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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.

City of New Orleans at sunset
Obesity
Lilly and Novo face off at ADA 2026 as others seek to compete in obesity
The American Diabetes Association’s annual congress will feature a superstar lineup, including weight loss giants Eli Lilly and Novo Nordisk. But several scrappy biotechs will also present obesity candidates with the potential to match—if not outperform—their deep-pocketed competitors.
June 5, 2026
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8 min read
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Tristan Manalac
Stagflation, economic slow down or recession while inflation high up, GDP growth decrease causing by unemployment concept, fearful businessman riding fall down economic graph with inflation high up.
Sickle cell disease
Fulcrum lays off 85% of staff after dropping asset, leaving 9 employees
After discontinuing development of its lead asset, Fulcrum Therapeutics has provided more details on its restructure, with 48 of 57 employees headed out the door.
June 5, 2026
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2 min read
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Tristan Manalac
Concept World kidney day, handcraft paper blue kidneys and stethoscope on yellow background. Copy space. Banner.
IgA nephropathy
Otsuka energizes IgA neuropathy space with new Phase 3 Voyxact data
By inhibiting the APRIL cascade, Otsuka Pharmaceuticals’ Voyxact slowed kidney function decline in patients with IgAN, opening up a potential path for full approval while also reading through to Vertex and others with similar assets.
June 5, 2026
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2 min read
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Tristan Manalac
Time on the hourglass stopped. Clock on table. Pause in business, collapse.
Regulatory
Stakeholders want Makary’s voucher program paused, call for FDA independence
The FDA hasn’t been transparent and open enough with how it has implemented the Commissioner’s National Priority Voucher program, patient, industry and trade groups said Thursday.
June 5, 2026
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3 min read
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Tristan Manalac
Business and financial crisis vector concept with businessman falling down the hole. Symbol of market crash, recession, risk, bankruptcy and loss. Eps10 illustration.
Lymphoma
ADC Therapeutics nosedives on 27 deaths in confirmatory trial for lymphoma drug
In addition to a high rate of deaths, ADC Therapeutics’ Zynlonta plus rituximab showed no overall survival benefit in patients with diffuse large B cell lymphoma, casting doubt on its value as a second-line treatment in this indication.
June 4, 2026
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2 min read
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Tristan Manalac
A handshake of businessmen. Modern design with a positive context. Concept of help, support, and agreement between businessmen. Modern art collage, trendy magazine style.
Deals
Regeneron deepens relationship with CytomX, adding up to $2B and eight targets
All told, CytomX Therapeutics now stands to receive up to $4 billion over the course of its partnership with Regeneron, if all milestones are met.
June 4, 2026
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2 min read
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Tristan Manalac
A train with blue background, 3d rendering. Computer digital drawing.
Artificial intelligence
Alnylam hops on AI train with up to $2B Inceptive partnership
Alnylam Pharmaceuticals will leverage Inceptive Nucleics’ generative machine learning models to accelerate the development of RNA interference therapies.
June 4, 2026
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1 min read
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Tristan Manalac
Composite collage picture image of man slide down arrow recession statistics data weird freak bizarre unusual fantasy billboard comics.
Breast cancer
Celcuity slides even after ‘practice-changing’ late-stage breast cancer data
Celcuity’s gedatolisib doubled progression-free survival versus standard of care in certain patients with advanced breast cancer. Still, the biotech’s stock dropped more than 25% Tuesday.
June 3, 2026
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2 min read
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Tristan Manalac
Business negotiation, deal making or acquisition, merger vector concept. Two men shaking hands. Minimal design. Eps10 illustration
Deals
Travere beefs up rare kidney disease portfolio with up to $1.1B China deal
Travere Therapeutics will gain an exclusive license to the oral BTK inhibitor civorebrutinib, which analysts at Guggenheim Securities said could be “complementary” to the biotech’s IgA nephropathy drug Filspari.
June 3, 2026
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2 min read
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Tristan Manalac
Hand pointing upward with growth arrow. Business success and positive progress.
CAR-T
Legend soars on ‘best-in-class,’ ‘best-in-disease’ in vivo CAR T in early lymphoma study
All six non-Hodgkin lymphoma patients on Legend Biotech’s CAR T therapy responded to treatment—findings that could make the biotech an attractive takeover target, according to analysts at Oppenheimer.
June 3, 2026
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2 min read
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Tristan Manalac
concept - kidney tumor.
RNA editing
Lilly targets kidney disease with Ascidian’s RNA exon editors for up to $1.9B
For an investment of up to $1.9 billion, Eli Lilly will be able to use Ascidian Therapeutics’ platform that removes mutated exons from mRNA molecules, avoiding the expression of disease-causing proteins.
June 3, 2026
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2 min read
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Tristan Manalac
Business people shaking hand in China.
China
Lilly bets $3B+ to add China’s Haisco to growing list of partners in five-program pact
Eli Lilly and the Haisco Pharmaceutical Group have yet to disclose what specific indications they plan to prioritize.
June 2, 2026
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1 min read
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Tristan Manalac
Hand putting print screen dart and target board wooden cube on up arrows. Target of investment and business concept.
mRNA
ASCO: Moderna’s mRNA-based melanoma vaccine shows ‘encouraging’ 5-year survival
When used alongside Merck’s Keytruda, Moderna’s personalized cancer vaccine halved the risk of death or disease recurrence in a mid-stage trial of advanced melanoma—a result analysts said could help “instill confidence” in the regimen.
June 2, 2026
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2 min read
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Tristan Manalac
Vector image of China and USA flag zipping together or zipping apart
China
Big Pharma makes ‘creative effort’ to fold Chinese assets into pipelines
Recent deals from Pfizer and Bristol Myers Squibb hint at Big Pharma’s more collaborative approach to partnering with Chinese companies.
June 2, 2026
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2 min read
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Tristan Manalac
Pointing up with fingers number three. Close up, isolated on white background.
Cancer
Replimune gives cancer immunotherapy a third try after FDA leadership shakeup
Replimune’s resubmission for RP1 for melanoma comes amid the departures of FDA leaders in place at the time of the drug’s first two rejections, last summer and again in April.
May 29, 2026
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2 min read
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Tristan Manalac
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