Latest Posts

• Bio Roundup: Sage Postpartum Help, Biogen Bids Adu, Heart Beats & More

  One group of people in dire need of medical relief got good news this week. The first drug for postpartum depression was approved. With its complicated logistics, side effects, and potential high cost, it won’t be for everyone who experiences the... Read more »

  Alex Lash3/22/19

• Bio Roundup: Golumbeski’s Legacy, CRISPR Moratorium, Rebate Week & More

  While all eyes in the biopharmaceutical world are currently trained on Bristol-Myers Squibb’s proposal to buy Celgene for $74 billion, it wasn’t that long ago that another company’s gaze was fixed on the Summit, NJ, drug maker.

  In the early... Read more »

  Frank Vinluan3/15/19

• Drug-Price Watchdog ICER Dives into Trump-Fueled Pharma Rebate Debate

  [Updated 3/13/19, 12:20pm. See below.] With public and political winds blowing in the same direction, significant reform of the complicated U.S. drug-pricing system seems ever more likely. One part of the system that the Trump administration wants to overhaul... Read more »

  Alex Lash3/13/19

• The Life, Troubles, and Celgene Legacy of Deal Guru George Golumbeski

  George Golumbeski is one of the most prolific dealmakers in the biopharmaceutical world. But the deal that changed his life is a pact he made with himself when he was ten years old.

  Playing with friends in front of his house... Read more »

  Ben Fidler3/11/19

• FDA Clears Way for AquaBounty to Raise Salmon in America’s Heartland

  It’s been more than three years since the FDA approved salmon from AquaBounty Technologies, but debates about labels and other requirements have kept the genetically engineered fish from reaching dining plates. On Friday, the FDA removed the last regulatory hurdle standing... Read more »

  Frank Vinluan3/8/19

• Bio Roundup: Gottlieb Exits, Bristol Defends, Biogen Buys & More

  In early 2017, Scott Gottlieb was considered the most moderate of the potential candidates to head the Food and Drug Administration, which is the most powerful regulator of medical products in the world.

  It wasn’t a high bar to clear. Libertarians... Read more »

  Alex Lash3/8/19

• Steering Lyft’s IPO: What Investors Will Weigh During the Roadshow

  Much has been said about Lyft’s early lead over Uber in the “horserace” to become the first ride-hailing app company to go public. But now that San Francisco-based Lyft has filed its 276-page IPO prospectus with the U.S. Securities and Exchange... Read more »

  Bernadette Tansey and Sarah Schmid Stevenson3/7/19

• Blue Squad Aims to Bring Election Tech Up and Down the Ballot

  Austin—All politics is local, the adage goes, and those campaigns are sorely stuck in analog mode.

  That’s why Shion Deysarkar co-founded Blue Squad two years ago as a “digital coalition” to support progressive candidates by providing them with greater access... Read more »

  Angela Shah3/6/19

• Two Years and Done: FDA Commissioner Gottlieb To Resign

  Two months after insisting on Twitter that he wasn’t going anywhere, Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Scott Gottlieb announced his resignation today. He leaves a record of health and medical regulation that was more active than critics who spoke out... Read more »

  Alex Lash3/5/19

• Lilly to Launch “Authorized Generic” Insulin Priced at 50% Discount

  Eli Lilly is planning to offer a generic version of its blockbuster insulin product that will cost patients approximately half as much.

  The Indianapolis-based pharmaceutical giant said Monday that the authorized generic, called Insulin Lispro, is the same molecule as its... Read more »

  Frank Vinluan3/4/19

• Retailers Turn to Analytics, 3D Tech to Promote Fit, Reduce Returns

  One size fits most (at best), and a women’s sizing system created during the Depression doesn’t gibe in an e-commerce business that prizes personalization.

  That’s why startups are turning to new technologies like 3D scanning and machine learning software to produce... Read more »

  Angela Shah3/4/19

• Bio Roundup: Pharma in DC, Bristol-Cel in Trouble, Roche Gets A Spark

  Could a shareholder revolt doom the planned marriage of Bristol-Myers Squibb and Celgene? Analysts have hinted at the possibility since the two companies shook hands in January, but the threat became real this week.

  Bristol (NYSE: BMY) and Celgene... Read more »

  Ben Fidler3/1/19

• Ex-Google CEO: New MIT College Could Help Shrink A.I. Talent Gap

  Eric Schmidt believes we’re entering an era where artificial intelligence will underpin most facets of human life. But we don’t yet have enough people with the right skills to build that future.

  Schmidt, the former CEO of Google and former executive... Read more »

  Jeff Engel2/28/19

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• Walmart’s Store No 8 Acquires Aspectiva to Bring A.I. to Shopping

  Walmart’s Store No 8 innovation arm has acquired an Israeli machine learning startup, the retail giant announced Wednesday.

  Aspectiva joined the two-year-old Store No 8 Monday, and its employees will remain in Tel Aviv. “Store No 8’s record of innovation... Read more »

  Angela Shah2/27/19

• Pharma CEOs to Senate: We Will Lower Drug Prices if Rebates Go Away

  Seven top pharmaceutical executives gathered today in Washington, DC, for a Senate hearing on drug prices, bringing face-to-face two groups held in the lowest esteem possible by the American public.

