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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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Rare diseases
Zealand sells milestone, royalty rights to rare blood cancer asset for up to $100M
The terms of the agreement with Royalty Pharma suggest the market potential of Zealand Pharma’s polycythemia vera drug candidate may be undervalued, according to Jefferies analysts.
August 13, 2026
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2 min read
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Tristan Manalac
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Bankruptcy
Bankrupt Sangamo offloads assets to Lilly, PTC in $161M sale
PTC Therapeutics emerged as the winning bidder over Astellas for Sangamo Therapeutics’ Fabry disease gene therapy, while Eli Lilly is purchasing the biotech’s prion disease program and several platforms.
August 13, 2026
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2 min read
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Tristan Manalac
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Legal
Lilly cracks down on black market for obesity asset retatrutide with six lawsuits
Beyond the legal action, Eli Lilly is calling on healthcare providers, regulatory authorities, online platforms and even logistics companies to help stem the illegal sale of its next-generation asset for weight loss.
August 12, 2026
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2 min read
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Tristan Manalac
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Rare diseases
Sentynl bets up to $475M in licensing deal for Mereo’s rare lung disease asset
Mereo BioPharma’s asset, dubbed alvelestat, is set to enter Phase 3 development for AATD-LD in 2027.
August 12, 2026
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1 min read
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Tristan Manalac
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Earnings
BridgeBio continues ATTR ascent as Alnylam’s Amvuttra falls short of expectations
BridgeBio Pharma’s transthyretin amyloidosis medicine Attruby is off to a strong launch, while Alnylam lowered full-year sales guidance for competitor Amvuttra.
August 12, 2026
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2 min read
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Tristan Manalac
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Artificial intelligence
With tech backing, AI biotechs force biopharma into ‘fail-fast’ drug development
AI is quickly becoming a central force in drug development, from powering pharma engines to permanently rewiring the capital markets.
August 12, 2026
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6 min read
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Tristan Manalac
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Funding
Epicrispr, Infinimmune snag combined $165M in VC cash
Epicrispr Biotechnologies is working on an epigenetic medicine for facioscapulohumeral muscular dystrophy, while Infinimmune will advance a pair of antibodies for atopic dermatitis.
August 11, 2026
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2 min read
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Tristan Manalac
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Women’s health
AbCellera’s menopause medicine ‘sets new efficacy bar’ for hot flashes
AbCellera Biologics’ reduction in hot flashes sets it apart from currently commercial oral drugs, including Astellas’ Veozah and Bayer’s Lynkuet, according to BMO Capital Markets.
August 11, 2026
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1 min read
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Tristan Manalac
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Rare diseases
Silence causes uproar in rare blood cancer space as data sets high bar for competitors
The mid-stage win of Silence Therapeutics’ siRNA drug in polycythemia vera validates the therapeutic approach of similar assets in development—but also sets a high standard for therapies from Takeda, Agios and Disc Medicine.
August 11, 2026
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2 min read
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Tristan Manalac
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Cardiovascular disease
Tenax shares nosedive as heart failure drug fails in Phase 3
Patients treated with Tenax Therapeutics’ heart failure drug TNX-103 did not show significantly better functional performance—though Leerink analysts found biomarker improvements and subgroup analyses in elderly and more severe patients “very encouraging.”
August 10, 2026
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2 min read
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Tristan Manalac
A flower in the middle of the desert
IPO
BlossomHill, Latigo bloom on Nasdaq with oversubscribed IPOs
BlossomHill Therapeutics will use its $150 million IPO proceeds to power the Phase 1/2 development of a non-small cell lung cancer drug, while Latigo Therapeutics will bring in more than $345 million for its late-stage non-opioid pain pill.
August 10, 2026
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5 min read
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Tristan Manalac
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Pipeline
BioMarin axes asset from $270M Inozyme takeover, ending run in rare metabolic indication
BioMarin’s discontinued drug showed biomarker benefits in a Phase 3 study for ENPP1 deficiency but these failed to translate to clinical improvements.
August 10, 2026
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2 min read
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Tristan Manalac
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Psychedelics
Psychedelics on the cusp of market breakthrough as clinical, policy support grow
While there are several FDA-approved psychiatric medicines on the market, many patients still struggle to achieve lasting symptom relief. Psychedelics could help fill this gap.
August 10, 2026
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8 min read
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Tristan Manalac
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Gene Therapy
Intellia finds genetic suspect for liver safety signals with ATTR gene therapy
In November 2025, one patient died after receiving Intellia Therapeutics’ investigational gene silencer for transthyretin amyloidosis.
August 7, 2026
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2 min read
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Tristan Manalac
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Neuropsychiatric disorders
Vistagen’s repeat-dose anxiety nasal spray can’t beat placebo in mid-stage study
The Phase 2 study was small and was not designed to establish the statistical difference between Vistagen’s drug candidate and placebo, according to Vistagen. The biotech plans to meet with the FDA to determine a registrational path for the asset.
August 7, 2026
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2 min read
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Tristan Manalac