[Editor’s note: Ben Fidler contributed to this report] The week of frenetic data sharing, deal talking, and party hopping of the J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference—and the events that have mushroomed around it—took a punch to the gut just as most attendees were wrapping up and checking their outbound flight status. The incoming party-pooper-in-chief, Donald Trump, … Continue reading “Notes From The JPM ’17 Vortex: Trump, Rainstorms & The Price You Pay”
Author: Alex Lash
I've spent nearly all my working life as a journalist. I covered the rise and fall of the dot-com era in the second half of the 1990s, then switched to life sciences in the new millennium. I've written about the strategy, financing and scientific breakthroughs of biotech for The Deal, Elsevier's Start-Up, In Vivo and The Pink Sheet, and Xconomy.
Trump Slams Drug Companies, Says Medicare “Bidding” Is Coming
Oh, the power of a Donald Trump sound bite. On the campaign trail and as president-elect he has made occasional noises about drug pricing—giving the U.S. Medicare system, the largest buyer of drugs in the world, the right to negotiate prices, for instance. This morning, in his first press conference, Trump went further. He said … Continue reading “Trump Slams Drug Companies, Says Medicare “Bidding” Is Coming”
At Allergan And Other Pharmas, Price Transparency Has Limits
The first test of pharmaceutical giant Allergan’s promise to behave responsibly came last week. The firm acknowledged price hikes on several drugs that stayed—sometimes barely—under the 10 percent limit that CEO Brent Saunders pledged last September, in what he called a “social contract with patients.” In an interview at the annual J.P. Morgan healthcare investment … Continue reading “At Allergan And Other Pharmas, Price Transparency Has Limits”
Bio Roundup: Biogen Price Fears, A Grail Billion, Hellos, Byes & More
Happy new year, everyone. Are you all strapped in? Tray tables in the locked and upright position? As Bette Davis once said, “It’s going to be a bumpy night.” The news from Washington is already coming fast and furious. The effort to repeal Obamacare is underway, spawning more perspectives and opinions than a postmodern Japanese … Continue reading “Bio Roundup: Biogen Price Fears, A Grail Billion, Hellos, Byes & More”
Digitalis Launches $100M Health Fund, With Emphasis On Data
Information technology has wound itself so deeply into healthcare, this might be the year that the term “digital health”—used roughly to distinguish health-related hardware and software from drugs and medical devices—becomes quaint. One example of the ever-blurrier lines between health and technology is a new venture fund, Digitalis Ventures. The firm has already made three … Continue reading “Digitalis Launches $100M Health Fund, With Emphasis On Data”
Bio Roundup: Crazy ’16, Trials of ’17, Senate on Drugs & More
You’ve probably seen the Internet memes. “When 2016 started, I looked like this. [Insert picture of young Leo DiCaprio.] Now I look like this. [Leo, with mountain beard, after mud-wrestling with a grizzly in The Revenant.]” In life science terms, let’s just say all our telomeres feel a lot shorter than 12 months ago. The … Continue reading “Bio Roundup: Crazy ’16, Trials of ’17, Senate on Drugs & More”
14 for ’17: Key Clinical Data To Watch For Next Year (Part 2)
We continue our look ahead to some of the clinical data due in 2017 that could shape healthcare practice and sway investor sentiment for years to come. Part one of our preview is here, with looks at key studies in lung cancer, Alzheimer’s disease, asthma, and more. In part two, we examine studies in leukemia, … Continue reading “14 for ’17: Key Clinical Data To Watch For Next Year (Part 2)”
As Its Rivals Team Up, Editas Buys Next-Gen CRISPR From Old Friends
[Updated 12/19/16, 5:33 p.m. ET. See below.] The two sides fighting over ownership of the landmark gene editing technology CRISPR-Cas9 are waiting for a decision from a panel of U.S. patent judges that could come early in the new year. Meanwhile, each side continues to make chess moves with their intellectual property. The latest move … Continue reading “As Its Rivals Team Up, Editas Buys Next-Gen CRISPR From Old Friends”
