieth, Madeleine Armstrong and Nuvalent CEO, Jim Porter join Daphne Zohar and Josh Schimmer on this week’s Biotech Hangout to discuss the big deal of the week: Merck and Daichii’s co-development & co-commercialization deal for three ADCs (worth up to $16.5B), plus Nuvalent’s $300M raise and recent data. They also discuss the recent ESMO data breach, PTC Therapeutics’ agreement with Royalty Pharma and Monte Rosa’s partnership with Roche. Other topics include Revolution Medicines’ KRAS data, the FDA’s decision to clear Nkarta’s IND application, Pfizer’s revenue guidance related to Covid products and overall CEO and in...
2023-10-2558 minBiotech HangoutEpisode 76On Biotech Hangout this week, hosts Daphne Zohar, Brad Loncar, Josh Schimmer, Mike Yee & Tim Opler discuss biotech sentiment & cover the big news of the week. M&A as a topic including Bristol Myers Squibb to acquire Mirati Therapeutics for $4.8B, plus the 14 biotech acquisitions in 2023 over $1B and Illumina ordered to sell Grail after completing a $7.1B acquisition deal. A lot of data came out this week from companies including Akero, Alnylam, Ventyx, Merck, Novo Nordisk, Immunic and PMV Pharmaceuticals. Mike and Brad also share takeaways from Jefferies CNS Day and HLTH 2023. *This episode aired on October 13, 2023*
2023-10-1659 minBiotech HangoutEpisode 75On this week’s Biotech Hangout, hosts Brad Loncar, Daphne Zohar, Bruce Booth, Josh Schimmer and Yaron Werber cover the state of the XBI after it hit a 52-week low. They also discuss several deals and financings from the week including Eli Lilly acquiring Point Biopharma ($1.4B) and radiopharma more generally and Sanofi paying Teva to collaborate on inflammatory bowel disease treatment (up to $1.5B). Also Biohaven’s offering (~$225M), Amicus Therapeutics’ financing with Blackstone ($430M), and Orchard Therapeutics acquired by Kyowa Kirin ($478M). Takeda announces withdrawal of EXKIVITY after its accelerated approval gets pulled, Syndax, ALX Oncology and Roche data an...
2023-10-161h 04Biotech HangoutEpisode 74On this week’s Biotech Hangout, guest Matt Gline, CEO of Roivant, joins hosts Daphne Zohar, Tim Opler, Mike Yee and Yaron Werber to discuss recent Phase 1 data from Immunovant, part of the Roivant family of companies & Igg degraders broadly (BHVN & ARGX). The hosts also cover biotech sentiment, M&A and the state of the XBI. They discuss BridgeBio PIPE funding, Alfasigma acquires Intercept Pharmaceuticals, setbacks for two CD47s (Abbvie and Gilead) and Morphic Therapeutic’s controversy. Other topics of discussion include Apellis Favus short report, and Bristol Myers Squibb and AstraZeneca drug pricing negotiations. *This episode aired on S...
2023-10-041h 02Biotech HangoutEpisode 72Guest Yaron Werber joins hosts Daphne Zohar, Chris Garabedian and Brad Loncar for this week’s Biotech Hangout, centered on the theme of ‘management and culture.’ They cover the big IPO news of the week from Neumora (~$2.5B valuation) and RayzeBio (~$1B valuation) plus Acelyrin’s share value drops after sharing top-line results despite being the largest biotech IPO this year. They also discuss Goldman Sachs dropping its price targets and ratings for “early-stage” biotechs and updates from both Moderna and Roche, who held their R&D days this week. Also, Galapagos’ 52-week low and the contrast with Argenx plus the FDA a...
2023-09-221h 00Biotech HangoutEpisode 71On this week’s Biotech Hangout, guest Frank David, Tufts Professor & Author, joins Daphne Zohar, Chris Garabedian, Dawn Bell and Brian Skorney to discuss the latest biotech news. Following recent news from several “Hub & Spoke” companies, including raises from Apollo, Nimbus & Star Therapeutics, the hosts discuss this innovative business model. They also cover M&A news, including the FTC’s approval of Amgen’s acquisition of Horizon Therapeutics and Nestle’s decision to sell the peanut allergy drug it acquired for $2.6B for an undisclosed upfront payment. Other big topics include the 10 drugs announced for Medicare negotiations. Additional themes include the...
