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Tristan Manalac

Tristan Manalac

Senior Staff Writer

Tristan is BioSpace‘s senior staff writer. Based in Metro Manila, Tristan has more than eight years of experience writing about medicine, biotech and science. Being formally trained in molecular biology, he once dreamed of collecting degrees and starting his own lab. But these days, he finds his greatest joy in a bottle of beer and a beautiful sentence. He can be reached at tristan.manalac@biospace.com, tristan@tristanmanalac.com or on LinkedIn.

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Duchenne muscular dystrophy
Solid Adds to Differentiated Profile With New Data for Duchenne Gene Therapy
Solid Biosciences’ SGT-003 is the only late‑stage program to show early cardiac benefit across biomarkers and function, according to William Blair.
March 13, 2026
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2 min read
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Tristan Manalac
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Rare diseases
Rare Disease Sales To Soar to $400B+ By 2032 as Small Molecules Resurgent: Evaluate
Small-molecule drugs account for nearly half of the most valuable investigational therapies for orphan diseases, according to analytics firm Evaluate.
March 13, 2026
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2 min read
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Tristan Manalac
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Weight loss
Lilly Flags ‘Concerning’ Impurities in Compounded Tirzepatide
Combining tirzepatide with vitamin B12, a common additive in compounded versions of the drug, yields an impurity that could alter the drug’s toxicity profile and pose safety risks to patients, the company said in an open letter.
March 12, 2026
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2 min read
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Tristan Manalac
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Rare diseases
BridgeBio Builds Case for Early 2027 Launch of Dystrophy Drug
Data from BridgeBio Pharma’s Phase 3 FORTIFY study show that BBP-418 significantly increases levels of a key disease biomarker that helps stabilize muscles in patients with limb-girdle muscular dystrophy.
March 12, 2026
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2 min read
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Tristan Manalac
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Clinical research
MDA 2026: Biogen, Sarepta, Edgewise Address Muscle Disorders
Data presented at the 2026 Muscular Dystrophy Association meeting could have readthroughs to companies developing therapies for spinal muscular atrophy, Duchenne muscular dystrophy and Becker muscular dystrophy.
March 12, 2026
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3 min read
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Tristan Manalac
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C-suite
J&J, AbbVie CEOs See Pay Spike to More Than $30M
The chief executives of AbbVie and Johnson & Johnson are now among the highest-paid pharma leaders after pay bumps pushed their 2025 compensations past $30 million.
March 12, 2026
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1 min read
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Tristan Manalac
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China
Lilly Pumps $3B Into China To Boost Supply of Weight Loss Pill
Orforglipron, Eli Lilly’s oral obesity drug, is under FDA review with a decision expected in April. The pharma has also filed for marketing authorization for the pill in China.
March 11, 2026
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2 min read
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Tristan Manalac
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GLP-1
Novo Hit With FDA Warning Letter for Unreported Ozempic Safety Signals
Among the unreported adverse events potentially linked to Ozempic are two deaths and one case of “completed suicide,” according to an FDA inspection report.
March 11, 2026
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2 min read
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Tristan Manalac
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Duchenne muscular dystrophy
Capricor Shares Rise as FDA Sets August Decision Date for Rejected Duchenne Therapy
Capricor Therapeutics’ deramiocel was rejected in July 2025, potentially caught between Nicole Verdun, a former top biologics regulator at the FDA, and outgoing Vinay Prasad, director of the Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research.
March 11, 2026
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2 min read
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Tristan Manalac
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Funding
AI-Focused Fund Breakout Raises $114M To Support Early-Stage Biotechs
Breakout Ventures’ focus on early-stage companies stands out as more and more investors elect to save their dollars for derisked assets.
March 10, 2026
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2 min read
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Tristan Manalac
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Duchenne muscular dystrophy
Dyne Plans Post-Prasad FDA Run as Duchenne Exon Skipper Sustains Benefit in Long Term Data
Dyne Therapeutics is plotting an approval application for z-rostudirsen in the back half of 2026—a push that will only be bolstered by the departure of controversial CBER chief Vinay Prasad, according to analysts at Stifel.
March 10, 2026
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3 min read
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Tristan Manalac
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IgA nephropathy
Vertex’s Nephropathy Asset Delivers ‘Strong’ Late-Stage Data, Clears Path to FDA
Vertex Pharmaceuticals has a rolling biologics license application with the FDA for povetacicept in IgA nephropathy. With new data from RAINIER, the biotech expects to complete its submission by the end of March.
March 10, 2026
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2 min read
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Tristan Manalac
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Cancer
Ipsen Pulls Cancer Drug Amid Risk of Secondary Malignancies
Ipsen will withdraw Tazverik’s follicular lymphoma and epithelioid sarcoma indications as emerging data point to an elevated safety risk in patients undergoing treatment.
March 9, 2026
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2 min read
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Tristan Manalac
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Adcomms
Two AstraZeneca Drugs To Be Scrutinized in First FDA Cancer Advisory Panel in 9 Months
The FDA’s cancer advisors will discuss AstraZeneca’s application for the oral SERD camizestrant in breast cancer and the AKT inhibitor Truqap in prostate cancer.
March 9, 2026
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3 min read
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Tristan Manalac
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Rare diseases
Prasad’s Departure Could Be ‘Big Win’ for Biotech—Especially Rare Disease Space: Analysts
Some biotechs that had seen regulatory setbacks under Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research director Vinay Prasad experienced stock bumps Monday morning. Under Prasad’s leadership, the rare disease space has suffered a series of controversial rejections.
March 9, 2026
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3 min read
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Tristan Manalac
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