Podcast
BioCentury This Week
Hosted by BioCentury · EN
BioCentury's streaming commentary on biotech industry trends, plus interviews with KOLs.
For three decades, BioCentury has helped biopharma executives and investors make business-critical decisions and build larger networks with peers across the innovation ecosystem.
24episodes
Episodes
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Ep. 367 - FDA, obesity targets and the rise of DACs
2d ago00:30:40Tap to summarizeMarty Makary wasn’t the only official on the outs at FDA last week in another tumultuous turn of events for the regulatory agency. On the latest BioCentury This Week podcast, BioCentury Washington Editor Steve Usdin discusses who’s in, who’s out and what’s next at FDA — and why the changes may mean more conservative decision-making at the agency in the near term.BioCentury’s analysts also discuss the new obesity targets that came to light at last week’s annual meeting of the European Congress on Obesity, the market for biotech IPOs, and the emergence of degrader-antibody conjugates. DACs pair the tissue-targeting logic of antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs) with the catalytic activity of protein degraders. 3C Therapeutics is the latest entrant to the field, pitching its TriCore platform as a modular backbone for DAC generation. This episode of the BioCentury podcast is brought to you by Jeito Capital.View full story: https://www.biocentury.com/article/659510#FDA #ObesityDrugDevelopment #BiotechIPO #DACs #Biopharma00:01 - Sponsor Message: Jeito Capital 02:53 - FDA Leadership Shakeup10:35 - Obesity Target Hunt16:07 - Biotech IPOs20:02 - Degrader-antibody Conjugates28:42 - Serif: Non-viral DNATo submit a question to BioCentury’s editors, email the BioCentury This Week team at podcasts@biocentury.com.Reach us by sending a text
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Ep. 366 - Europe's need for speed: Bio€quity takeaways
1w ago00:43:35Tap to summarizeChina’s speed in generating first-in-human data has catalyzed a race across the globe to reshape regulatory requirements to compete. BioCentury’s analysts, along with special guests Detlev Mennerich, head of Boehringer Ingelheim Venture Fund, and Mehdi Ainouche, partner at Jeito Capital, discussed where Europe fits in that landscape and other takeaways from the 26th annual Bio€quity Europe conference in Prague. This special episode of BioCentury This Week has been brought to you by Jeito Capital.View full story: https://www.biocentury.com/article/659450#EuropeanBiotech #ClinicalDevelopment #BiopharmaInnovation #DrugDevelopment #LifeSciencesStrategy00:01 - Sponsor Message: Jeito Capital 03:14 - China’s Speed Challenge04:08 - Europe’s Clinical Trial Opportunity11:48 - Speed vs. Capital Efficiency15:52 - Takeaways from Richard Pazdur19:58 - FDA Uncertainty and Global Alternatives26:50 - Biopharma M&A Outlook33:34 - The Next Wave of ScienceTo submit a question to BioCentury’s editors, email the BioCentury This Week team at podcasts@biocentury.com.Reach us by sending a text
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Ep. 365 - Thin ice for Makary, redosing AAVs
1w ago00:30:45Tap to summarizeMarty Makary’s hold on the top job at FDA is slipping, with White House leaks about President Donald Trump’s displeasure with the FDA commissioner shifting the question from whether he will be fired to when. On the latest BioCentury This Week podcast, Washington Editor Steve Usdin discusses the pressures on Makary, how long he will hold onto his post, and the leading candidates to succeed him.BioCentury’s analysts then discuss solutions to AAV’s redosing problem, which could reignite industry interest in a modality that has fallen out of favor, and other topics in the spotlight at this week’s American Society of Gene and Cell Therapy annual meeting. The analysts also discuss opportunities to attend and present academic posters at the third BioCentury Grand Rounds U.S. conference June 3-5 in Seattle. This episode of the BioCentury This Week podcast has been brought to you by Jeito Capital.View full story: https://www.biocentury.com/article/659426#FDA #GeneTherapy #AAV #CellTherapy #Biopharma00:01 - Sponsor Message: Jeito Capital01:43 - Bio€quity Europe Prague Highlights04:54 - Makary on Thin Ice14:37 - Grand Rounds Poster Pitch16:40 - AAVs at ASGCTTo submit a question to BioCentury’s editors, email the BioCentury This Week team at podcasts@biocentury.com.Reach us by sending a text
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Ep. 364 - UCB’s Candid buy, Grand Rounds and leukodystrophies
