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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.

Pictured: Bottles wrapped in an Iboga plant
Drug Development
Psychedelic Therapies Could Soon Break Through Against Addiction
LSD, ketamine, ibogaine and related treatments are moving forward in clinical trials for substance use disorders, including alcohol use disorder and opioid use disorder.
May 31, 2024
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7 min read
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Heather McKenzie
Pictured: A brain surrounded by falling pills
Deals
Do Karuna, Cerevel Deals Signal Renewed Neuropsychiatric Interest From Big Pharma?
Recent M&A activity indicates a potential resurgence in the appetites of larger companies for psychiatric drug development, but experts say the space may not offer a sufficient risk-reward proposition for R&D.
May 27, 2024
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5 min read
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Heather McKenzie
Pictured: a collage of genetic indicators surrounding a patient with Huntington’s disease
Drug Development
30 Years After Genetic Discovery, Huntington’s Patients Still Waiting
Following a series of clinical failures, optimism builds for the first disease-modifying treatment.
May 20, 2024
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6 min read
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Heather McKenzie
Pictured: A boy in a wheelchair over a muscle text
Drug Development
5 DMD Data Readouts to Watch in 2024
With three FDA approvals in the past 10 months, there is a lot of momentum in the Duchenne muscular dystrophy space. Here are five companies looking to keep it going.
May 1, 2024
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5 min read
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Heather McKenzie
Pictured: A group of executives and doctors at a conference table
Business
FDA Sets Date for Eli Lilly’s Donanemab Adcomm While Pondering Changes to Format
On June 10, the FDA will convene its Peripheral and Central Nervous System Drugs Advisory Committee to discuss the New Drug Application for Lilly’s Alzheimer’s drug.
April 29, 2024
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7 min read
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Heather McKenzie
Pictured: Illustration of a brain over a neuron ba
Drug Development
5 Mid-Stage ALS Drugs to Watch
As the Phase III amyotrophic lateral sclerosis pipeline thins out, the ALS community is placing its hopes on earlier-stage trials sponsored by Denali Therapeutics, PTC Therapeutics and more.
April 23, 2024
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5 min read
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Heather McKenzie
Pictured: Amylyx co-CEOs Josh Cohen and Justin Klee
Drug Development
Amylyx at a Crossroads: Can the Company Overcome the Loss of Relyvrio?
After withdrawing ALS drug Relyvrio from the U.S. and Canadian markets and laying off 70% of its workforce, the Cambridge, Mass.–based biopharma got a much-needed win in Wolfram syndrome.
April 17, 2024
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7 min read
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Heather McKenzie
Pictured: Gloved hands amid a collage of cancer treatments
Drug Development
Vaccines, Next-Gen Approaches Target the Toughest Cancers: AACR
Data presented at the American Association for Cancer Research’s annual meeting sparked hope that we could be getting closer to treating pancreatic cancer, glioblastoma and other particularly difficult tumors.
April 11, 2024
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3 min read
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Heather McKenzie
Pictured: A collage containing a fatty liver over blood vessels
Drug Development
5 Promising MASH Therapies That Could Follow Madrigal’s Rezdiffra
Metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis experts welcomed Madrigal’s Rezdiffra as an “important first,” but there are more mid- to late-stage therapies showing promising results.
April 10, 2024
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6 min read
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Heather McKenzie
Pictured: A pattern of ADCs, tumors and IV bags
Drug Development
The Next Wave of ADCs Could Treat Evasive Solid Tumors
With second-generation antibody-drug conjugates, Eli Lilly, Daiichi Sankyo and others look to reduce toxicity and improve the magnitude and duration of response.
April 2, 2024
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6 min read
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Heather McKenzie
Pictured: 3D rendering of human cells and DNA/iSto
FDA
6 Recently Approved Cell & Gene Therapies—And Why They Matter
With several recent approvals in the space and more on the horizon, BioSpace looks at some of the key decisions and their larger significance both for patients and science.
March 26, 2024
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7 min read
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Heather McKenzie
Pictured: Boy sitting in a wheelchair on a beach/i
FDA
FDA Approves Third Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy Treatment in Nine Months
Duvyzat, which will be sold in the U.S. by ITF Therapeutics, joins a growing market that includes recently approved gene therapy Elevidys and corticosteroid Agamree.
March 22, 2024
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3 min read
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Heather McKenzie
Pictured: DNA with methyl marks over DNA sequence
Drug Development
Epigenetic Editing Explodes on the Heels of Gene Editing Success
Ubiquitous potential, possible safety advantages and the recent growth of cell and gene therapy are driving investment in a different type of genetic editing.
March 21, 2024
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6 min read
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Heather McKenzie
Pictured: Bristol Myers Squibb office in California
FDA
BMS’s Breyanzi Becomes First CAR-T Therapy for Two Types of Leukemia
The FDA approved Bristol Myers Squibb’s Breyanzi for chronic lymphocytic leukemia and small lymphocytic leukemia prior to Friday’s adcomm for the company’s other CAR-T therapy, Abecma.
March 15, 2024
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5 min read
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Heather McKenzie
Pictured: Eli Lilly's biotechnology center in San
Policy
Unique Trial Design Expected to be Focus of Upcoming Donanemab Adcomm
The FDA plans to convene an advisory committee meeting to discuss the safety profile and efficacy of Eli Lilly’s Alzheimer’s candidate, the company announced Friday.
March 12, 2024
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5 min read
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Heather McKenzie
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