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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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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
Businessman carrying a stopwatch on a progress bar illustrating last minute deadline to complete a business project
Regulatory
FDA delays verdict on Beren’s rare disease drug by three months
Beren Therapeutics is seeking approval in Neimann-Pick disease type C, an application the FDA was set to decide on by August 17. The new target action date is November 17.
May 29, 2026
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2 min read
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Tristan Manalac
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China
Pfizer bets up to $10.5B in 12-candidate cancer collab with China’s Innovent
Pfizer continues its dealmaking spree by striking a back-heavy partnership with China’s Innovent Biologics to assemble a pipeline of antibody-based therapies for cancer.
May 29, 2026
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2 min read
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Tristan Manalac
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Infectious disease
GSK, Ionis’ hepatitis B functional cure effectively eliminates virus in nearly 20% of patients
The antisense oligonucleotide was even more effective in patients with relatively low viral activity. More than one-quarter of these individuals had undetectable levels of the virus in the blood for at least six months after stopping treatment.
May 28, 2026
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2 min read
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Tristan Manalac
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Obesity
Kailera walks path paved by Lilly in post-IPO ‘catalyst-rich period’
Kailera Therapeutics is advancing a pipeline of weight loss medicines that mirrors Eli Lilly’s: an injectable GLP-1/GIP dual agonist like Zepbound, an oral GLP-1 like Foundayo and a triple-G therapy like retatrutide.
May 28, 2026
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2 min read
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Tristan Manalac
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Approvals
AbbVie snags FDA’s first ADC approval for ultra-rare blood cancer
Decnupaz is the first antibody-drug conjugate for blastic plasmacytoid dendritic cell neoplasm, an ultra-rare and aggressive blood cancer.
May 28, 2026
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1 min read
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Tristan Manalac
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COVID-19
FDA assembles vaccine experts to update COVID-19 formulation
The FDA will convene its vaccines advisory panel to discuss seasonal COVID-19 vaccines—a surprise move after Health Secretary and vaccine skeptic Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. overhauled a separate vaccine committee.
May 27, 2026
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2 min read
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Tristan Manalac
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Breast cancer
AstraZeneca’s breast cancer pill hit with review delay after negative adcomm vote
An FDA advisory committee recently voted against approving AstraZeneca’s oral SERD drug camizestrant for certain patients with advanced breast cancer. It is unclear when the new target action date for the drug will be.
May 27, 2026
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4 min read
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Tristan Manalac
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Cancer
Kura’s encouraging cancer drug data could unlock $2B market opportunity
Nearly 80% of patients saw tumor shrinkage after being treated with Kura Oncology’s darlifarnib plus Bristol Myers Squibb’s Krazati, findings Mizuho analysts say could open up a $2 billion opportunity for the biotech.
May 27, 2026
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2 min read
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Tristan Manalac
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Regulatory
Makary’s reforms will live on at FDA even as leadership turns over
Under the temporary reign of top food executive Kyle Diamantas, the FDA will sustain programs initiated by former Commissioner Marty Makary, including the Commissioner’s National Priority Voucher initiative.
May 27, 2026
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2 min read
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Tristan Manalac
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Business
Lilly is pharma’s top dog, placing first in innovation and invention: IDEA
Eli Lilly is the first pharma company to take first place in both categories in the eight years that intelligence firm IDEA Pharma has put out its analysis. Skyrocketing sales and multiple FDA approvals helped the company shoot to the top.
May 26, 2026
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2 min read
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Tristan Manalac
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Gene editing
Lilly’s Verve gambit pays off as base editor cuts cholesterol in early study
A single 1-mg/kg dose of Eli Lilly’s base editor can lower LDL cholesterol levels by 62% in patients with a heritable form of hypercholesterolemia. The pharma acquired the asset last year in the $1.3 billion Verve Therapeutics buy.
May 26, 2026
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2 min read
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Tristan Manalac
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Drug Development
4 troubled targets that have thwarted biopharma
The tragic tale of TIGIT is well known. However, RIPK1, myc, STING and alpha-synuclein have also left a trail of failed clinical trials, canceled partnerships and sunk investments in their wake.
May 26, 2026
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9 min read
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Tristan Manalac
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Funding
Recordati fields $12.4B go-private offer
Going private could give Recordati strategic flexibility and a stable source of capital, according to CVC Capital Partners and Groupe Bruxelles Lambert, which are offering to take the Italian pharma private for a 13% premium.
May 22, 2026
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2 min read
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Tristan Manalac
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Parkinson’s disease
Biogen, Denali pull plug on Parkinson’s program after mid-stage flop
Biogen and Denali’s Parkinson’s disease drug failed to significantly slow disease progression in a Phase 2b study, missing both primary and secondary endpoints.
May 22, 2026
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2 min read
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Tristan Manalac
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