2023-09-141h 00Biotech HangoutEpisode 70On this week’s episode of Biotech Hangout, hosts Daphne Zohar, Tim Opler, Brad Loncar, Brian Skorney and Michal Preminger discuss the latest industry news including how the state of biotech M&A is tracking and the potential impact of the FTC’s two new proposed rules – plus the latest on Amgen and Horizon’s FTC lawsuit. The hosts also cover private equity financings, including Taysha Gene Therapies’ PIPE and the background behind Biogen’s bid to acquire Reata. Additional coverage includes data and regulatory updates (Seagen, Pfizer, Delcath, Galecto, 2seventy bio) as well as how the FDA weighs mixed data a...
2023-08-2955 minBiotech HangoutEpisode 68On this week’s episode of Biotech Hangout, hosts Daphne Zohar, Tim Opler, Brad Loncar, Bruce Booth, Otello Stampacchia and Mike Yee cover industry news from the week. They discuss the latest deals including Alexion acquiring Pfizer’s rare disease gene therapy portfolio and Revolution Medicines acquisition of EQRx and a broader discussion of merging with negative EV companies as a strategy for fundraising and the “fundability” of certain founders. The hosts also dive into the hot topic of the week: Biogen and Sage’s PDUFA for zuranolone in MDD and PPD. Additionally, they cover the busy week of Q2 earning...
2023-08-091h 00Biotech HangoutEpisode 66On this week’s episode of Biotech Hangout, guest Neil Kumar (CEO of BridgeBio) joins hosts Daphne Zohar, Brad Loncar, Tim Opler, Bruce Booth and Brian Skorney to discuss BridgeBio’s long awaited, positive Phase 3 transthyretin amyloid cardiomyopathy (ATTR-CM) data, including the company’s ups and downs and some leadership lessons along with the benefits of diversification. The hosts also cover the Acumen Pharmaceuticals and Eli Lilly positive Alzheimer’s data, in addition to questions around safety for eye disease trials related to Apellis’ Syfovre and Horizon Therapeutics’ Tepezza. With a news heavy week, the group also discusses data integrity is...
2023-08-0159 minBiotech HangoutEpisode 64On this week’s episode of Biotech Hangout, hosts Daphne Zohar, Tim Opler, Chris Garabedian, Mike Yee and Bruce Booth discuss the week’s industry news including M&A, regulatory, data and more. They highlight the continued M&A streak with Eli Lilly acquiring Dice Therapeutics. They also discuss PhRMA’s lawsuit vs. the U.S. government over IRA Medicare Drug Price Negotiations, following similar suits from Merck & Bristol Myers Squibb. They also talk about several Duchenne news items including Santhera licensing its Duchenne drug to Catalyst and Sarepta’s DMD therapy approval. Additional industry news covered includes the SEC’s ca...
2023-07-031h 00Biotech HangoutEpisode 63This week, hosts Daphne Zohar, Brad Loncar, Tim Opler & Michal Preminger focus on the theme of people and reputation in the industry. The hosts (and several audience members, including STAT reporter Allison DeAngelis and Kojin Therapeutics CEO Luba Greenwood) discuss the hot topic of the week - media coverage of Biogen board changes. Additionally, in the wake of Ram Sasisekharan speaking out after a four-year investigation exonerated him, the group discusses repercussions for accusers and impact to reputation. In addition to people topics, the hosts cover the week’s financings and M&A including the first biotech to file fo...
2023-06-231h 03Biotech HangoutEpisode 62This week, Daphne Zohar, Brad Loncar and John Maraganore hosted a special live edition of Biotech Hangout at the BIO conference, and they dive into their learnings on this week’s episode. They are also joined by Josh Schimmer and Otello Stampacchia to discuss the latest news, data, deals and more. The hosts debate the hot topic of the week - Merck’s lawsuit against the U.S. government’s IRA negotiations. They also discuss data that was shared at the recent ASCO 2023 conference, and a tweet accused of moving stock. Other topics include a surprising acquisition and oncology respon...