Bio Roundup: NY Rises, Prez Inks Cures, Ophthotech Crashes & More
The 21st Century Cures Act is now law. New York wants to play in the biotech big leagues. The FDA under Trump will have license to approve drugs faster and could have a former top official back on board as commissioner. An eye drug failed, an Alzheimer’s drug got scrutinized, and a new antibiotic passed … Continue reading “Bio Roundup: NY Rises, Prez Inks Cures, Ophthotech Crashes & More”
Roche’s Genentech Names Insider Bill Anderson New CEO
The Genentech division of Roche said that Bill Anderson, who has been with the company for a decade, will replace Ian Clark as CEO. Anderson has been running North American commercial operations, the company said. He joined South San Francisco, CA-based Genentech in 2006 from Biogen, where he held a top spot in the neurology … Continue reading “Roche’s Genentech Names Insider Bill Anderson New CEO”
BlueRock Raises $225M To Repair Heart Damage With Stem Cells
A new stem cell therapeutics company, BlueRock Therapeutics, has launched with $225 million in funding from international healthcare giant Bayer and Versant Ventures. Using work from Nobel Prize winner Shinya Yamanaka and others, BlueRock will operate in Toronto, New York, and Boston. The company said one of its first projects aims to repair heart muscle, … Continue reading “BlueRock Raises $225M To Repair Heart Damage With Stem Cells”
Bio Roundup: Fast “Cures,” Trump In Time, CRISPR In Court & More
What a week. The 21st Century Cures Act is now waiting President Obama’s promised signature after easy passage through Congress. President-elect Donald Trump re-stirred the drug-pricing pot with comments in Time Magazine and a reported FDA commissioner candidate who doesn’t seem to think much of the regulatory process. And a trio of judges met to … Continue reading “Bio Roundup: Fast “Cures,” Trump In Time, CRISPR In Court & More”
Craig Venter Used Own Posh Health Clinic To Diagnose His Cancer
Speaking at a conference in San Francisco Wednesday, geneticist Craig Venter revealed that he had just had surgery for prostate cancer three weeks ago. A health workup at his own high-end clinic, Health Nucleus, pinpointed the cancer. Famous for leading one of two teams in the 1990s that raced to unlock the human genome, Venter … Continue reading “Craig Venter Used Own Posh Health Clinic To Diagnose His Cancer”
At Late-Night ASH Talk, Juno Execs Look Beyond Stalled “Rocket” Trial
[Corrected 3/1/17 to update trial data] Juno Therapeutics is still mulling next steps for its lead product, an experimental cancer immunotherapy now stuck in limbo. Five of 38 adult leukemia patients taking the product in a clinical trial called “Rocket” have died from severe brain swelling caused by the treatment. In an after-dinner review at … Continue reading “At Late-Night ASH Talk, Juno Execs Look Beyond Stalled “Rocket” Trial”
With Nod To Biden, Senate To Say Yes To “Cures” Spending, Reform Bill
The U.S. Senate cleared the way for the 21st Century Cures Act, an omnibus healthcare spending and reform bill, by voting 85-13 to end debate this evening. It passed the House with 392 votes last week. After a final Senate vote as early as tomorrow, it will head to President Obama’s desk. The president used … Continue reading “With Nod To Biden, Senate To Say Yes To “Cures” Spending, Reform Bill”
The Xconomy Immuno-Oncology Resource: A Mid-ASH T Cell Update
[Updated, 12/5/16, 4 p.m. See below.] If you’re following cancer immunotherapy, you might feel a bit swamped by this week’s wave of clinical data from experimental programs that turn living T cells into revved-up cancer fighters. We’re updating our ongoing cancer immunotherapy trial resource with American Society of Hematology results, plus a few others we’ve … Continue reading “The Xconomy Immuno-Oncology Resource: A Mid-ASH T Cell Update”
Brushing Aside Critics, House Votes in Landslide for Cures Act
By a 392 to 26 vote, the U.S. House of Representatives has passed the omnibus healthcare legislation called the 21st Century Cures Act, bringing new funding for top Obama administration health priorities a big step closer to the outgoing president’s signature. While critics of the bill questioned whether that funding would actually materialize in coming … Continue reading “Brushing Aside Critics, House Votes in Landslide for Cures Act”