  Top executives from seven companies—AbbVie, AstraZeneca, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Merck, Johnson... Read more »

  Alex Lash2/26/19

• Bio Roundup: NASH News, Merck Strikes, Digital Tokens & More

  The growing epidemic of the fatty liver disease known as NASH, which has no FDA-approved treatment, has led to a frenzied race among drug companies. This week, one company, Intercept Pharmaceuticals, solidified its lead. But how much will being first to... Read more »

  Frank Vinluan2/22/19

• Bayer Snaps Up Rights to Two Cancer Drugs from Lilly’s $8B Loxo Deal

  Bayer has just reclaimed some rights to two drugs from Loxo Oncology, which means it’s going to take more work for Loxo’s buyer, Eli Lilly, to justify the $8 billion it is paying for the company.

  Lilly (NYSE: LLY) this... Read more »

  Frank Vinluan2/15/19

• Bio Roundup: Trump’s Scalps, Policy Pressure, NASH Crash & More

  While politicians continue to debate what kind of healthcare system is best for the American people, the mostly U.S.-based pharmaceutical industry is trying to convince those same politicians—and anyone else who will listen—that what’s good for the industry is also good... Read more »

  Alex Lash2/15/19

• Finding True Love Can Be Ruff, But This Startup Could Have Your Match

  Too many people treat pet adoption like a one-night stand.

  “You look at a dog, and see his eyes, and think he’s cute,” says Tama Lundquist, co-president of Houston PetSet, an organization that works with about 70 animal shelters in the... Read more »

  Angela Shah2/14/19

• Losing “Scalps”? Despite Pharma Fear, A Split on Trump Rx-Price Plans

  Despite angry presidential tweets and other anti-pharma rhetoric, the drug industry has benefited under the Trump administration, thanks in part to a massive corporate tax cut.

  Indeed, for nearly two decades, the industry has been able to fend off its critics... Read more »

  Ben Fidler2/12/19

• Bio Roundup: New CRISPR Feud, A NY Splash, Pharma vs. Congress & More

  If you’re into congressional spectacles, stay tuned later this month.

  A group of top biopharma executives—the full roster isn’t known yet—will testify at a Feb. 26 hearing before the Senate Committee on Finance to defend their drug pricing practices. No... Read more »

  Ben Fidler2/8/19

• NYCEDC Finally Puts Its NY Bio Fund to Work With $60M For HiberCell

  It’s been a question posed for years by many around the New York biotech scene: What is going on with the New York City Economic Development Corp.’s $150 million biotech fund, which was formed in 2013 but hadn’t made an investment?... Read more »

  Ben Fidler2/7/19

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• Bio Roundup: Alzheimer’s Fail, Drug Price Plan, Gene Therapies & More

  Pharmaceutical companies typically raise prescription drug prices at the start of each year and this year was no different. The increases were the latest reminder that, despite President Trump’s fiery campaign rhetoric, the administration had done little to actually lower drug... Read more »

  Frank Vinluan2/1/19

• Aduro Biotech Slashes Staff 37%, Turns Focus to Lead Cancer Drugs

  Aduro Biotech is laying off more than a third of its workforce in a restructuring intended to keep its focus on its cancer drugs now in clinical development.

  The corporate shakeup will cut the headcount of Aduro (NASDAQ: ADRO) by... Read more »

  Frank Vinluan1/30/19

• Retailers Brace For Possible Economic Headwinds in 2019

  Even as retailers struggle with a technology-disrupted business model and changing consumer desires, at least a generally positive overall economy and low unemployment rates seemed to keep shoppers’ wallets open.

  But a 2019 that started with stock market losses, a recently... Read more »

  Angela Shah1/30/19

• All Eyes on Biogen as Roche Alzheimer’s Drug Flunks Final Test

  Roche this morning added yet another failure to the ever-growing number of experimental Alzheimer’s disease drugs to crumble in late-stage human testing.

  The Swiss pharma and partner AC Immune (NASDAQ: ACIU) will stop two Phase 3 studies of their drug... Read more »

  Ben Fidler1/30/19

• With Insurers Signaling Interest, Can Blockchain Disrupt Healthtech?

  Late last week, IBM and several other large companies that serve the healthcare industry announced a collaboration aimed at determining whether, and how, blockchain technology could be used to improve patient care and lower costs for industry stakeholders.

  The announcement came... Read more »

  Jeff Buchanan1/29/19

• Billie, Subscription Shaving Products Service for Women, Raises $25M

  Billie, a monthly subscription service for shaving and body care products for women, has raised $25 million.

  The New York-based startup said Tuesday that the new funding round, which is being led by Goldman Sachs Private Capital Investing group, brings its... Read more »

  Angela Shah1/29/19

• Autonomic CEO Gavin Sherry on Mobility, China, and Data Privacy

  In a tech culture that looks toward self-driving cars as the pinnacle of mobility innovation, we’re still debating whether fully autonomous vehicles are an imminent reality for our roads or an ever-receding Shangri-La.

  But looking back from the viewpoint of 2019,... Read more »

  Bernadette Tansey1/24/19

• Plymouth Growth Partners Backs Fort Wayne’s Allied Payment Network

  Plymouth Growth Partners has made another investment in an Indiana tech company.

  The Ann Arbor, MI-based venture capital fund has invested an undisclosed amount in Allied Payment Network, which is located in Fort Wayne, IN. Plymouth partner Jeff Barry says the... Read more »

  Sarah Schmid Stevenson1/22/19

• Failed Clinical Trial Puts Eli Lilly Cancer Drug in Limbo

  An Eli Lilly drug on the market for a rare form of cancer is now in limbo, after it failed a trial needed to retain the FDA approval the treatment, known as olaratumab (Lartruvo), won two years ago.

  Lilly (NYSE: LLY... Read more »

  Frank Vinluan1/18/19

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