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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.

Businessman from darkness opens the door and sees light
Pancreatic cancer
Verastem deprioritizes pancreatic cancer work after ‘decent, but not great’ data shadowed by Revolution
Following the mid-stage readout, Verastem Oncology has decided to move away from its investigational pancreatic cancer drug combo, instead putting resources behind its KRAS inhibitor pill for solid tumors.
June 18, 2026
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1 min read
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Tristan Manalac
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Mergers & acquisitions
Biogen makes up to $1B immuno play with RayThera takeover
RayThera will bring three preclinical assets into the Biogen fold, all with anti-inflammatory activity. The most mature of these assets is expected to enter Phase 1 development in Q3.
June 18, 2026
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2 min read
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Tristan Manalac
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Approvals
GSK, Spero’s oral antibiotic wins first FDA nod for complicated UTI
After being rejected in June 2022, GSK paid Spero Therapeutics $66 million for an exclusive worldwide license to develop and commercialize the drug. It’s the second oral antibiotic GSK has brought to market since the beginning of last year.
June 18, 2026
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2 min read
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Tristan Manalac
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Drug Development
Be Bio bins hemophilia B cell therapy trial—the biotech’s lead program
Be Biopharma’s terminated trial is the latest setback in the hemophilia space, where companies like Pfizer and BioMarin have opted to pull their respective products from the market after weak traction.
June 17, 2026
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2 min read
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Tristan Manalac
Cardiovascular disease
Edgewise slides as cardiomyopathy challenger to BMS, Cytokinetics falls short
Although Edgewise Therapeutics’ hypertrophic cardiomyopathy asset missed expectations, Truist Securities called the data “excellent,” leaning on a safety profile that could eliminate the need for risk evaluation and mitigation strategies.
June 17, 2026
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2 min read
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Tristan Manalac
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Artificial intelligence
Merck adds to biopharma’s AI agenda with up to $510M+ Protillion pact
Merck will use Protillion Biosciences’ tech to design biologic therapies for therapies across undisclosed indications.
June 17, 2026
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2 min read
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Tristan Manalac
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Rare diseases
Mirum, Incyte bolster case for approval in rare bone disease despite mid-stage miss
While falling short of statistical significance, Incyte and Mirum Pharmaceuticals’ ALK2 inhibitor showed a “clear benefit” in reducing abnormal bone formation in a Phase 2 study of fibrodysplasia ossificans progressiva.
June 16, 2026
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2 min read
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Tristan Manalac
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Depression
Alto’s depression candidate bolstered by independent study showing mood benefits
Alto Neuroscience is advancing a depression drug based on the dopamine agonist pramipexole, which an independent study has found to help boost feelings of pleasure in patients with mood disorders.
June 16, 2026
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2 min read
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Tristan Manalac
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Rare diseases
Intellia’s gene editor ‘keeps pace’ with Ionis in hereditary angioedema
With a one-time dosing profile, Intellia Therapeutics’ gene editing asset could be “paradigm-shifting” for hereditary angioedema, according to Jefferies. The biotech anticipates market approval next year.
June 16, 2026
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2 min read
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Tristan Manalac
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Rare diseases
6 times when drug development got personal
While biopharma’s overarching mission is to develop innovative medicines to improve patient outcomes, for these six people, the motivation came from much closer to home.
June 16, 2026
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9 min read
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Tristan Manalac
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Approvals
Sanofi wins type 1 diabetes nod for Tzield after requesting to revoke CNPV
Sanofi makes no mention of the Commissioner’s National Priority Voucher. Tzield was awarded the ticket in October 2025, but Sanofi requested withdrawal from the program after former CDER head Tracy Beth Høeg reportedly expressed skepticism of the drug.
June 15, 2026
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2 min read
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Tristan Manalac
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Rare diseases
Rhythm’s obesity drug scores ‘better than expected’ weight loss in rare genetic disease
Rhythm Pharmaceuticals’ Imcivree reduced fat—while boosting muscle—in patients with Prader-Willi syndrome.
June 15, 2026
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2 min read
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Tristan Manalac
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Cancer
Lilly sees quick return on $2.3B Ajax buy as blood cancer drug shows early efficacy
Eli Lilly’s new JAK2 inhibitor—which it obtained from the recent acquisition of Ajax Therapeutics—reduced spleen volume by more than a third in 70% of patients with myelofibrosis.
June 15, 2026
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2 min read
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Tristan Manalac
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Rare diseases
Amgen shores up Tavneos’ FDA defense with Duke data analysis
After the FDA flagged patient deaths linked to Amgen’s rare disease drug Tavneos and called for its voluntary removal, the pharma recruited an independent data analysis from Duke researchers to help build the case for the drug’s continued market approval.
June 12, 2026
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2 min read
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Tristan Manalac
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Neurodegenerative disease
Novartis’ $12B Avidity buy pays dividends with Phase 1/2 muscular dystrophy win
The RNA-based medicine is one of a handful of antibody-oligonucleotide conjugates that Novartis acquired last October when it took over neuromuscular-focused Avidity Biosciences.
June 12, 2026
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2 min read
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Tristan Manalac
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