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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.

aardvark walking in the desert
FDA
FDA uncages Aardvark’s Prader-Willi study after new data cleared safety concerns
After cardiac safety signals led to a full clinical hold on Aardvark Therapeutics’ studies of ARD-101, the biotech conducted an additional safety study, in which no cardiac events were detected. Aardvark plans to resume testing the candidate next year.
October 23, 2026
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3 min read
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Tristan Manalac
Salary negotiation, pay raise discussion or wages and benefit agreement, business deal or merger and acquisition concept, business people handshake on pile of money banknote after finish agreement.
Deals
Roche bets up to $813M on Zymeworks’ lung cancer trispecific T cell engager
Roche will pay Zymeworks $55 million upfront plus another $40 million once the partnership asset enters Phase 1b development and up to $718 million in additional milestones.
October 23, 2026
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2 min read
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Tristan Manalac
Contemporary art collage of a hand holding scissors. Copy space for ad. Modern design.
Earnings
Roche’s pipeline trim claims Poseida’s off-the-shelf CAR T asset
Aside from RG6540, Roche also discontinued a host of other early-stage assets, including an antisense oligonucleotide for Alzheimer’s disease and a small-molecule candidate for geographic atrophy.
October 22, 2026
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2 min read
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Tristan Manalac
Human liver organ, stethoscope, yellow and red ribbon, pills. World hepatitis day. National liver health awareness month. Liver transplantation, donation background
Approvals
GSK, Ionis win FDA nod for hepatitis B functional cure that controls virus after treatment
Hibsago’s approval—a functional cure for certain patients with a hepatitis B infection—further validates Ionis Pharmaceuticals’ antisense platform, which has already generated two other new drug approvals this year.
October 21, 2026
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3 min read
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Tristan Manalac
Halftone collage banner, hand gesture of pouring coins. Textured background, trendy retro colors, paper cut elements.
Funding
The 6 biggest crossover rounds in biopharma history
A strong crossover raise can suggest that a company has “reached a level of maturity” and could go public soon, according to Sofinnova Investments’ Jim Healy.
October 21, 2026
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8 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
Lilly puts $1.1B on the line for Hong Kong biotech’s AI drug delivery platform
METiS TechBio’s AiLNP platform uses machine learning models to develop lipid nanoparticles with potentially better tissue specificity that could enhance a drug’s therapeutic performance.
October 20, 2026
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1 min read
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Tristan Manalac
A contemporary artistic collage featuring a hand holding a trophy. The concept of victory and achievement.
Inflammatory bowel disease
Gilead’s ‘highly competitive’ mid-stage ulcerative colitis data ‘validate’ I&I push
Gilead’s emvistegrast delivered greater clinical response than placebo, setting up the asset for Phase 3 testing in ulcerative colitis as well as studies in other inflammatory diseases and bolstering the company’s push beyond its HIV portfolio.
October 20, 2026
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3 min read
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Tristan Manalac
Wooden blocks with arrow and error icon. Delays and disruptions, stop the process, critical error concept
Autoimmune disease
Novartis ends mid-stage Fabhalta study in lupus, insists no efficacy or safety issues
Novartis will continue to study Fabhalta in other indications, with late-stage studies in two rare diseases—atypical haemolytic uraemic syndrome and generalized myasthenia gravis—expected to read out later this year and next year, respectively.
October 19, 2026
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2 min read
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Tristan Manalac
Cityscape of Madrid’s financial district at dusk, featuring modern skyscrapers illuminated against the fading evening sky. This area on the North of the city stands out as a symbol of contemporary architecture and economic dynamism in the Spanish capital, blending urban sophistication with a tranquil twilight ambiance.
cancer
Merck/Moderna, Summit/Akeso and ADCs to headline ESMO 2026
At the European Society of Medical Oncology meeting in Madrid this weekend, analysts will be watching for detailed data on Merck and Moderna’s personalized cancer vaccine, Summit and Akeso’s PD-1xVEGF bispecific therapy, and a host of antibody-drug conjugates.
October 19, 2026
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8 min read
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Tristan Manalac
Concept art showing a money icon and human hands
Funding
OrbiMed raises two new life sciences funds worth $3B with one aiming for Asia
The sixth cycle of OrbiMed’s Asia Partners fund included one with more than $1 billion earmarked for life science companies based on the Eastern continent.
October 16, 2026
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1 min read
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Tristan Manalac
Woman, physician, doctor with magnifying glass standing on ladder. Square composition. EPS10.
Neuroscience
Arrowhead’s blood-brain barrier tech is ‘arguably better’ than others, analysts say after data drop
Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals’ siRNA candidate achieved “compelling” tau reductions in an early study of healthy volunteers, with a magnitude of effect that seems to outperformother blood-brain barrier platforms, according to Stifel.
October 15, 2026
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3 min read
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Tristan Manalac
Winter season driving tips and traffic regulation rules. Heavy snow covered "snow and ice" road sign. Close-up view. Flat vector illustration template.
Neuropsychiatric disorders
Vanda freezes Novartis-originated social anxiety program after late-stage disappointment
While Oppenheimer doesn’t see the Phase 3 stumble of VQW-765 as highly detrimental to Vanda Pharmaceuticals, the analyst nevertheless believes the stakes are now higher for the company’s planned Q4 readout for Nereus in GLP-1-induced vomiting.
October 15, 2026
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3 min read
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Tristan Manalac
Illustration of robot hand holding pill bottle
Obesity
Zealand pens up to $1.2B deal with Generate for AI-designed obesity, metabolic drugs
Obesity-focused Zealand Pharma is buying into Generate:Biomedicines’s generative AI platform to create new multispecific drug candidates.
October 14, 2026
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3 min read
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Tristan Manalac
Contemporary art collage of a hand holding scissors. Copy space for ad. Modern design.
Obesity
Verdiva ends mid-stage study of oral GLP-1 amid ‘market evolution’
The candidate is an oral version of ecnoglutide, a subcutaneous formulation of which is approved in China for type 2 diabetes and weight management. Pfizer owns commercialization rights for ecnoglutide in the Asian country.
October 14, 2026
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2 min read
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Tristan Manalac
Loss of one drug name. Ban on a drug or its shortage. Exclusion from the list of free drugs available under the medical social program.
Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis
Syndax ends fibrosis program for Niktimvo after mid-stage disappointment
Syndax Pharmaceuticals will no longer test Niktimvo for idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis, but the company’s work to expand the drug’s label in chronic graft-versus-host disease, for which it was approved in 2024, will continue.
October 13, 2026
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2 min read
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Tristan Manalac