Trump Tabs Fiscal, Social Conservatives To Run U.S. Health Agencies
Two big pieces of the Trump healthcare puzzle have fallen into place. The President-elect’s transition team has nominated Georgia Republican congressman Tom Price to be Health and Human Services secretary. It has also tabbed Indiana health consultant Seema Verma to run the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. In a statement, Rep. Fred Upton (R-MI), … Continue reading “Trump Tabs Fiscal, Social Conservatives To Run U.S. Health Agencies”
Two More Deaths In Trial Halt Juno’s Top CAR-T Treatment Again
Juno Therapeutics (NASDAQ: [[ticker:JUNO]]), a developer of experimental “CAR-T” cancer therapies derived from a patient’s own immune cells, reported this morning that two more patients have died during a trial of its most advanced product, a treatment for adults with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL). The Phase 2 trial, dubbed Rocket, is now on hold for … Continue reading “Two More Deaths In Trial Halt Juno’s Top CAR-T Treatment Again”
Precision Medicine In Trump Era? California Presses Own Modest Program
[Updated, 11/22/16, 5:42 p.m. See below.] Among the many questions swirling around the incoming Trump administration is the fate of ambitious biomedical science projects that require federal funding. What will a Trump presidency and Republican control of Congress mean for the Precision Medicine Initiative and the Cancer Moonshot program, both championed by the Obama administration? … Continue reading “Precision Medicine In Trump Era? California Presses Own Modest Program”
Bio Roundup: Trump’s Rx Silence, PCSK9 News, Amgen’s Migraines & More
Speculation swirled this week around the incoming U.S. president’s intent to make good on his angry campaign rhetoric on drug prices, while the Associated Press reported that naming-and-shaming—that is, Congress hauling executives into hearings and penning angry letters—certainly hasn’t done the trick. For one new kind of cholesterol drug, insurers and their agents have tried … Continue reading “Bio Roundup: Trump’s Rx Silence, PCSK9 News, Amgen’s Migraines & More”
Harvard Spinout Magenta, Other Academics Race Toward Better Stem Cell Transplants
Stem cell transplants are risky business, and although their use to treat cancer and other blood-borne diseases has increased in recent years, they remain dangerous and in many cases a last resort. One startup using work from Harvard University wants to develop a suite of new techniques to make them safer and more widely available. … Continue reading “Harvard Spinout Magenta, Other Academics Race Toward Better Stem Cell Transplants”
Trump Team Outlines Healthcare Agenda—No Mention of Drug Prices
The incoming Trump administration has posted an outline of its healthcare agenda on its transition website. There is no mention of drug pricing or what the administration might do about frequent price increases, such as Mylan’s EpiPen practice, that critics say are unsubstantiated and unethical. During the campaign, Trump’s official platform called for a change … Continue reading “Trump Team Outlines Healthcare Agenda—No Mention of Drug Prices”
In Trump-GOP Tsunami, Blue-State Healthcare Ideas Swamped
[Updated, 11/9/16, 1:20 p.m. See below.] The 2016 U.S. election is over. The country has been rocked by the presidential race, with Donald Trump taking the White House. Every facet of American policy, our attitudes toward power and governance, even our national character will be topics of debate in coming months. Our healthcare system will … Continue reading “In Trump-GOP Tsunami, Blue-State Healthcare Ideas Swamped”
Forecast Update: CA’s Prop. 61 Now A Toss-Up, New Poll Shows
Xconomy reported Thursday that support for Proposition 61, the California initiative to rein in drug prices, had slipped in a recent poll to a slim 51 percent majority, with 24 percent opposed and 25 percent undecided. Since then, a new state poll from a different pollster has put Prop. 61’s chances at a toss-up: 47 … Continue reading “Forecast Update: CA’s Prop. 61 Now A Toss-Up, New Poll Shows”