2023-06-1458 minBiotech HangoutEpisode 61On Biotech Hangout this week, hosts Daphne Zohar, Josh Schimmer, Tim Opler, Chris Garabedian and Brad Loncar talk the latest biotech news. Several of the hosts report live from ASCO 2023 and share highlights and headlines from the conference as well as general industry sentiment around oncology companies. The hosts also discuss the latest deals and financings and debate short-sellers and activist investors and their effect on biotech stocks. Other topics include data from Sanofi, Icosavax, Pfizer and BioHaven over the last two weeks, the FDA’s decision on Sarepta, perspectives on accelerated approvals for rare disease, Amylyx’s ALS drug...
2023-06-0658 minBiotech HangoutEpisode 60On this week’s Biotech Hangout, hosts Daphne Zohar, Mike Yee, Otello Stampacchia, Brad Loncar and Bruce Booth discuss the latest in the biopharma industry including public offerings, deals and financings, data and more. The group dives into the slowdowns in private financings, whether or not the IPO window should be open by now, and the Akero and Coherus follow-on offerings. There is a debate as to whether the news that the FTC is suing to block Amgen from acquiring Horizon Therapeutics has positive or negative effects on SMID cap biotechs. The group also discusses the FTC’s widening prob...
2023-05-2458 minBiotech HangoutEpisode 59On this week’s Biotech Hangout, hosts Daphne Zohar, Tim Opler, Josh Schimmer, Bruce Booth, John Maraganore and Sam Fazeli talk the latest industry news from the past two weeks. Daphne, Bruce and John reflected on a panel they participated in at the 2023 Convergence Forum earlier that day, sharing their thoughts on the last 20 years in biotech and making predictions for the next 20. The hosts discussed recent M&A news, findings from a new Evercore ISI report on the “short launch thesis”, and the latest earnings news. They also touched on data and the potential impact of two companies’ adcomms...
2023-05-1659 minBiotech HangoutEpisode 58Special guest Praveen Tipirneni, CEO of Morphic, joins Daphne Zohar, Tim Opler, Josh Schimmer, Rob Perez and John Maraganore on this week’s Biotech Hangout to discuss the latest news. The hosts discuss large pharma companies providing guidance regarding possible upcoming deals as well as pipeline cuts. The hosts also discuss the recent FDA approval of Seres’ FMT product, the impact on the microbiome field, and differentiated next generation approaches being taken by companies like Vedanta who raised a $106M financing this week along with $270M A round from Orbital being bullish signals for private financings. Praveen Tipirneni details Morp...
2023-05-0259 minBiotech HangoutEpisode 57On this week’s episode of Biotech Hangout, CEO of Bellus Health (announced this week that GSK is acquiring for $2B), Roberto Bellini, joins hosts Daphne Zohar, Tim Opler, Dawn Bell, Sam Fazeli and Brad Loncar. The group discusses the week’s deals and financings, data and broader themes of innovation. Roberto shares his personal experience going through an acquisition and what it took for his company to get to that point from a TSK listed microcap valued at ~$15M to a $2B success story, his thoughts on innovation taking many different forms and the pros and cons of sing...
2023-04-251h 00Biotech HangoutEpisode 56On this week’s episode of Biotech Hangout, hosts Daphne Zohar, Josh Schimmer, Tim Opler, Michal Preminger and Brad Loncar discuss the latest industry news including deals and financings, data, regulatory and more. Brad starts the episode by sharing a personal update on the health of his father, thanking the biotwitter community and lauding the first responders, nurses and specialists who helped save him. Despite some industry setbacks from the week, there was positive news to share including data from a Torreya study, which showed the specialist buyside remained strong at the end of 2022 as well as a list of...
2023-04-181h 03Biotech HangoutEpisode 55This week on Biotech Hangout, hosts Daphne Zohar, Josh Schimmer, Tim Opler and Sam Fazeli discuss the latest in the biopharma industry from market updates and deals to regulatory and beyond. There were several optimistic pieces of stock news covered, including Viking Therapeutics’ strong Phase 1 obesity data and Biomea Fusion’s positive Phase 2 diabetes data. The group also discussed the positive reaction to new Phase 1b data from Biogen’s tau drug BIIB080n at International Conference on Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s Diseases (AD/PD™ 2023), which paves the way for the drug to be another major player in the Alzheime...