2w ago00:32:15Tap to summarizeUCB is the latest biopharma player to consummate a multibillion-dollar deal amid a surge in biotech M&A activity, acquiring Ken Song’s Candid Therapeutics, one of the leading T cell engager companies. On the latest BioCentury This Week podcast, BioCentury’s analysts discuss the $2 billion takeout and the opportunity in the TCE space.They also assess the drug development landscape for leukodystrophies and the market for biotech IPOs on NASDAQ, where a trio of biotechs exceeded expectations last week, lifting hopes that the window for new listings is broadening. Looking ahead to June, the analysts also preview the third BioCentury Grand Rounds U.S. conference. This episode of the BioCentury This Week podcast was brought to you by Jeito Capital.View full story: https://www.biocentury.com/article/659365#BiotechMA #TCellEngagers #Leukodystrophy #BiotechIPO #TranslationalScience00:01 - Sponsor Message: Jeito Capital02:19 - Grand Rounds Seattle12:47 - UCB’s Candid Buy20:27 - Leukodystrophies Pipeline27:22 - Biotech IPOsTo submit a question to BioCentury’s editors, email the BioCentury This Week team at podcasts@biocentury.com.Reach us by sending a text
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Ep. 363 - New targets at AACR, biopharma deals, Kurma fund
3w ago00:30:21Tap to summarizeMore than 175 new oncology targets surfaced at this year’s American Association for Cancer Research annual meeting in San Diego, with the focus on new ways to enhance the immune response against solid tumors and to make existing immunotherapies more effective. On the latest BioCentury This Week podcast, BioCentury’s analysts assess the new targets identified among the thousands of abstracts at AACR, as well as emerging pan-RAS inhibiting antibody-drug conjugates.The analysts also discuss Eli Lilly's latest deal — for a JAK-2 inhibitor from Ajax — and what the current pace of M&A and partnerships says about the state of biopharma dealmaking. This episode also features Kurma Partners’ new venture fund and the latest in BioCentury’s Emerging Company Profile series, spotlighting U.K.-based rheumatoid arthritis company Elevara Medicines. This episode of the BioCentury This Week podcast was brought to you by IQVIA Biotech.View full story: https://www.biocentury.com/article/659298#AACR #OncologyTargets #Immunotherapy #BiotechMA #ADC00:01 - Sponsor Message: IQVIA Biotech02:50 - AACR: New Targets11:08 - AACR: Pan-RAS Inhibitor ADCs15:35 - Biopharma Deals23:53 - Kurma's New Venture Fund27:28 - Emerging Company Profile: ElevaraTo submit a question to BioCentury’s editors, email the BioCentury This Week team at podcasts@biocentury.com.Reach us by sending a text
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Ep. 362 - AACR: Data and de-risking
4w ago00:25:06Tap to summarizeBispecific antibodies and dual-payload antibody-drug conjugates were in the spotlight at this year’s American Association for Cancer Research meeting in San Diego as biotechs unveiled their latest preclinical and first-in-human oncology data. On a special edition of the BioCentury This Week podcast, IQVIA Biotech CMO James Kyle Bryan joins BioCentury’s analysts to discuss what AACR revealed about modalities gaining traction, plus shares his perspective on de-risking clinical development and eliminating the “white space” that delays biotechs’ timelines in the clinic. This episode of the BioCentury This Week podcast was brought to you by IQVIA Biotech.View full story: https://www.biocentury.com/article/659235 #AACR #BispecificAntibodies #ADC #OncologyData #ClinicalDevelopment 00:01 - Sponsor Message: IQVIA Biotech01:43 – AACR Early Signals05:17 – Antibody Innovation09:22 – Dual Payload ADCs13:48 – De-Risking Drug Development19:16 – Looking Ahead to ASCOTo submit a question to BioCentury’s editors, email the BioCentury This Week team at podcasts@biocentury.com.Reach us by sending a text
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Ep. 361 - Kelonia, Kailera, pyschedelics and T cell engagers
Apr 2100:44:02Tap to summarizeThe past week has delivered the largest M&A deal ever for a private, venture-backed biopharma, the second-largest follow-on ever for a NASDAQ-traded biotech and what could soon become the largest biotech IPO ever on NASDAQ. On the latest BioCentury This Week, BioCentury’s analysts discuss Eli Lilly's $3.25 billion takeout of in vivo CAR T company Kelonia, the market debut by obesity play Kailera and an upsized follow-on by Revolution on the back of its pancreatic cancer data.The analysts also discuss how autoimmune T cell engagers are diverging from their oncology roots and the potential implications of President Donald Trump’s executive order on psychedelic therapies. BioCentury’s analysts also take time to remember Sofinnova Partners’ Denis Lucquin, father of French biotech. This episode of the BioCentury This Week podcast was brought to you by IQVIA Biotech.View full story: https://www.biocentury.com/article/659183#BiotechMA #BiotechIPO #CART #TCellEngagers #PsychedelicMedicine00:01 - Sponsor Message: IQVIA Biotech04:20 - Lilly's Kelonia Buy10:31 - T Cell Engagers23:07 - Psychedelics Executive Order35:14 - CBER Director Search37:37 - Public Markets Roundup42:14 - Remembering Denis LucquinTo submit a question to BioCentury’s editors, email the BioCentury This Week team at podcasts@biocentury.com.Reach us by sending a text
