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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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Earnings
GSK’s Shingrix strategy shift drives sales beat even as vaccines slow
While sales for most of GSK’s shots slumped as vaccine skepticism continues to climb in the U.S., Shingrix jumped 20% to almost $1.4 billion in the first quarter, emerging as the pharma’s top-selling product.
April 29, 2026
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2 min read
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Tristan Manalac
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Adcomms
AstraZeneca faces uphill battle at upcoming adcomm in face of FDA questions
In briefing documents released Wednesday, the FDA raises doubts about two AstraZeneca assets set to be discussed Friday at the agency’s first drug-related advisory committee meeting in nine months.
April 29, 2026
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3 min read
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Tristan Manalac
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Regulatory
Amgen, AstraZeneca join FDA effort harnessing cloud for real-time clinical trials
The FDA’s real-time clinical trial mechanism allows drug sponsors to transmit data immediately to the regulator through the cloud—a system that could “compress drug development timelines,” Jefferies analysts said.
April 29, 2026
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3 min read
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Tristan Manalac
Illustration of businesspeople with forward progress stopped because of chasm between them and arrow pointing forward
Huntington’s disease
Novartis, PTC push Huntington’s drug into Phase 3, mum on accelerated approval
Phase 2 data from PTC Therapeutics showed that the Novartis-partnered Huntington’s disease asset slowed progression by more than 50%. Analysts say the decision to initiate a last-stage trial reflects a lack of confidence in an accelerated FDA nod.
April 29, 2026
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2 min read
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Tristan Manalac
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Regulatory
FDA alleges ‘manipulated’ data supported approval of Amgen’s autoimmune drug
The FDA has renewed calls for Amgen’s Tavneos to be pulled from the market, saying it has discovered new evidence that study personnel doctored the results of the drug’s pivotal study in order to make it look effective.
April 28, 2026
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2 min read
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Tristan Manalac
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Earnings
Novartis’ sales dip as generics pressure intensifies, radioequivalents loom
Executives insist Novartis will return to growth in the second half, but for Q1 2026, generic erosion drove a 5% drop in revenue, including a 46% nosedive for blockbuster heart failure drug Entresto.
April 28, 2026
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2 min read
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Tristan Manalac
Businessman receiving large stacks of money from a giant hand. Concept of funding, venture capital, financial support, dividend, and profitable business.
Venture capital
Big Pharma–backed Coultreon bags $125M series A to unlock alternative immune pathway
Coultreon Biopharma is advancing assets that target salt-inducible kinases, proteins that drive inflammation and other immune-mediated conditions.
April 28, 2026
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2 min read
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Tristan Manalac
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Pancreatic cancer
Revolution levels legal threat on Erasca as pancreatic cancer rivalry heats up
Fresh off a major clinical win, Revolution Medicines alleges that Erasca’s pancreatic cancer drug infringes on key patent protections and that the rival has “improperly compared” the companies’ assets publicly.
April 28, 2026
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3 min read
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Tristan Manalac
Inspiration Business Opportunity. Businessman looks at stairs in the door arrow pointing up
Gene editing
Intellia heads to FDA after notching first late-stage win for in vivo gene editor
With Phase 3 data in hand, Intellia Therapeutics is seeking approval for its in vivo CRISPR gene editing therapy for hereditary angioedema.
April 27, 2026
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3 min read
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Tristan Manalac
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Funding
Rejuvenate crowdfunds development of gene therapy for aging, chronic diseases
George Church’s Rejuvenate Bio is turning to social networks to help fund its work on one-time gene therapies targeting chronic diseases and root causes of aging.
April 27, 2026
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2 min read
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Tristan Manalac
Inclusion of new taxes into the price and increase in cost. Include inflation and costs for pricing. Increase in cost of electricity, fuel, increase in wages for workers or theft in the store.
Drug pricing
J&J puts blockbuster blood thinner Xarelto on TrumpRx
After striking a Most Favored Nation deal with the White House in January, Johnson & Johnson will now offer Xarelto at 68% off on TrumpRx, dropping its price from $611.82 to $197 per 30-pill pack.
April 27, 2026
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2 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.
Earnings
Daiichi Sankyo shares slip after delaying annual earnings report
Daiichi Sankyo’s full-year report was originally scheduled for April 27 but has now been pushed back to May 11. That same day, the pharma expects to release its five-year business plan.
April 24, 2026
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2 min read
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Tristan Manalac
Dashed line from pills isolated on white
Pipeline
Pfizer culls early PD-L1 asset after series of clinical wins, deals in cancer
Pfizer’s decision to cut its early-stage cancer asset was due to “strategic business reasons” and not driven by safety or efficacy concerns.
April 24, 2026
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2 min read
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Tristan Manalac
Stack of coins balancing on seesaw over a bottle of pills.
Drug pricing
Regeneron finally joins Trump’s drug pricing push while notching landmark approval
Of the 17 companies that were implored by the White House last July to apply Most Favored Nation pricing to their drugs, Regeneron is the last to agree—the same day the FDA greenlit its gene therapy for hearing loss in kids.
April 24, 2026
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2 min read
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Tristan Manalac
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Complete response letters
Unnamed pharma files citizen petition targeting FDA’s trove of rejection letters
The FDA in July 2025 made publicly available over 200 complete response letters—an initiative that the investment community sees as “unanimously positive,” analysts told BioSpace.
April 23, 2026
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2 min read
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Tristan Manalac
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