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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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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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Deals
Pfizer pens $500M+ deal with Enodia to destroy disease-causing proteins
After Pfizer’s venture arm co-led Enodia Therapeutics’ $25 million seed round in January, the pharma has signed up to collaborate with the biotech on small-molecule drugs to eliminate pathogenic proteins where they’re being made.
October 13, 2026
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2 min read
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Tristan Manalac
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Funding
Big Pharma–backed Matchpoint scores $150M series B, advancing autoimmune asset
Matchpoint’s lead asset is the oral T cell modulator MPT-062, which the biotech plans to advance into clinical development for autoimmune and inflammatory conditions next year.
October 8, 2026
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1 min read
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Tristan Manalac
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Funding
Biotech VC Forbion raises record $2.6B to support 30 ‘high-potential’ companies
Forbion participated in the November 2025 series B round of Gate Bioscience, which earlier this week inked an up to $870 million deal extension with Eli Lilly.
October 7, 2026
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2 min read
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Tristan Manalac
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CAR-T
Doudna’s CAR T biotech Caribou to end R&D activities, slash staff as financing freezes up
Caribou Biosciences entered the scene in 2011 and went public in 2021. Over the course of its existence, the biotech has received funding and support from a handful of Big Pharma players, including Novartis, AbbVie and Pfizer.
October 7, 2026
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3 min read
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Tristan Manalac
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Venture capital
5 biggest venture capital raises of Q3 2026
Venture capital continued to flow into biopharma in the third quarter, though experts pointed out that investors remained selective, preferring to put their money behind advanced and derisked assets, as well as AI-driven drugmakers.
October 7, 2026
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8 min read
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Tristan Manalac
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Deals
Shionogi makes $2B rare disease play with IntraBio buy
With its acquisition of IntraBio, Shionogi will gain ownership over Aqneursa, which could hit peak global sales of $1 billion across its two indications in Niemann-Pick disease type C and ataxia-telangiectasia, according to Jefferies.
October 6, 2026
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2 min read
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Tristan Manalac
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Lymphoma
AbbVie, Genmab’s Epkinly sets ‘new standard of care’ in first-line lymphoma in Phase 3
AbbVie and Genmab’s bispecific antibody blew analyst expectations out of the water with a 51% improvement in progression-free survival when used alongside a standard frontline regimen in diffuse large B cell lymphoma—potentially setting up a battle with Roche’s Polivy.
October 6, 2026
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3 min read
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Tristan Manalac
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Deals
CSL strikes up to $1.6B deal with Alentis for autoimmune drug with broad potential
CSL will co-develop and co-promote Alentis Therapeutics’ anti-claudin-1 therapy lixudebart for kidney and liver conditions, including primary sclerosing cholangitis and a systemic autoimmune disease characterized by small blood vessel inflammation.
October 5, 2026
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2 min read
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Tristan Manalac
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Women’s health
Kailera, Hengrui’s GLP-1/GIP candidate delivers weight, menstrual benefits to women with PMOS
Kailera Therapeutics and Hengrui Pharma’s weekly injection showed benefits beyond weight loss in a mid-stage trial, leading to more regular menstrual cycles in patients with polyendocrine metabolic ovarian syndrome.
October 2, 2026
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2 min read
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Tristan Manalac