2023-04-0653 minBiotech HangoutEpisode 54On Biotech Hangout this week, hosts Daphne Zohar, Josh Schimmer, Rob Perez, Sam Fazeli and Mike Yee discuss market sentiment after the fallout from Silicon Valley Bank, possible impact of proposed SEC changes, the impact of IRA, data announcements (Nimbus, Karuna, Altimmune and 89bio), FDA happenings and more. The episode also delves into pharma patent cliffs, Moderna CEO, Stéphane Bancel’s, handling of his senate hearing on the company’s plans to increase price of Covid vaccines, antifungal drug approval and NFL as a biomarker for neurodegenerative disease. *This episode aired on March 24, 2023*
Disclosure from Josh Schimmer: "Evercore ISI d...
2023-03-3058 minBiotech HangoutEpisode 53On this week’s episode of Biotech Hangout, For Blood and Money: Billionaires, Biotech, and the Quest for a Blockbuster Drug author, Nathan Vardi, joins hosts Daphne Zohar, Josh Schimmer, Tim Opler and guest Barbara Ryan. They start the discussion recapping the fallout from the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) and the domino effect it’s had, including more fear in the banking system, hate and blame directed towards VCs, and the effect on CFOs. The conversation pivots to more positive news with three big M&A deals from the week - Pfizer acquires Seagen, Sanofi acquires Provention Bio...
2023-03-2159 minBiotech HangoutEpisode 52On this week’s episode, hosts Daphne Zohar, Josh Schimmer, Tim Opler and Sam Fazeli discuss the fall of Silicon Valley Bank (SVB), private financings, drug pricing and more. The hosts jump right into SVB, summarizing how the fall happened and the potential threats and implications to the industry. They comment on how this would have been an otherwise great week for private biotechs, but now many may be scrambling. The discussion turns to President Biden’s budget proposal impacting drug pricing and how Eli Lilly has responded, unique financing structures and the merger between Adaptimmune and TCR2 Therapeutics. The...
2023-03-131h 01Biotech HangoutEpisode 51On Biotech Hangout this week, hosts Daphne Zohar, Josh Schimmer and Brad Loncar are joined by Andy Plump, President, Research & Development at Takeda, and Mathai Mammen, former Executive Vice President, Pharmaceuticals, R&D, Johnson & Johnson. The group kicks off with a discussion on productivity in the pharma industry, including cost increases to the innovations that are on the horizon and improved efficiencies in trials, manufacturing and beyond. The group transitions to talk about the latest industry news, regulatory actions and notable recent fundings. They examine the scrutiny around the recent FDA approval of Reata’s treatment for a rare ne...
2023-03-131h 06Biotech HangoutEpisode 50This week, Paul Hastings, Chief Executive Officer and President of Nkarta Therapeutics and Chair of the Biotechnology Innovation Organization (BIO), joins Biotech Hangout hosts Daphne Zohar, Josh Schimmer, Rob Perez and Dawn Bell. The group discusses the latest biotech industry consolidations and dissolutions and Big Pharma’s looming patent cliff. They touch on controversies surrounding Vertex’s latest drug pricing, the abortion pill ban and pending implications for the FDA, industry diversity and Vivek Ramaswamy’s resignation from Roivant’s Board of Directors as he prepares to pursue his U.S. presidential campaign.
2023-03-031h 06Biotech HangoutEpisode 49On Biotech Hangout this week, hosts Daphne Zohar, Tim Opler, Chris Garabedian, Bruce Booth and Michal Preminger are joined by Andy Plump, President, Research & Development at Takeda, and Jay Bradner, Physician-Scientist and former President of the Novartis Institutes for BioMedical Research. They talk pharma productivity and its impact on M&A, new models for advancing and funding medicine and why we need them and what a pharmaceutical R&D head actually does. Andy and Jay discuss conflicts between research and commercial departments, share their experiences, insights and strategies learned from their careers in R&D executive roles and describe...