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Ep. 360 - FDA’s FIH plans. Plus: billion-dollar deals, funds
Apr 1400:33:38Tap to summarizeA pathway proposed by FDA to cut the time it takes biopharma companies to get to first-in-human trials is more ambitious than similar policies in Australia, China and the U.K. On the latest BioCentury This Week podcast, BioCentury’s analysts assess the proposal, as well as a concession for the biopharma industry on first-in-human studies in PDUFA reauthorization negotiations with FDA.The analysts also discuss the latest pair of billion-dollar biotech deals: Gilead's $3.2 billion takeout of antibody-drug conjugate company Tubulis and the acquisition of Soleno by Neurocrine for $2.9 billion for its Prader-Willi asset. Finally, BioCentury’s analysts discuss the new $6.3 billion Blackstone Life Sciences fund and the €1 billion vehicle unveiled last week by European VC Jeito Capital. This episode of the BioCentury This Week podcast was brought to you by IQVIA Biotech.View full story: https://www.biocentury.com/article/659127#FDA #FirstInHuman #BiotechMergers #BiotechInvesting #LifeSciencesVC00:01 - Sponsor Message: IQVIA Biotech03:24 - FDA First-in-Human11:44 - America First PDUFA Policy17:43 - Gilead Buying Tubulis23:41 - Blackstone's New Fund28:37 - Jeito Capital30:44 - Parker InstituteTo submit a question to BioCentury’s editors, email the BioCentury This Week team at podcasts@biocentury.com.Reach us by sending a text
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Ep. 359 - 2Q markets preview, tariffs and biotech takeouts
Apr 700:38:41Tap to summarizeBiotech has been resilient as the financial markets teeter under global volatility. For now, M&A and financings, if not IPOs, are continuing, but will the Mideast conflict halt biotech’s recovery? On the latest BioCentury This Week podcast, BioCentury’s Stephen Hansen breaks down the near-term and long-term outlook for a biotech industry hoping to continue the growth of 2H25.BioCentury’s analysts also discuss the impact of the Trump administration’s tariffs on the biopharma industry and last week’s biggest deals: the pending $6.3 billion takeout of Centessa by Eli Lilly and the proposed $5.6 billion acquisition of Apellis by Biogen. This episode of the BioCentury This Week podcast was brought to you by IQVIA Biotech.Register now as a delegate or apply to join the 2026 Presenting Company Class before the 26th Bio€quity Europe May 4-6 in Prague sells out.View full story: https://www.biocentury.com/article/659040#BiotechMarkets #BiotechMA #GlobalVolatility #DrugPricingPolicy #BiopharmaStrategy00:01 - Sponsor Message: IQVIA Biotech05:09 - 2Q26 Preview17:09 - Pharma Tariffs24:04 - C-Path Initiative26:32 - Lilly Deal32:19 - Biogen DealTo submit a question to BioCentury’s editors, email the BioCentury This Week team at podcasts@biocentury.com.Reach us by sending a text
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Ep. 358 - Europe's biotech challenge
Apr 200:23:32Tap to summarizeBiotech innovators around the world are finding speed to be the driver for investment and partnering — speed to early human data and speed to de-risk assets. The new momentum from Asia, in particular China, has added a fresh challenge for European biotech on top of falling equity and R&D investment in Europe and a complex drug pricing landscape. On a special edition of the BioCentury This Week podcast on the eve of the 26th Bio€quity Europe conference, EQT Life Sciences' Christoph Broja and Prague Bio CEO Petra Kinzlová join BioCentury’s analysts to discuss the challenges faced by European biotech today and what the best strategy is to compete in this new era.Kinzlová also describes a growing biotech ecosystem in the Czech Republic, which will host Bio€quity Europe May 4-6.View full story: https://www.biocentury.com/article/659002#EuropeanBiotech #ClinicalDevelopmentSpeed #ChinaBiotech #DrugPricing #BiotechInvestment01:10 - Bio€quity Europe Preview04:32 - Czech Innovation Hubs09:52 - Pricing, Trials, Funding13:07 - Fixing Trial Bottlenecks17:49 - Pension Capital and RiskTo submit a question to BioCentury’s editors, email the BioCentury This Week team at podcasts@biocentury.com.Reach us by sending a text
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