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Tristan Manalac

Tristan Manalac

Contributing Writer | News

Tristan is an independent science writer based in Metro Manila, with 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.

Female hand holds notebook with brain on yellow background
Funding
Aspen’s $115M Series C Opens Doors to Late-Stage Development for Parkinson’s Program
Aspen is now also considering the possibility of an initial public offering next year in an effort to bring its cell therapy to the market.
November 20, 2025
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1 min read
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Tristan Manalac
Bayer office in Basel, Switzerland
Lung cancer
Bayer Wins Lung Cancer Accelerated Approval for Kinase Inhibitor
The nod brings Bayer face-to-face in the market with Boehringer Ingelheim and AstraZeneca, each of which has its own HER2 blocker for non-small cell lung cancer.
November 20, 2025
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1 min read
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Tristan Manalac
Female hand showing thumbs up gesture on blue background, art collage. Positive hand sign. Fashion collage in the style of Thumbs up magazine. Contemporary art. Modern design.
Approvals
FDA Hands Regeneron Two Eylea HD Nods in One Day
The approvals come as a pleasant surprise for Regeneron, analysts say, helping bolster the overall product profile of high-dose Eylea despite outstanding manufacturing concerns.
November 20, 2025
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2 min read
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Tristan Manalac
FDA commissioner Marty Makary speaking on a Youtube video, wearing a dark suit and a blue tie
FDA
Makary Eyes ‘America-First’ User Fee Structure as Renewal Negotiations Approach
A spokesperson for the FDA said the agency is “considering a wide range of options to support American innovation.”
November 19, 2025
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2 min read
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Tristan Manalac
man pulling each of the opposite ends of a rope in black and white, on a blue background with some blank space on top
Mergers & acquisitions
UPDATE: Avadel Accepts Alkermes’ Revised $2.37B Counteroffer, Besting Lundbeck
Lundbeck had tried to scoop the narcolepsy drug maker out from under Alkeremes with $2.4 billion, but Avadel has elected to go with its original suitor.
November 19, 2025
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3 min read
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Tristan Manalac
Relay race. Concept of teamwork. working together of business. Vector illustration
Mergers & acquisitions
Five Assets Given Away by Big Pharma That Ultimately Got Bought for Billions
Drug candidates don’t usually move among Big Pharma, but these five biotechs helped facilitate such hand-offs, scooping up assets from one pharma on the cheap before being bought out for billions by another.
November 19, 2025
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9 min read
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Tristan Manalac
A contemporary artistic collage featuring a hand holding a trophy. The concept of victory and achievement.
Cardiovascular disease
Merck Extends Winrevair’s Win Streak With New Mid-Stage Data in Type of Hypertension
Winrevair yielded significant and meaningful clinical benefits for patients with combined post- and precapillary pulmonary hypertension, an indication that, according to BMO Capital Markets, has few treatment options.
November 18, 2025
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2 min read
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Tristan Manalac
Pruning tree branches. Gloved hands hold a branch and cutting shears, the gardener takes care of the park. Vector illustration.
Antibody-drug conjugate (ADC)
Genmab Prunes Another ADC From $1.8B ProfoundBio Acquisition
Only one clinical-stage asset from the ProfoundBio acquisition remains in development: The antibody-drug conjugate Rina-S, in late-stage studies for ovarian and endometrial cancer.
November 18, 2025
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2 min read
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Tristan Manalac
Company downsizing, staff reduction and layoffs. Employee dismissal, firing and unemployment. Business concept.
Layoffs
Nxera’s Quest for Profitability Claims 15% of Workforce
Nxera, which formerly went by Sosei, will also reprioritize its pipeline to focus on obesity, metabolic and endocrine diseases.
November 18, 2025
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2 min read
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Tristan Manalac
Red rocket with clouds rising up as metaphor for business and financial growth, Success and financial developing, Business growth concept, paper cut style.
Stomach cancer
Jazz, Zymeworks Bispecific Achieves ‘Practice-Changing’ Results in Stomach Cancer Study
With positive data from the Phase III HERIZON-GEA-01 study, Zymeworks and Jazz Pharmaceuticals will file an approval application for Ziihera in the first half of 2026 for the treatment of gastroesophageal adenocarcinoma.
November 18, 2025
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2 min read
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Tristan Manalac
Trendy halftone collage. Concept of contracting, negotiation, contracting, favorable terms. Trendy modern retro illustration on business theme. Concept of teamwork. Vector illustration
Collaboration
Lilly Bets More Than $2.6B for South Korea Biotech’s Bispecific Antibody Platform
The companies have yet to disclose how many programs they plan to collaborate on or what indications they will prioritize.
November 17, 2025
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2 min read
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Tristan Manalac
Courtesy of Sarepta Therapeutics
Regulatory
FDA Imposes Boxed Warning, Narrows Patient Pool for Sarepta’s Duchenne Gene Therapy Elevidys
Sarepta must also run a post-marketing study for Elevidys to better assess the risk of serious liver injury in patients dosed with the gene therapy.
November 17, 2025
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1 min read
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Tristan Manalac
Robotic claw clutching a money stock illustration
Funding
Artios Pushes Cancer Pipeline Forward With $115M Series D
Artios Pharma is working on a pipeline of oncology assets, led by alnodesertib, currently being tested for second-line pancreatic cancer and third-line colorectal cancer.
November 17, 2025
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1 min read
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Tristan Manalac
Group Of Employees Being Fired By Their Company.
Layoffs
Sensei Down to a Handful of Employees to Wrap Up Development Activities
Aside from announcing layoffs, Sensei has decided to terminate its R&D work. The biotech has $25 million on hand, and continues to evaluate its strategic alternatives.
November 17, 2025
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2 min read
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Tristan Manalac
FDA Commissioner Dr. Marty Makary delivers remarks after President Donald Trump made an announcement on drug pricing, Tuesday, September 30, 2025, in the Oval Office. (Official White House Photo by Joyce N. Boghosian)
Government
Signs of Frustration Build Between Kennedy and FDA Commissioner Makary
Top Trump administration officials have taken issue with Marty Makary’s management style, pointing to infighting between his appointees and the difficulty to get a hold of the FDA commissioner.
November 17, 2025
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2 min read
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Tristan Manalac
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