Bio Roundup: Clinical Shirkers, AMD Worriers, ASH Fallers & More
Our previous roundup came out last week before news broke that Susan Lindquist, a highly decorated and thoughtful researcher into the inner workings of proteins, passed away. She was 67. First at the University of Chicago and then MIT’s Whitehead Institute, Lindquist helped biologists see that all kinds of organisms—including ourselves—share errors of protein folding … Continue reading “Bio Roundup: Clinical Shirkers, AMD Worriers, ASH Fallers & More”
Californians Still Hate Trump, But More Uncertain About Drug Companies
The polls are tightening. Millions of people are still making up their minds. National figures are making last-minute pitches. The decision could have huge implications for people across the U.S. We’re talking of course about next week’s vote on Proposition 61 in California, an attempt to control drug prices in the nation’s most populous state. … Continue reading “Californians Still Hate Trump, But More Uncertain About Drug Companies”
Flatiron, Foundation Med Link Records of 20,000 Cancer Patients
[Updated, 11/3/16, 11:43 a.m. See below.] Some of the world’s largest non-profit cancer treatment centers are pooling patient information to gain new insights into the disease and potentially find new treatments. Now two for-profit companies that trade in cancer data are trying the same thing. Flatiron Health and Foundation Medicine have begun combining the health … Continue reading “Flatiron, Foundation Med Link Records of 20,000 Cancer Patients”
Unity Nabs $116M To Bring “Diseases of Aging” Drugs Into Human Trials
Unity Biotechnology launched earlier this year to tackle common diseases such as knee arthritis, glaucoma, and clogged arteries in a new way. The company said Thursday it has raised $116 million in a Series B funding round. Unity wants to kill cells that have gone dormant but continue to produce chemicals that cause damaging inflammation … Continue reading “Unity Nabs $116M To Bring “Diseases of Aging” Drugs Into Human Trials”
FDA: Keytruda Now OK For Some Patients With Untreated Lung Cancer
The FDA has approved the use of pembrolizumab (Keytruda) for some previously untreated patients with a certain type of lung cancer, the drug’s owner Merck (NYSE: [[ticker:MRK]]) announced late Monday. Pembrolizumab can now be used for patients who have never received treatment for non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) that has spread to other parts of … Continue reading “FDA: Keytruda Now OK For Some Patients With Untreated Lung Cancer”
Bio Roundup: Jenkins Gets Mad, Bernie Gets His Pen, CRISPR IPO & J-Lo
If you’re among those frustrated by the lack of talk about health and science in the three presidential debates, this week perhaps brought you a wee consolation prize. The steady drip of hacked Hillary Clinton-related emails showed her campaign team questioning then-candidate FDA commissioner Robert Califf’s ties to the pharma industry. The staff also crowed … Continue reading “Bio Roundup: Jenkins Gets Mad, Bernie Gets His Pen, CRISPR IPO & J-Lo”
Fred Hutch Team Wants To Move Clean-Room Gene Therapy To Tabletop
[Corrected, 10/24/16, 2:44 p.m. See below.] In 2009, Jennifer Adair was helping treat a brain cancer patient in an experimental study. The trial required genetic modification of the patient’s blood stem cells in a specialized sterile room at Seattle’s Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, where Adair is a gene therapy researcher. Over the course of … Continue reading “Fred Hutch Team Wants To Move Clean-Room Gene Therapy To Tabletop”
All In One Place: A New Immuno-Oncology Trial Resource
More than 100 years ago, New York bone surgeon William Coley began to suspect that bacterial infections might be improving the outlook for patients also suffering from cancer. The infections were turbo-charging the immune system. Coley (pictured) would be gratified to see that in 2016 a growing array of immune-boosting cancer treatments are helping some … Continue reading “All In One Place: A New Immuno-Oncology Trial Resource”