2023-02-221h 08Biotech HangoutEpisode 48This week’s Biotech Hangout theme is, “the good, the bad, the ugly” … and the “interesting.” Starting with “the good,” hosts Daphne Zohar, Josh Schimmer, Tim Opler, Dawn Bell and John Maraganore discuss the Mineralys ($MYLS) IPO and recent deals including Pfizer, Novartis and Merck on the hunt for new deals and CVS’s acquisition of Oak Street Health, a value-based primary care company and rival to United Healthcare. The “bad” centers around recent layoffs and shutdowns in the industry and government pressures on drug pricing. For “the ugly,” the team talks about the cost of sustainable innovation in the biotech industry. The...
2023-02-1459 minBiotech HangoutEpisode 47This week, hosts Daphne Zohar, Josh Schimmer, Dawn Bell and Sam Fazeli cover recent biotech earnings, big pharma revenue drivers, FDA news, data and much more. The group kicks off the conversation by addressing the slow week in M&A news before diving into the profitability of Medicare Advantage for private insurance and the new RADV rule updates announced – they also touch on how this rule will impact the future of pharma. Additionally, the hosts cover big pharma patent expiries & pipeline sourcing needs. Notable earnings updates from big pharma are discussed and the group shares their thoughts on Amgen’s Am...
2023-02-0658 minBiotech HangoutEpisode 46On this week’s episode, hosts Daphne Zohar and Josh Schimmer welcome founder and former CEO of Alnylam, John Maraganore, as a guest, and are joined by Ethan Perlstein, Rob Perez, Michal Preminger and Chris Garabedian. The discussion begins with a recap from John’s recent op-ed article published in The Timmerman Report that poses the question: ‘Is it the right time for biotech to be back together in person?’ The group debates the subject of remote vs. hybrid work models and discusses other cultural and strategic topics related to business models in biotech. They also cover Amazon’s new progra...
2023-02-061h 01Biotech HangoutEpisode 45On this week’s episode, hosts Daphne Zohar, Bruce Booth, Dawn Bell and Tim Opler are joined by Rajiv Kaul, portfolio manager in the equity division at Fidelity Investments, to discuss the latest data, financial and M&A news in the industry. The group begins by discussing an optimistic outlook for the biotech industry as financial trends seem to be shifting, noting that some of the most important breakthroughs in science and tech have followed challenging economic periods. They dive into the topic of opportunity assessment from different points of view in the industry – from pharma to biotech to publ...
2023-01-3059 minBiotech HangoutEpisode 44On the two-year anniversary of the launch of Biotech Hangout (formerly Biotech Clubhouse), Daphne and Josh are joined by Chris Garabedian and Brad Loncar, two of the Biotech Clubhouse co-founders, and Bruce Booth, Dawn Bell & Michal Preminger all drop in. The group kicks off the episode with outlook on 2023 and an in-depth recap of the J.P. Morgan 2023 Healthcare Conference. Overall themes include the “Monday Mystique” of industry pressure to announce deals at the start of the conference, Brad’s successful video series full of conversations with notable biopharma CEOs, diversity & inclusion, and an emerging globalization theme. Hosts also cover M&A...
2023-01-191h 00Biotech HangoutEpisode 43On the first Biotech Hangout episode of 2023, Daphne, Josh, and Tim are joined by Jefferies’ biotech analyst Michael Yee to recap the deals, financings, and clinical readouts that stood out in 2022. The group discusses the upcoming annual J.P. Morgan Healthcare conference and makes future predictions for 2023, including a possible rebound in China and amore obesity, CNS and small molecule deals. They discuss the Inflation Reduction Act and dive into Jefferies’ January XBI heat map. The group recaps Brad Loncar’s 2023 predictions in Business Insider and discuss what investors will want to see more of this year. They also make p...
