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Tristan Manalac

Tristan Manalac

Contributing Writer | News

Tristan is an independent science writer based in Metro Manila, with 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.

Healthcare worker administers a vaccine to a patient
COVID-19
FDA Greenlights Updated COVID-19 Shots from Pfizer, Moderna for Fall Season
The regulator on Thursday said the mRNA vaccines, Pfizer-BioNTech’s Comirnaty and Moderna’s Spikevax, will better protect against currently circulating variants as COVID continues to surge in many parts of the U.S.
August 23, 2024
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2 min read
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Tristan Manalac
3D concept photo of gene editing showing a tweezers inserting a DNA fragment into a larger strand
Gene editing
Gene Editing Startup Tome Struggles to Stay Afloat Just Months After Launching
Despite the promise of its technology and funding from big backers, Tome Biosciences is “operating at reduced capacity” and weighing its “strategic options” as the Massachusetts-based company faces an uncertain future.
August 23, 2024
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2 min read
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Tristan Manalac
Gloved hand holding a vial of mpox vaccine
Earnings
Bavarian Nordic Adopts Optimistic Outlook Amid New Orders for Mpox Vaccine
The Danish biotech on Thursday reported stronger-than-expected earnings and forecasts hitting the upper range of its full-year revenue target amid the ongoing mpox outbreak.
August 23, 2024
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1 min read
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Tristan Manalac
FDA signage at its headquarters in Maryland
Stomach cancer
FDA Sets Adcomm Meeting to Assess Checkpoint Inhibitors in Stomach Cancer Using PD-L1
The Oncologic Drugs Advisory Committee in a Sept. 26 meeting will discuss whether the regulator should restrict approval of checkpoint inhibitors based on PD-L1 expression levels.
August 23, 2024
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2 min read
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Tristan Manalac
Downward trendline superimposed on a picture of a man working on financial records
China
WuXi Biologics Takes Net Profit Hit Despite Inking Record Number of New Projects
With the potential passage of the BIOSECURE Act looming, WuXi Biologics reported a 24% drop in net profit in the first half of 2024.
August 22, 2024
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2 min read
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Tristan Manalac
BioMarin's headquarters in San Francisco
C-suite
BioMarin Brings on Roche, Amgen Alums in Executive Restructuring
As the biotech implements a more focused strategy for its Roctavian hemophilia A gene therapy, BioMarin has recruited two seasoned pharma executives to bolster its C-suite.
August 22, 2024
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2 min read
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Tristan Manalac
A top-down view of a business team holding a meeting
Startups
BridgeBio Launches GondolaBio With $300M, Transfers Programs to Joint Venture
With the help of third-party investors, the new venture will focus on three genetic and rare diseases: tuberous sclerosis complex, erythropoietic protoporphyria and alpha-A1 antitrypsin deficiency.
August 22, 2024
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2 min read
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Tristan Manalac
MRI scans of a human brain
Alzheimer’s disease
Biogen, Eisai’s Leqembi Gets UK Approval but Deemed Too Expensive by NICE
While approved by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency, the Alzheimer’s drug failed to win the backing of the U.K.’s National Institute for Health and Care Excellence, which said that its benefits were “too small to justify the cost.”
August 22, 2024
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2 min read
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Tristan Manalac
Facade of Novo Nordisk's office in Fremont, California
GLP-1
Novo’s Semaglutide Potentially Linked to Higher Risk of Suicidal Thoughts: Study
Patients taking Novo Nordisk’s blockbuster GLP-1 drug appear to be more likely to harbor thoughts of suicide or self-harm, especially if they are already suffering from anxiety or depressive disorders, according to a new study.
August 21, 2024
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2 min read
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Tristan Manalac
Pictured: Regeneron logo on a light brown building
Approvals
FDA Denies Approval of Regeneron’s Linvoseltamab for Multiple Myeloma, Cites Third-Party Issues
The regulator’s Complete Response Letter flagged problems at a third-party fill/finish site, which Regeneron says it has already addressed. The manufacturing facility is currently awaiting reinspection.
August 21, 2024
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2 min read
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Tristan Manalac
U.S. and Chinese flags in concrete, broken in the middle
China
House Lawmakers Raise Alarm About US Biopharma Companies Working With Chinese Military on Trials
In a letter to FDA Commissioner Robert Califf, a House committee flagged several U.S. companies—including Eli Lilly and Pfizer—that have allegedly worked with the People’s Liberation Army on clinical trials in Xinjiang, raising ethical and intellectual property concerns.
August 21, 2024
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2 min read
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Tristan Manalac
A Walgreens' retail location in Indiana
Decentralized trials
Walgreens, BARDA Team in $100M Partnership to Boost Decentralized Clinical Trials
The retail pharmacy giant and the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority hope to make decentralized clinical trials more accessible and representative of the U.S. population.
August 20, 2024
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2 min read
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Tristan Manalac
AbbVie's office in South San Francisco, California
Approvals
AbbVie, Genmab Secure European Label Expansion for Tepkinly in Follicular Lymphoma
Two months after winning FDA approval in the same indication, AbbVie and Genmab on Monday secured the European Commission’s nod for its bispecific antibody Tepkinly for the most common type of low-grade non-Hodgkin lymphoma.
August 20, 2024
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2 min read
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Tristan Manalac
Eli Lilly's biotechnology center in California
Diabetes
Lilly’s Tirzepatide Cuts Type 2 Diabetes Risk by 94% in Overweight, Obese Adults
Eli Lilly released topline Phase III data on Tuesday showing that after more than three years of follow-up, pre-diabetic patients treated with tirzepatide were less likely to progress to type 2 diabetes.
August 20, 2024
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2 min read
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Tristan Manalac
Entrance to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services in Washington, DC
Drug pricing
More Than Half of IRA Negotiation Savings to Come From Three Drugs: Report
Amgen’s Enbrel, Bristol Myers Squibb’s Eliquis and Johnson & Johnson’s Stelara will account for 51.4% of the Inflation Reduction Act’s drug price negotiation savings in 2026, according to the Brookings Institution.
August 20, 2024
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2 min read
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Tristan Manalac
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