CRISPR Therapeutics Raises $56M In IPO, Half Its Rivals’ Haul
CRISPR Therapeutics has raised $56 million in an initial public offering, making it the third company developing human medicines with the gene editing system CRISPR-Cas9 to make the IPO leap in 2016. Split between Switzerland and Cambridge, MA, CRISPR Therapeutics sold 4 million shares at $14 apiece, raising about 25 percent less than the target … Continue reading “CRISPR Therapeutics Raises $56M In IPO, Half Its Rivals’ Haul”
Bay Area Researchers Take A CRISPR Cut At Sickle Cell Disease
[Corrected 10/13/16, 1:00 p.m. See below.] Another academic group has published results of animal experiments that use the gene editing tool CRISPR-Cas9 to treat sickle cell disease, adding to the hope that one day, the devastating genetic condition and others like it could be fixed by changing a patient’s DNA. The latest research, published today … Continue reading “Bay Area Researchers Take A CRISPR Cut At Sickle Cell Disease”
Bio Roundup: Theranos Cuts, Alnylam Stops, Nobel Eats Its Own & More
[Updated, 11:50 a.m. ET, see below] With the Caribbean and now the southeast U.S. coast bearing the brunt of Hurricane Matthew, we send our thoughts and more to those who have more pressing matters to worry about this week. But the show must go on. The biotech industry saw its own storms pass through, with … Continue reading “Bio Roundup: Theranos Cuts, Alnylam Stops, Nobel Eats Its Own & More”
With New Program, DARPA To Encourage Safety “Brakes” For Gene Editing
[Updated 10/6/16, 12:17 p.m. See below.] Drugs that use molecular scissors to snip out or replace defective genes. Altered mosquitoes meant to sabotage entire disease-carrying populations. Both are potential uses of genome editing, which thanks to the CRISPR-Cas9 system has spread throughout the world’s biology labs and is now on the doorstep of the outside … Continue reading “With New Program, DARPA To Encourage Safety “Brakes” For Gene Editing”
After the Election, Join Us to Discuss the State of the Biotech Union
How will the upcoming election affect biotech and healthcare? On December 6 in South San Francisco, Xconomy is gathering scientists, executives, investors, and other thought leaders to dissect the results and look ahead to 2017. Issues that are crucial to the health and wealth of the nation are in play on Election Day and beyond. … Continue reading “After the Election, Join Us to Discuss the State of the Biotech Union”
Will Programmable Immune “Cellbots” Be the Next Weapon Against Cancer?
[Corrected, 9/29/16, 4:24 p.m. See below.] Cancer immunotherapy has captured the medical world’s attention, knocking out a few types of cancer in a small portion of the most desperate patients. But it has bumped into many limitations. Researcher Wendell Lim (pictured) and his lab mates at the University of California, San Francisco, believe they can … Continue reading “Will Programmable Immune “Cellbots” Be the Next Weapon Against Cancer?”
Kite Unveils Anticipated CAR-T Cancer Data: Positive But Not Complete
Kite Pharma (NASDAQ: [[ticker:KITE]]) has dipped into a highly anticipated clinical trial of its cancer treatment, KTE-C19, to release a partial set of data. Although not complete, the data bolster the view that Kite could be the first among its peers, all developing cutting-edge cancer treatments from a patient’s own white blood cells, to win … Continue reading “Kite Unveils Anticipated CAR-T Cancer Data: Positive But Not Complete”
Bio Roundup: Mylan Grilled, Duchenne Kids Thrilled, Zuck-Chan & More
Another biopharma executive went before Congress to explain drug price hikes. Unlike Martin Shkreli, Mylan CEO Heather Bresch actually answered questions. Taking heat over the EpiPen scandal, she tried to stick to her script, getting testy when legislators brought up a USA Today story about her mother helping market the life-saving anti-allergy injection to schools. … Continue reading “Bio Roundup: Mylan Grilled, Duchenne Kids Thrilled, Zuck-Chan & More”
With Tobira Deal, Allergan Keeps Shopping For “Questionable” Assets