2023-01-1155 minBiotech HangoutEpisode 42This week, hosts Daphne, Chris, Tim and Dawn are joined by Jeb Keiper, CEO of Nimbus Therapeutics, and by Melanie Senior, Biopharma reporter and analyst, to discuss the latest data, regulatory, and financial news in the biotech industry. Daphne, Chris, Dawn and Tim kick off the episode with insights on recent M&A deals – noting a recent increase in activity that has propelled 2022 into a big year for M&A. The group discusses past acquisitions that led to blockbuster medicines and those that didn't. One of the noteworthy deals of the year is this week's Takeda’s $4B upfront acqu...
2022-12-1657 minBiotech HangoutEpisode 41Hosts Daphne, Josh, Tim and Otello are joined by special guest and biotech investor, Brad Loncar, to discuss the current M&A landscape, data announcements from the week and recent FDA and regulatory movements. Otello began the episode with his observations of trends in M&A including speedy execution of deals and lack of competition to get them. Daphne goes into detail about this week’s deals, including a new, high-stakes partnership between Summit Therapeutics and Akeso to in-license a bispecific antibody, a deal that could be worth up to $5 billion. Brad reflects on the popularity of cell therapies in...
2022-12-1658 minBiotech HangoutEpisode 40In this week’s episode, Daphne, Josh and Tim are joined by Michal Preminger, Head of Johnson & Johnson Innovation, and Jacob Plieth, Evaluate Vantage journalist, to discuss the latest in biotech takeovers, data readouts and FDA news. Tim kicks off the episode with an update on macro events and his recent analysis on aggregate enterprise value of companies with good clinical data versus not so go good clinical data. Michal leads a discussion on the intersection of academia and the venture capital community and Jacob goes in-depth on his coverage of the Clinical Trials on Alzheimer’s Disease conference (CTAD...
2022-12-081h 00Biotech HangoutEpisode 39Jeremy Levin, Bruce Booth, Rob Perez, Dawn Bell and Ethan Perlstein join Daphne and Josh to discuss the macro biotech picture, recap the recent Jefferies Conference, discuss the impact of partisanship in healthcare legislation (including IRA), the coming impact for private and crossover investors, the Acrivon Therapeutics IPO & other recent financings, the Editas clinical setback and some recent FDA approvals, and the a16z story about the biggest company in the world being a consumer health tech company. The group also debates what makes a great biotech CEO and how those CEOs should handle company setbacks.
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2022-11-281h 03Biotech HangoutEpisode 38In this episode, Daphne, Josh, Bruce and Dawn are joined by guest Sam Fazeli (Bloomberg) to discuss this week’s biotech news and trends, including priorities in biotech (patients, investments and incentives), hybrid work models, and the new CEO appointments at Seagen and Biogen. In oncology news, the GSK Blenrep failure in multiple myeloma trial and perspective on progression-free survival versus overall survival in oncology and what really matters. From a financial angle, the hosts discuss single product companies, stock-based compensation, Clovis’ bankruptcy risk, EQRx’s pivot in their pricing model, Merrimack Pharma shares jumping after a successful trial for th...
2022-11-1657 minBiotech HangoutEpisode 37In this episode, Daphne, Bruce, Tim and guest Jefferies’ Michael Yee discuss the latest happenings in biotech, including recent key earnings, clinical data including ASH abstracts, “BAMG (Bristol Myers Squibb, Amgen, Merck and Gilead) as the new FAANG” and ways that companies are navigating the current challenging financing environment including debt, royalties, reverse mergers & the idea of returning capital after a setback. The episode also delves into the healthy follow-on financing environment.
2022-11-071h 00Biotech HangoutEpisode 36Lots of news this week! Daphne, Josh and Ethan discuss key binary events of the week, consolidation and the loss of ~40 companies across the industry over the last several months, deals – including the Agios royalty deal, the Sumitomo and Myovant merger and Vaxcyte’s large $690 million offering – as well as Taysha’s criticism around developing ultra-rare diseases and parents getting rights to drugs they helped fund. The hosts also discuss notable earnings from large companies, key FDA actions on Ipsen’s ultra-rare disease and accelerated approval for J&J’s bispecific antibody, and the microbiome coming back into favor.
