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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.

Two boxing gloves give a fist bump on a colored background. Collage art
Inflammatory bowel disease
Merck posts ‘encouraging’ Phase 3 ulcerative colitis data but Roche challenge looms
Given its intravenous route of administration, Merck’s tulisokibart will likely “need to be meaningfully improved” over Roche’s afimkibart, which can be given subcutaneously, BMO Capital Markets analysts said. Both assets are being tested for ulcerative colitis.
June 23, 2026
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2 min read
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Tristan Manalac
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Obesity
Lilly’s tirzepatide will be biggest blockbuster ever, topping $70B by 2032: Evaluate
Eli Lilly’s weight-loss franchise—including the tirzepatide products Mounjaro and Zepbound, and the weight-loss pill Foundayo—will account for nearly half of the total sales of the top 10 drugs in 2032.
June 23, 2026
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2 min read
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Tristan Manalac
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Lung cancer
Pfizer delivers ‘disappointing’ late-stage lung cancer data for ADC from $43B Seagen buy
Despite an overall survival miss, Leerink Partners said Pfizer’s antibody-drug conjugate showed “promising” signals of efficacy in a subgroup of patients who had undergone only one prior line of treatment.
June 23, 2026
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2 min read
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Tristan Manalac
Neuroscience
UniQure’s chronic epilepsy gene therapy ‘should be on investors’ radar’
As uniQure prepares its closely watched Huntington’s disease gene therapy for FDA review, the biotech is also making waves in chronic epilepsy with another gene therapy that Stifel says is off to a “promising start.”
June 22, 2026
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3 min read
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Tristan Manalac
A brain hovers over a hand against a yellow-striped background
Neuroscience
Lilly bets up to $800M for BioArctic’s brain delivery tech
Eli Lilly plans to use BioArctic’s technology to shuttle an undisclosed drug candidate into the brain. The pharma hasn’t specified which neurodegenerative disease it will target.
June 22, 2026
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2 min read
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Tristan Manalac
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Generative AI
Insilico’s AI design engine bags deal with Korean biotech worth possible $2.5B+
Insilico Medicine and SK Biopharmaceuticals will use generative AI to develop novel therapies for unspecified neuroimmune disorders.
June 22, 2026
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2 min read
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Tristan Manalac
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Mergers & acquisitions
AbbVie strikes $10.9B Apogee buy to challenge juggernaut Dupixent
AbbVie will add Apogee’s IL-23 blocker to its current immunology stalwarts Skyrizi and Rinvoq, which have helped the pharma ride out the steep patent cliff left behind from mega-blockbuster drug Humira.
June 22, 2026
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2 min read
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Tristan Manalac
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Adcomms
Moderna’s mRNA flu shot wins unanimous support at FDA adcomm in rebuke of former leadership
The FDA in February briefly refused to review Moderna’s flu vaccine, citing trial inadequacies, but reversed course a few days later. A verdict is expected by Aug. 5.
June 19, 2026
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2 min read
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Tristan Manalac
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Funding
Memento brings home $93M series A souvenir, picks up bispecific for eye diseases
Memento’s lead asset is a bispecific antibody that blocks VEGF and activates Tie2. The biotech plans to test the candidate in retinal conditions such as neovascular age-related macular degeneration and diabetic macular edema.
June 19, 2026
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2 min read
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Tristan Manalac
Businessman from darkness opens the door and sees light
Pancreatic cancer
Verastem deprioritizes pancreatic cancer work after ‘decent, but not great’ data shadowed by Revolution
Following the mid-stage readout, Verastem Oncology has decided to move away from its investigational pancreatic cancer drug combo, instead putting resources behind its KRAS inhibitor pill for solid tumors.
June 18, 2026
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1 min read
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Tristan Manalac
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Mergers & acquisitions
Biogen makes up to $1B immuno play with RayThera takeover
RayThera will bring three preclinical assets into the Biogen fold, all with anti-inflammatory activity. The most mature of these assets is expected to enter Phase 1 development in Q3.
June 18, 2026
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2 min read
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Tristan Manalac
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Approvals
GSK, Spero’s oral antibiotic wins first FDA nod for complicated UTI
After being rejected in June 2022, GSK paid Spero Therapeutics $66 million for an exclusive worldwide license to develop and commercialize the drug. It’s the second oral antibiotic GSK has brought to market since the beginning of last year.
June 18, 2026
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2 min read
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Tristan Manalac
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Drug Development
Be Bio bins hemophilia B cell therapy trial—the biotech’s lead program
Be Biopharma’s terminated trial is the latest setback in the hemophilia space, where companies like Pfizer and BioMarin have opted to pull their respective products from the market after weak traction.
June 17, 2026
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2 min read
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Tristan Manalac
Cardiovascular disease
Edgewise slides as cardiomyopathy challenger to BMS, Cytokinetics falls short
Although Edgewise Therapeutics’ hypertrophic cardiomyopathy asset missed expectations, Truist Securities called the data “excellent,” leaning on a safety profile that could eliminate the need for risk evaluation and mitigation strategies.
June 17, 2026
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2 min read
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Tristan Manalac
Hands reach out to each other. Handshake between human and robot. Cooperation with artificial intelligence. Shaking hands. Make a deal. Successful agreement. Modern collage
Artificial intelligence
Merck adds to biopharma’s AI agenda with up to $510M+ Protillion pact
Merck will use Protillion Biosciences’ tech to design biologic therapies for therapies across undisclosed indications.
June 17, 2026
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2 min read
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Tristan Manalac
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