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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.

Big fish eats small, takeover of the company. Art collage.
Mergers & acquisitions
Neurocrine Nabs Rare Obesity Disorder Drug in ‘Surprising’ $2.9B Soleno Deal
While an acquisition is a good exit for Soleno Therapeutics, the company’s acceptance of Neurocrine Biosciences’ $53-per-share offer came as a surprise to Stifel analysts given the potential growth of Vykat XR, approved last year for extreme hunger in patients with Prader-Willi syndrome.
April 6, 2026
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2 min read
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Tristan Manalac
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Pipeline
Pharma Pipeline Stalls for First Time in Decades: Citeline
Some disease areas bucked the trend of shrinking pipelines, however, with immune and cardiovascular indications seeing an upward trend in investigational assets.
April 6, 2026
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2 min read
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Tristan Manalac
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Mergers & acquisitions
AI Giant Anthropic Leans Into Life Sciences With $400M Coefficient Bio Catch
Anthropic in October last year iterated its Claude AI model to better cater to biopharma purposes. Sanofi, Novo Nordisk, AbbVie and others already use Claude in their operations.
April 6, 2026
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2 min read
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Tristan Manalac
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Neurodegenerative diseases
Takeda Breaks Up With Denali, Dumps Dementia Drug
Takeda and Denali Therapeutics first partnered in early 2018 to advance drugs for neurodegenerative diseases. One asset, for Alzheimer’s disease, was previously discontinued after an FDA hold and disappointing early data.
April 6, 2026
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2 min read
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Tristan Manalac
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Funding
Ambrosia Eyes Next-Generation Small Molecule GLP-1s With $100M Series B
While peptides are currently the dominant approach to GLP-1 agonism, Ambrosia Biosciences is pursuing a small-molecule approach.
April 1, 2026
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2 min read
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Tristan Manalac
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Regulatory
FDA Ties Amgen’s Rare Inflammatory Disease Drug to Eight Deaths, Dozens of Liver Injuries
The FDA in January asked Amgen to pull Tavneos from the market, citing liver toxicity issues that affected the drug’s overall risk-benefit profile. The pharma refused.
April 1, 2026
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2 min read
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Tristan Manalac
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Company closure
IO Shuts Down Following Regulatory Roadblocks
The FDA advised IO Biotech last year to hold off on filing an approval application for its cancer vaccine Cylembio, pointing to a failed Phase 3 study in frontline advanced melanoma. The biotech has now gone under.
April 1, 2026
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2 min read
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Tristan Manalac
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Artificial intelligence
Biotech IPOs Rebound as AI Takes a More Central Role in Drug Development
The recent uptick in IPOs is an encouraging signal after a drought for much of 2025. Experts point to AI as a driving force behind this resurgence.
April 1, 2026
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6 min read
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Tristan Manalac
Red alarm clock on dollar banknotes. Retro style alarm clock and dollars. Time to work / tome to make money concept.
Mergers & acquisitions
Lilly Wakes Up Sleep Market With $6.3B Centessa Buy To Challenge Takeda
In the buyout, Eli Lilly picks up Centessa Pharmaceuticals’ lead asset cleminorexton, which could go toe-to-toe with Takeda’s oveporexton, currently under FDA review with a decision expected in the third quarter.
March 31, 2026
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2 min read
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Tristan Manalac
Orlando, Florida
Immunology and inflammation
AAD 2026: Sanofi, Incyte, Roivant and Alumis Make Headway Into Skin Diseases
Presentations at the 2026 meeting of the American Academy of Dermatology not only demonstrate the therapeutic potential of next-generation skin drugs but also shed light on how they might fare on the market.
March 31, 2026
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4 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.
Immunology and inflammation
Viridian Turns Red as Thyroid Eye Disease Data Disappoint
Despite hitting its primary endpoint, Viridian’s thyroid eye disease antibody failed to ease eye bulging to the degree that analysts had been hoping for, and the biotech’s stock price fell by one-third.
March 31, 2026
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2 min read
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Tristan Manalac
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Cardiovascular disease
Merck’s Cholesterol Pill Delivers ‘Antibody-Like Efficacy’ After Earning FDA Voucher
Merck is eyeing a quick review for its lipid-lowering drug candidate enlicitide, which in December was awarded a Commissioner’s National Priority Voucher.
March 31, 2026
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2 min read
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Tristan Manalac
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IPO tracker
Biotech Mega-Rounder Kailera Seeks IPO
Analysts are cautiously optimistic about an IPO rebound for biopharma. BioSpace is keeping track of companies that seek to trade on the public markets this year.
March 30, 2026
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6 min read
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Tristan Manalac
Success to win in business competition, overcome obstacles or motivation to solve problem and lead company achievement concept, confident businessman leader jump high over 3 hurdles to be winner.
Approvals
Biogen Bounces Back With FDA Nod for High-Dose Spinal Muscular Atrophy Drug
The FDA rejected the high-dose regimen of Spinraza in September last year due to manufacturing concerns.
March 30, 2026
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3 min read
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Tristan Manalac
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Cardiovascular disease
Merck Pushes Winrevair Past Dose-Response Doubts Into Pivotal Study for Rare Type of Heart Failure
The lack of a dose-response effect could be due to the high number of dropouts in the higher-dose Winrevair arm and the relatively small study population, a discussant for Merck explained.
March 30, 2026
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2 min read
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Tristan Manalac
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