Episode 188 - July 10, 2026

Episode 188 - July 10, 2026

On this week's episode, Sam Fazeli, Josh Schimmer, Eric Schmidt, Paul Matteis, and special guest STAT's Matt Herper open on the market, noting that despite a wobbly day for biotech, the XBI holds strong gains year-to-date. The conversation turns to FDA transparency, where the co-hosts flag that CRLs haven't been released since April and that the agency may be walking back that practice. The co-hosts debate whether the FDA is swinging too far toward leniency after Agios' mitapivat won priority review in sickle cell disease despite missing its primary endpoint last year. On AI in drug discovery, Matt Herper recaps an interview with Anthropic's CEO about a new research tool, noting that it's plausible the tool helps industry pick better targets and lower the failure rate. In M&A, Vertex's largest-ever deal takes Crinetics for $10 billion net of cash, staking a claim in the specialty rare endocrine space, while Novartis expands its ADC portfolio with Myricx for $1.1 billion upfront plus $400 million in milestones — the second European ADC deal in recent months. On data, AstraZeneca and Ionis' eplontersen trial in ATTR-CM missed its endpoint, showing no benefit or biomarker signal on top of background tafamidis; the group then discusses the readthroughs for BridgeBio, Alnylam, and Pfizer's ATTR therapies. This episode aired on July 10, 2026.

Episode 187 - June 26, 2026

On this week’s episode, Josh Schimmer, Eric Schmidt, Tess Cameron, and Sam Fazeli open by noting the XBI’s continued rise, debating whether biotech is getting ahead of itself. The co-hosts call this a “new era” in which biotech can be profitable rather than sold off to pharma. The conversation shifts to deals, with AbbVie’s $10.9 billion acquisition of Apogee, which raised questions about China-sourced drugs given their volume, pace of innovation, and cheaper price. The group also covers Boundless Bio and Serapha’s merger, alongside a $230M private raise. Ollin Bio -- whose pipeline is built entirely on Chinese assets -- raised $330M Series B to advance Phase 3 trials of a bispecific antibody for diabetic macular edema and wet AMD, which led to a debate on the COINS Act and the distinction between physical and innovation supply chains. The group then overviews potential FDA Commissioner candidates, with BIO CEO John Crowley and physician Heidi Overton as front-runners alongside acting leader Kyle Diamantas. In company news, CVS Caremark deferred adding $SPRY’s epinephrine nasal spray Neffy to its formulary, pushing the review to January 2027. The episode concludes with data updates from Moonlake in HS, Merck’s ulcerative colitis drug, Definium’s Phase 3 LSD data in MDD, and Absci’s Lilly-backed prolactin antibody raise. *This episode aired on June 26, 2026.

Episode 186 - June 12, 2026

On this week’s episode, Graig Suvannavejh, Eric Schmidt, Paul Matteis and Financial Times’ Oliver Barnes kicked off with the biotech market, with the XBI in positive territory and 12 biotech IPOs completed so far this year. They expected the IPO window to remain open for high-quality private companies. The group also overviewed recent financings, including SonoThera’s $125 million Series B, City Therapeutics’ $100 million Series B, Ethyreal’s $101 million Series A, and Summit’s decision to cancel a $500 million secondary offering. In data news, the co-hosts covered Tango’s combination data with Revolution Medicines’ RAS inhibitor. They also discussed Incyte’s acquisition of Vega Therapeutics as a pipeline-building move ahead of Jakafi’s 2028 patent expiration and J&J’s acquisition of Firefly, with the RAS inhibitor space expected to remain hot. The group also discussed GSK’s acquisition of Nuvalent -- its largest deal to date -- for two late-stage lung cancer assets. Oliver added perspective on biotech deal leaks, following the Incyte/Vega deal and GSK/Nuvalent deals this week. In partnership updates, Novartis expanded its molecular glue work with Orionis, Lilly licensed an Alzheimer’s candidate from AlzeCure, and Corvus supported China partner Angel Pharmaceuticals. The episode concluded with the latest in rare disease and gene therapy, covering Novartis’ FSHD program, FDA flexibility, Rett syndrome programs, and Sensorion’s exit from hearing loss development. *This episode aired on June 12, 2026.

Episode 185 -June 5, 2026

On this week’s episode, Yaron Werber, Tess Cameron, SamFazeli, and Brian Skorney kick off with a look at markets, noting that while AI remains hot, biotech may be cooling amid anticipated tech IPOs. The co-hosts note that biotech saw a significant recovery over the past year driven by M&A and improving sentiment, highlighting that the XBI has remained remarkably stable. The discussion then turns to policy, where momentum to expand the COINS Act into biotech raises concerns. The group highlights the need to distinguish between manufacturing supply chains, where national security risks are real, and innovation ecosystems, where restricting capital flows could slow drug development and shift advantage outside of the US. Recapping the highlights from ASCO 2026, Akeso/Summit’s ivonescimab showed meaningful survival benefits, while Revolution Medicines’ KRAS program in pancreatic cancer stood out as a breakthrough, receiving a standing ovation at the conference. In breast cancer, the focus was centered on emerging CDK4 selective inhibitors from Pfizer and others. Grail’s multi-cancer early detection readout was also discussed, along with in vivo CAR-T data from Kelonia that showed strong early responses but raised durability questions. *This episode aired on June 5, 2026.

Episode 184 - May 29, 2026

On this week’s episode, Chris Garabedian, Brian Skorney, Graig Suvannavejh, and special guest Ginkgo Bioworks CEO, Jason Kelly, kick off with a market update, highlighting a continued positive sentiment, citing Endpoints’ recent Biopharma Sentiment Index survey results, which showed improvements in biopharma conditions. The co-hosts also note the continued IPO activity, including Kardigan’s recent filing. The conversation shifts to China, with Jason suggesting that genetic engineering is a strategic technology extending beyond therapeutics, warning that the U.S. is offshoring critical innovation to China. This sparks a debate with others noting that global collaboration is embedded in drug development and questioning whether restricting partnerships would ultimately harm U.S. competitiveness. In deals, the group highlights Lilly’s acquisition of three vaccine companies for up to $3.8 billion and Apogee’s $1.3 billion strategic collaboration with Blackstone to advance their eczema drug. The conversation shifts to data, with GSK’s Phase 3 data for chronic hepatitis B drug, and an overview of datasets at ASCO 2026, including Revolution Medicines Phase 3 trial results for pancreatic cancer, which are expected to be the headline of the conference. The episode concludes with an overview of Biohaven’s R&D Day, BMS in multiple myeloma, Dyne’s DMD, and updates on the FDA following the recent leadership changes. after the departure of Dr. Marty Makary. *This episode aired on May 29, 2026.