Frank Vinluan
Frank is a business journalist with more than a decade of experience covering various aspects of technology and life sciences. Based in Raleigh, he was a staff writer at the Triangle Business Journal covering technology, biotechnology and energy before joining MedCityNews.com as North Carolina bureau chief. Prior to moving to North Carolina’s Research Triangle in 2007 he held business reporting positions at The Des Moines Register and The Seattle Times. Frank has a bachelor’s degree in history from Carleton College and a master’s degree in public affairs reporting from the University of Illinois Springfield.
Recent posts
[Corrected 6/24/19, 12:08 p.m. See below.] Cancer remains one of the hottest areas for pharma deals and this week saw a big one: Pfizer’s proposed $11.4 billion buyout of... Read more »
It’s been a strong year for biotech IPOs and Wednesday shaped up to be a particularly busy day as four life science firms debuted on the public markets.
So far this... Read more »
Gilead Sciences is turning to Nurix Therapeutics in an effort to discover new drugs that harness the cellular machinery our bodies use to dispose of damaged or harmful proteins.
Foster City,... Read more »
Stoke Therapeutics is the latest biotech company to debut on Wall Street, raising $142 million to test an experimental therapy for a rare form of epilepsy.
Stoke does not yet have... Read more »
Invitae, a maker of a wide array of low-cost genetic medical tests, has reached a deal to acquire Singular Bio to expand its ability to screen babies for disease during the... Read more »
[Updated 3:19 p.m.] The latest price tag for a gene therapy, a treatment meant to provide a long-lasting effect with a single dose, is now set. The treatment, Zynteglo,... Read more »
[Updated 10:42 a.m., see below.] Synlogic, a developer of so-called “living medicines” comprised of engineered bacteria, is teaming up with synthetic biology company Ginkgo Bioworks in an effort to... Read more »
A number of startups are targeting the gut microbiome as a way to potentially treat disease, but identifying specific microbes at the root of illness is a challenge. Although software that... Read more »
Vertex Pharmaceuticals is committing $420 million in a pair of deals that expand the company’s research scope to experimental genetic treatments for two forms of muscular dystrophy.
Boston-based Vertex (NASDAQ: VRTX... Read more »
Grail CEO Jennifer Cook has stepped down from the cancer diagnostics developer and its board of directors.
Menlo Park, CA-based Grail said Thursday that Cook left due to “family health reasons.”... Read more »
An Eli Lilly migraine drug that was approved last fall now has the regulatory nod to treat a rarer form of headache that tends to occur in clusters.
The FDA on... Read more »
Bayer is committing $115 million to Arvinas in a partnership focused on turning the biotech’s technology for getting rid of harmful proteins into new products for both human health and agriculture.... Read more »
Bluebird Bio has won regulatory approval for its first gene therapy, a treatment for the rare blood disease beta thalassemia.
Cambridge, MA-based Bluebird said Monday that the European Commission’s regulatory nod... Read more »
[Corrected 5/31/19, 8:48 am ET. See below.] Pharmaceutical companies that make or market opioids have found themselves in legal hot water, and much of the heat is coming from... Read more »
[Updated, 12:57 p.m. See below.] Vertex Pharmaceuticals is already a leader in cystic fibrosis therapies. The company is placing its bet on an experimental drug that could strengthen its... Read more »
Diabetes treatments available today include shots and pills intended to restore the hormone balance that leads to healthy blood sugar levels. Whole Biome aims to accomplish the same thing—but with a... Read more »
The biotech IPO train is rolling onward, with five more companies climbing aboard. The companies, ranging from a late-stage firm looking to finance Phase 3 studies to preclinical companies laying... Read more »
After Stoke Therapeutics closed $90 million in financing last fall, CEO Ed Kaye signaled his biotech would seek more cash through an IPO soon. The preclinical-stage biotech is now officially... Read more »
If Nektar Therapeutics wins FDA approval this summer for an opioid painkiller it designed to be less addictive than other opioids, another company will usher the new product onto the market.... Read more »
Ideaya Biosciences and Bicycle Therapeutics priced their IPOs late Wednesday, raising a combined $110 million to continue clinical trials of their respective experimental cancer drugs.
South San Francisco-based Ideaya raised $50... Read more »