2022-11-0758 minBiotech HangoutEpisode 35Rob Perez joins Daphne Zohar and Josh Schimmer to discuss the week's deals, data & FDA actions. Special guests include Kevin Judice, CEO of DiCE Therapeutics, and Alex Harding, who delves deeper into his recent Timmerman Report article on the Inflation Reduction Act.
2022-10-281h 00Biotech HangoutEpisode 34Hosts Josh Schimmer, Daphne Zohar and Tim Opler talk conflicts of interest in the industry, the Wall Street Journal’s investigation into the FTC and who regulates the regulators. Original air date: October 14, 2022.
2022-10-251h 00Biotech HangoutEpisode 33Hosts Daphne Zohar, Josh Schimmer and Bruce Booth discuss the recent rally in biotech and short interest stocks, when pharma doesn’t opt in or terminates a partnership, working with various divisions at the FDA and more. Original air date: October 7, 2022.
2022-10-251h 01Biotech HangoutEpisode 32Paul Rennert, CEO, President and CSO of Aleta Biotherapeutics joins hosts Daphne Zohar, Brad Loncar and Chris Garabedian to discuss access to research and journal publications. Original air date: August 28, 2022.
2022-10-051h 15
Amplifying Scientific Innovation® Video PodcastAmplifying Scientific Innovation® Video Podcast with Daphne Zohar, Founder & CEO, PureTech HealthIn Episode 12, Season 4 of the Amplifying Scientific Innovation® Video Podcast, Dr. Sophia Ononye-Onyia, Founder and CEO of The Sophia Consulting Firm, interviewed Ms. Daphne Zohar, Founder and CEO of Boston-based PureTech Health, a clinical-stage biotherapeutics company that she founded over 17 years in the U.S's largest biotech cluster with the goal of developing BIG (Brain-Immune-Gut) Medicines. Here, Ms. Zohar discusses her unique perspectives on science advocacy, health equity and influential leadership. For full transcript, please visit: https://sophiaconsultingfirm.com/blogs-%2B-articles/f/amplifying-scientific-innovationdaphne-zohar-puretech-health-ceo
2022-03-1827 min
Tough At The TopDaphne Zohar, Founder and CEO of Puretech Health plcDaphne Zohar is the Founder and CEO of Puretech Health plc. A serial entrepreneur, she has transformed an initial investment of $100,000 into a company now worth £1bn, with stock market listings in both London and New York. She created a unique model to develop and commercialise the scientific IP coming out of Boston's biotech cluster, turning conventional wisdom on its head by starting with unmet medical needs and then bringing the best brains together and letting their creativity run wild in order to construct new therapeutic solutions. This has led to successful innovations such as a video game to h...
2021-08-061h 00
Biotech HangoutGlobal Access Strategies: COVID Vaccines and Other MedsThis Biotech Clubhouse Session will cover insights into best practices for providing access to medicines in the developing from industry experts exploring learnings from Gilead Science’s HIV and Hepatitis C Access to Medicines Program. We take lessons from past efforts, look at the current COVID response, and discuss a path forward for low and middle-income countries’ access to COVID vaccines, as well as future life-saving medicines.
Guests: Clifford Samuel, Claudio Lilienfeld, Kash Rangan.
Host: Chris Garabedian.
Full auto-generated transcript: click here
Originally aired on June 7th, 2021 on Biotech Clubhouse. Shared with...
2021-06-091h 03
Biotech HangoutGood is the New Cool with Afdhel AzizCompanies can change the world for the better while advancing their own business goals by supporting community-building activities. Featuring Life Science Cares (LSC) Impact Breakfast Keynote Speaker, Afdhel Aziz, and hosted by LSC founder, Rob Perez.
Originally aired May 27th on Biotech Clubhouse. Click here for transcript (autogenerated)
2021-06-091h 01
Biotech HangoutPre-ASCO Discussion: Perspectives on Emerging Oncology TreatmentsA cross-disciplinary group of oncology experts and a top wall street biotech analyst discuss the most promising new therapies presenting data at ASCO. Featuring Sally Church, James Gulley, Aleksandra Filipovic, and Umer Raffat. Moderated by Daphne Zohar. Originally aired May 21st on Biotech Clubhouse.
Click for transcript
2021-05-211h 02