[Updated 9/20/16, 4:45 p.m. See below.] Since its mega-merger with drug giant Pfizer (NYSE: [[ticker:PFE]]) fell apart, Allergan has been on an acquisition spree of its own. Its latest purchase has the highest profile—and highest premium—of the lot. Allergan (NYSE: [[ticker:AGN]]) said today it is paying up to $1.7 billion for Tobira Therapeutics (NASDAQ: [[ticker:TBRA]]), … Continue reading “With Tobira Deal, Allergan Keeps Shopping For “Questionable” Assets”
New Relay Therapeutics Aims Supercomputers, $57M At Protein Motion
Nearly ten years ago, academics at Stanford University trying to divine how proteins fold into their complicated shapes—an action that can take a millionth to a thousandth of a second—began recruiting people at home to volunteer their computers in the off hours. Back then, crowdsourced computing muscle was necessary to probe the mystery of a … Continue reading “New Relay Therapeutics Aims Supercomputers, $57M At Protein Motion”
Sanofi, Verily Fund Diabetes Startup With $500M
[Updated, 9/12/16, 2:35 p.m. See below.] French healthcare giant Sanofi (NYSE: [[ticker:SNY]]) and Verily, the life-science group within Google’s parent company Alphabet (NASDAQ: [[ticker:GOOG]]), are each putting nearly $250 million into a new startup, Onduo, that will develop diabetes treatments. Onduo will be based in Cambridge, MA, and run by a former big-box superstore executive, … Continue reading “Sanofi, Verily Fund Diabetes Startup With $500M”
Bio Roundup: Cancer Wishes and Shopping Lists, Allergan Pricing & More
[Corrected, 9/12/16, 4:28 p.m. See below.] What do cancer experts want? The moon, perhaps. As part of the Obama administration’s “cancer moonshot” program, a panel of scientists this week presented a set of broad, ambitious recommendations to speed up the pace of cancer research, treatment, and prevention. The scientific goals, writ large, included nationwide data … Continue reading “Bio Roundup: Cancer Wishes and Shopping Lists, Allergan Pricing & More”
Tyler Jacks, Cancer Moonshot Panel Co-Chair, Discusses Roadmap
The Obama administration wants to speed up cancer research with its “Cancer Moonshot” program—packing 10 years’ worth of work on prevention and treatment programs into five is one of its rallying cries. Agreeing on what to do, and how to do it, is the first step. The FDA agreed this summer to reorganize the way … Continue reading “Tyler Jacks, Cancer Moonshot Panel Co-Chair, Discusses Roadmap”
Prothena’s Top Scientist Kinney Expands Role To COO
Prothena (NASDAQ: [[ticker:PRTA]]) has named Gene Kinney as its chief operating officer, a new position at the drug developer. Kinney has been chief scientific officer and head of R&D since the company launched in 2012. He will keep those titles. Prothena is domiciled in Dublin, Ireland, but conducts daily operations in South San Francisco, CA.
With Government Backing, Moderna Joins the Zika Vaccine Chase
Moderna Therapeutics, whose unusual and still unproven drug-producing technology has attracted more than a billion dollars in funding and partnerships, is joining the scramble to produce a vaccine to protect against Zika virus infection. The virus, which has gone from a biological afterthought to a global health crisis in a few years, can cause microcephaly, … Continue reading “With Government Backing, Moderna Joins the Zika Vaccine Chase”
Immunotherapy Clinical Tests Spur Hope, and Plenty of Headaches
Thanks to remarkable results in a small group of patients, including former U.S. President Jimmy Carter, cancer immunotherapy has spurred talk of once impossible-to-imagine cures and has gained its share, perhaps more than its share, of hype. But immunotherapy is also creating new challenges and exacerbating old ones for doctors, patients, and researchers. These new … Continue reading “Immunotherapy Clinical Tests Spur Hope, and Plenty of Headaches”
Bio Roundup: RIP Roger Tsien, Novartis CAR-T Wheel, Zika News & More
A man who helped shed light—fluorescent light—on biology died far too early, at the age of 64. Nobel Prize winner Roger Tsien, a UC San Diego chemist, passed away in Oregon this week. No cause of death has been announced. He helped turn a jellyfish protein into an invaluable lab tool that every researcher knows … Continue reading “Bio Roundup: RIP Roger Tsien, Novartis CAR-T Wheel, Zika News & More”