SUBSCRIBE
SUBSCRIBE
Heather McKenzie

Heather McKenzie

Senior Editor

Heather McKenzie is a professional journalist with more than five years experience in the biopharmaceutical industry. Since joining BioSpace, she has written more than 200 features and breaking news articles with a particular focus in neuroscience and gene therapy. She has also traveled internationally to cover global biotech hubs such as Israel. In previous roles, she has covered current affairs, sports, education and politics. She previously spent eight years as a senior content producer for executive-level business conferences in the pharma/biotech, legal, energy and business strategy sectors. In her free time, Heather enjoys creative writing, spending time with family and playing with her energetic Russian Blue cat Roofus. She hails from Toronto and has also lived in Chicago and Chesapeake, Virginia. You can reach her at heather.mckenzie@biospace.com.

Podcast
RFK Jr.’s HHS Nomination, Biogen’s Lupus Win and Leqembi Struggles, Neurogene’s Rough Month, More
Trump fingers Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to lead the HHS, lupus and ATTR-CM dominate headlines this week, bluebird bio has a cash gap to leap and RegenxBio eyes Sarepta in Duchenne muscular dystrophy.
November 20, 2024
 · 
1 min read
 · 
Heather McKenzie
Pictured: A scientist works behind an FDA sign/Tay
FDA Tracker
UCB Racks Up Fifth Indication for Bimzelx in Just Over a Year
In 2023, the FDA greenlit 55 new drugs and 34 cell and gene therapies. Follow along as BioSpace keeps you up to date on all of the FDA’s decisions in 2024.
November 20, 2024
 · 
203 min read
 · 
Heather McKenzie
Illustration of man changing direction, surreal abstract choice concept
Rare diseases
Facing a Dearth of Big Pharma Interest, Rare Disease Players Get Creative to Fund R&D
A handful of billion-dollar deals in the rare disease space highlights the uptick in Big Pharma’s investment, but it’s still extremely low compared to the money flowing to more common indications.
November 20, 2024
 · 
7 min read
 · 
Heather McKenzie
Heart human anatomy anatomical pottery neutral backgrounds soft tones beige brown background 3d illustration render digital rendering
Drug Development
ATTR-CM Approval for BridgeBio Could Trigger Tight Race with Pfizer
Experts view BridgeBio’s acoramidis—which has an FDA action date of Nov. 29—as either similar to or incrementally better than Pfizer’s already established tafamidis.
November 19, 2024
 · 
6 min read
 · 
Heather McKenzie
Editable vector illustration of a man winning a race. Hi-res jpeg file included.
Editorial
AbbVie’s Setback Gives BMS Commanding Lead in Schizophrenia Space
With the failure of AbbVie’s emraclidine in two mid-stage trials, Bristol Myers Squibb’s Cobenfy is ‘sole muscarinic winner.’
November 18, 2024
 · 
5 min read
 · 
Heather McKenzie
Recession arrow, Graph showing business decline on led screen
Drug Development
Eyenovia Shares Plummet 70% After It Drops Lead Program
Eyenovia’s stock craters to its lowest point in its six-year lifespan as a public company following the biotech’s termination of its lead program in pediatric progressive myopia due to lack of efficacy.
November 15, 2024
 · 
2 min read
 · 
Heather McKenzie
Row of Falling Domino Stones Stopped by Red Domino Stone Over Black Background, Risk Management, Intervene or Prevention Concept, 3d Rendering
FDA
Kezar’s Autoimmune Drug Hit With Second FDA Clinical Hold in as Many Months
Following patient deaths in a lupus trial that led to the termination of that program, Kezar’s autoimmune candidate zetomipzomib faces a partial clinical hold barring four trial participants from continuing treatment in the open-label portion of the trial, though the trial itself will continue as planned.
November 13, 2024
 · 
2 min read
 · 
Heather McKenzie
Podcast
AbbVie’s Surprise Schizophrenia Flop, AstraZeneca’s China Drama, Hope in Huntington’s, More
A tale of two multi-billion schizophrenia deals, AstraZeneca touts strong sales while deflecting questions about an investigation into China exec, the Huntington’s pipeline builds momentum and layoffs continue with Sana Biotechnology and 23andMe.
November 13, 2024
 · 
1 min read
 · 
Heather McKenzie
vector 3d lungs made of triangular polygons on a blue background
Clinical research
Insilico Aces Second Mid-Stage IPF Trial in a Row
In a small Phase IIa trial, Insilico’s generative AI-designed idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis drug improved lung function and was well-tolerated across all dosing groups.
November 12, 2024
 · 
2 min read
 · 
Heather McKenzie
Abstract glowing brain connections. Scientific medical developments of mental health. Graphic concept for your design
Huntington’s
After Decades of Failure, First Disease-Modifying Huntington’s Treatment on the Horizon
The past four years have brought disappointment for the Huntington’s community, but optimism is growing as companies including Prilenia and Wave Life Sciences eye paths to approval of therapies that could address the underlying cause of the disease.
November 11, 2024
 · 
7 min read
 · 
Heather McKenzie
Courtesy of Sarepta Therapeutics
Earnings
Sarepta Halts Development of Next-Gen DMD Drug, Reports Robust Elevidys Sales
The investigational therapy, vesleteplirsen, had been positioned as an updated version of Sarepta’s original exon 51-skipping Duchenne muscular dystrophy drug Exondys 51.
November 7, 2024
 · 
2 min read
 · 
Heather McKenzie
Donald Trump behind a podium
Policy
Trump Victory a ‘Modest Positive’ for Biopharma Industry: Analysts
Analyst reactions to Donald Trump’s election victory were mixed Wednesday, with potential positives including an FTC that is likely to be more friendly to M&A, and negatives including concerns about what role Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. might play in healthcare.
November 6, 2024
 · 
2 min read
 · 
Heather McKenzie
Podcast
Lilly’s Q3 Miss, Novo’s MASH Win, CAR T’s Autoimmune Pivot, More
In our anniversary episode, we discuss a rare earnings miss for Eli Lilly, a pivotal metabolic dysfunction–associated steatohepatitis victory for Novo Nordisk’s Wegovy, growing excitement about CAR Ts for autoimmune disease and the ongoing controversy over HeLa cells.
November 6, 2024
 · 
1 min read
 · 
Heather McKenzie
Human brain with abstract visualization of neuron activity
Neurodegenerative disease
7 Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s Programs Discarded in 2024
This year has seen several biopharma companies drop Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease programs, but experts say plenty are still chasing these multi-billion-dollar markets.
November 4, 2024
 · 
6 min read
 · 
Heather McKenzie
Sep 17, 2020 Fremont / CA / USA - Novo Nordisk headquarters in Silicon Valley; Novo Nordisk A/S is a Danish multinational pharmaceutical company
GLP-1
Novo’s Wegovy Comparable to Madrigal’s Rezdiffra in Phase III MASH Trial: Analysts
In part 1 of the pivotal ESSENCE trial, Novo Nordisk’s weight loss drug Wegovy demonstrated “statistically significant and superior improvement” in liver fibrosis in patients with metabolic dysfunction–associated steatohepatitis.
November 1, 2024
 · 
3 min read
 · 
Heather McKenzie
Load More