BioSpace

The Radiotherapeutics Moment: How Isotopes are Changing Cancer Treatment

In this episode of Denatured, you'll listen to Dr. Marc Hedrick, President and CEO of Plus Therapeutics and Dr. Phil Kantoff, CEO & Co-founder of Convergent Therapeutics. They discuss breakthroughs like alpha-emitting isotopes, supply chain solutions and why radiotherapeutics is biotech's next big frontier.Host Jennifer C. Smith-Parker, Director of Insights, BioSpace Guests Marc Hedrick, President & CEO, Plus Therapeutics Philip Kantoff, Co-founder & CEO, Convergent TherapeuticsDisclaimer: The views expressed in this discussion by guests are their own and do not represent those of their organizations. 

Biopharma M&A Heats Up, Rare Diseases Win Three Approvals, Wave Crashes

Biogen, Eli Lilly and Merck spent more than $20 billion in the past week to swallow biotechs with approved products or promising drug candidates—representing three of this year’s four biggest takeovers. First, Merck picked up Terns Pharmaceuticals and its mid-stage leukemia drug for $6.7 billion. Then, on Tuesday, Lilly and Biogen struck, acquiring Centessa Pharmaceuticals and Apellis Pharmaceuticals respectively.Those big-ticket deals aren’t the only recent transactions, however. Others include Novartis’ up to $2 billion pick up of Excellergy and Gilead’s $2.1 billion purchase of Ouro Medicines. Meanwhile, Kevin Tang—the newly minted CEO of Aurinia Pharmaceuticals—again has his sights set on Kezar Life Sciences, which he previously targeted in 2024. This time, biopharma’s “clean-up” man is offering $50 million for the chronic disease–focused biotech.Last week also saw nods for Denali Therapeutics’ Avlayah, the first treatment for Hunter syndrome to target the disease’s neurological complications, and Rocket Pharmaceuticals’ Kresladi for leukocyte adhesion deficiency-I. And it’s been a big week for Biogen, which besides moving on Apellis, won approval of a high-dose formulation of spinal muscular atrophy drug Spinraza and scored a Phase 2 win for lupus candidate litifilimab in cutaneous lupus erythematosus.On the weight loss front, Wave Life Sciences’ stock was cut in half after its obesity candidate WVE-007 failed to impress investors in a Phase 1 trial.

Beyond Buzzwords in Longevity Investing

In this episode, you'll be listening to Sergey Jakimov, managing partner at LongeVC and Artem Trotsyuk, operating partner, US, LongeVC. We discuss how developers in the longevity space should stop chasing aging as an abstract target and concentrate on specific mechanisms that can clearly tackle age-related conditions. HostJennifer C. Smith-Parker, Director of Insights, BioSpaceGuestsSergey Jakimov, Managing Partner, LongeVCArtem Trotsyuk, Operating Partner-US, LongeVC 

Gilead’s Ouro Buy, J&J/Protagonist’s Approval, Aurinia’s Revamp, ACIP Confusion, More

Immunology & inflammation stole the show this week, as Gilead dropped up to $2.1 billion for Ouro Medicines and its T cell engager OM336—an investment it hopes to split with longtime partner Galapagos. Meanwhile, Sanofi also added a T cell engager in a licensing deal with Kali Therapeutics worth $180 million upfront.One I&I partnership that bore fruit last week was that of Johnson & Johnson and Protagonist Therapeutics which got their IL-23 receptor blocker Icotyde across the FDA finish line for plaque psoriasis. Icotyde is the first commercial product for Protagonist.Even the drama this week came from the I&I space, as Kevin Tang took the reins as CEO of Aurinia Pharmaceuticals, which you may remember was the company at the heart of former Center for Drug Evaluation and Research Director George Tidmarsh’s exit from the FDA.Outside of I&I, the CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices made headlines once again as Vice Chair Robert Malone posted to social media that the group was being disbanded. The Department of Health and Human Services quickly corrected the record, but Malone posted a few hours later that “dissolving and reforming remains one of options being considered.”In FDA policy news, BioSpace recaps the now nine-month-old Commissioner’s National Priority Voucher pilot program and unpacks new draft guidance on animal testing alternatives. Plus, check out an opinion article on the need for precision ALS drugs and features on gene therapy for hearing loss and Big Pharma’s overall R&D spending in 2025.

Inside the Race to Build the Next Generation of AI Drug Discovery Platforms

In this episode, you'll be listening to  Akshay Rai, principal, Healthcare & Biotech Investments at Premji Invest and Viswa Colluru, CEO and founder, Enveda. They discuss how AI platforms must now prove themselves through data, focused pipelines and clinical readouts and that promises of faster, cheaper drug discovery are not enough to entice strong investor engagement.  HostJennifer Smith-Parker, Director of Insights, BioSpaceGuestsViswa Colluru, CEO & Founder, EnvedaAkshay Rai, Principal, Healthcare & Biotech Investments, Premji InvestDisclaimer: The views expressed in this discussion by guests are their own and do not represent those of their organizations.