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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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Business
GSK culls cough program for drug at the heart of $2B Bellus bet after Phase 3 fail
Camlipixant, which GSK picked up in its $2 billion buyout of Bellus Health in April 2023, “is unlikely to transform patient care,” the pharma said.
July 17, 2026
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1 min read
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Tristan Manalac
A pay raise signals salary increase, income growth, rising investment profits and earnings, along with career development and wealth management, concept of A jubilant businessman jumping atop a growing stack of money coins
Cardiovascular disease
Insmed moves closer to $6B opportunity as PAH drug shows long-term durability
Insmed’s inhalable candidate showed “impressive” long-term efficacy in pulmonary arterial hypertension, according to analysts at Guggenheim Partners, with functional and biomarker improvements through one year of follow-up.
July 17, 2026
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2 min read
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Tristan Manalac
Two arrow signs representing the new way and old way approach to business
Policy
FDA disavows Makary, Prasad’s papers as lawmaker blasts ‘shoot-from-the-hip’ policymaking
Journal publications that suggested changes in FDA guidelines do not “communicate FDA policy or interpretation of a regulatory issue,” acting director Kyle Diamantas wrote in a letter to House Energy & Commerce committee ranking member Diana DeGette.
July 17, 2026
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3 min read
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Tristan Manalac
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Psychedelics
Lilly makes up to $3.8B psychedelics play in AtaiBeckley takeover
With the AtaiBeckley acquisition, Eli Lilly is jumping into psychedelics, a drug class that Jefferies analysts say could herald the “biggest change” for the field of psychiatry.
July 16, 2026
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2 min read
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Tristan Manalac
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IPO
Braveheart, Attovia, Vogenx keep IPOs ballooning with plans to compete in cardiometabolic, immuno
Braveheart Bio is looking to take on Bristol Myers Squibb in hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, while Attovia Therapeutics wants to challenge Sanofi and Regeneron’s Dupixent. Vogenx, meanwhile, is looking to establish its name in the cardiometabolic space.
July 16, 2026
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4 min read
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Tristan Manalac
Psychedelic Brain
Psychedelics
J&J sees Spravato sales surge as psychedelic competitors loom
Psychedelics, chiefly Compass Pathways’ COMP360, are unlikely to make an immediate dent in the sales of Johnson & Johnson’s depression drug Spravato, H.C. Wainwright’s Patrick Trucchio told BioSpace.
July 16, 2026
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2 min read
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Tristan Manalac
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Alzheimer’s disease
AAIC 2026: Lilly keeps door open for maintenance Kisunla after amyloid clearance
Eli Lilly’s anti-amyloid Alzheimer’s drug is designed to be stopped after patients drop below a certain amyloid level in the brain. However, at the Alzheimer’s Association International Conference on Wednesday, Lilly revealed it is studying the potential of maintenance therapy for patients who need it.
July 15, 2026
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2 min read
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Tristan Manalac
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Approvals
Celcuity wins breast cancer nod, securing ‘differentiated foothold’ in market
Celcuity’s first approved drug, Revtorpyk, is indicated for the second-line treatment of advanced HER2- breast cancer patients without PIK3CA mutations—a key use distinction that sets it apart from other PIK3/AKT blockers in the space, according to Jefferies.
July 15, 2026
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2 min read
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Tristan Manalac
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Earnings
Q2 earnings arrive as pharma picks up steam, buoyed by dealmaking, policy tailwinds
Biopharma is entering its second-quarter earnings season riding high on a wave of massive deals and venture capital flow, plus a clearing of regulatory and policy overhangs. What can industry watchers expect to hear on the upcoming investor calls?
July 15, 2026
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6 min read
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Tristan Manalac
Businessman caring golden coins. Money saving, good investment, successful banker concept
Deals
Spero bets up to $1.1B for Innovent’s autoimmune antibody
Spero Therapeutics is putting over $1 billion on the line in exchange for rights to develop SP001, an anti-CD40L antibody, for IgG4-related disease. A Phase 2 study is planned for the second quarter of 2027.
July 14, 2026
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2 min read
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Tristan Manalac
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Lung cancer
AstraZeneca takes another China trip, picking Dizal’s lung cancer drug for up to $1.5B
Dizal Pharmaceutical’s Zegfrovy is approved in the U.S. for locally advanced or metastatic non-small cell lung cancer. For $600 million upfront, AstraZeneca will gain global rights to advance and commercialize the asset.
July 14, 2026
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2 min read
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Tristan Manalac
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Alzheimer’s disease
Biogen, Eisai win FDA nod for starter dose of subcutaneous Leqembi
Leqembi Iqlik can now be given at home throughout the entire course of treatment, setting it apart from Eli Lilly’s Kisunla, the only other anti-amyloid Alzheimer’s disease therapy on the market.
July 14, 2026
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2 min read
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Tristan Manalac
Accumulated problems, contradictions. Dead end, we need to go back. You cannot continue further. Complete impossibility to continue. Rejection of an idea. Hard sanctions. Fatal error.
Immunology and inflammation
AB Science ends 3 studies in multiple sclerosis, other immune conditions
The trials, which were testing the tyrosine kinase inhibitor masitinib, had previously been paused. AB Science’s decision not to resume them was a matter of prioritization, not safety, the biotech said.
July 13, 2026
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2 min read
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Tristan Manalac
Light
Complete response letters
FDA posts new rejection letters days after confirming pause
The FDA last week confirmed that it would suspend the release of complete response letters pending the resolution of a citizen petition from an unnamed pharma company. Nevertheless, 14 new CRLs are now available on the agency’s portal.
July 13, 2026
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1 min read
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Tristan Manalac
Beautiful Empty Fiji Wave
Cardiovascular disease
AstraZeneca, Ionis’ Wainua woes send waves across ATTR-CM space
The failure of AstraZeneca and Ionis’ Wainua in a late-stage study of ATTR-CM casts doubt on Alnylam’s next-generation candidate but is good news for others in the space, including BridgeBio and Intellia Therapeutics.
July 10, 2026
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3 min read
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Tristan Manalac