BioSpace

In this episode of Denatured, you'll be hearing from Daniel Gil, CEO of Pelage Pharmaceuticals and Francisco Ramírez-Valle, senior vice president of immunology discovery at Eli Lilly. We dive into the long-overlooked hair loss space, exploring why true innovation has lagged, how a regenerative approach aims to reactivate dormant follicles and what early proof-of-concept means for patients.

Host

Jennifer C. Smith-Parker, Director of Insights, BioSpace

Guests
Daniel Gil, CEO, Pelage Pharmaceuticals
Francisco Ramírez-Valle, Senior Vice President, Immunology Discovery, Eli Lilly

Disclaimer: The views expressed in this discussion by guests are their own and do not represent those of their organizations.

At the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) annual meeting in Chicago this past weekend, packed plenary sessions from Revolution Medicines and Summit Therapeutics’ Chinese partner Akeso stole the show. For RevMed, analysts anticipate a potential approval in pancreatic cancer as early as this year, while Summit still has a tough road ahead showing that the survival benefit seen in Akeso’s clinical trial in China will hold up in a global population.
Immuneering, BMS/BioNTech, Merck, Pfizer and many more also scored oncology wins at the annual meeting, as did Moderna, with “encouraging” 5-year survival for its mRNA-based personalized melanoma vaccine.

Outside of ASCO, the past week saw Pfizer strike an unusual pact with China’s Innovent Biologics as it seeks to bolster its oncology pipeline. Reminiscent of another recent deal from BMS and Hengrui Pharma, it could signal a more collaborative approach to working with Chinese companies. We’ll also cover the latest deals from Eli Lilly, which continues to rack up partners with its GLP-1 windfall.

Finally, learn about how BrainStorm is planning another FDA bid for its experimental ALS therapy NurOwn with former regulator Peter Pitts now on the board, and check out a preview of the 2026 American Diabetes Association, or ADA, which kicks off this weekend in New Orleans.

In this episode of Denatured, as part of our series on the European life sciences investment ecosystem, you'll be hearing from Ksenija Pavletic, partner and chief commercial officer at Jeito Capital and Thierry Laugel, managing partner at Kurma Partners. We dive into France’s biotech ecosystem and what still needs to happen for more early innovation to translate into investable, scalable biotech.

Host

⁠Jennifer C. Smith-Parker, Director of Insights, BioSpace

Guests

Ksenija Pavletic, Partner and Chief Commercial Officer, Jeito Capital

Thierry Laugel, Managing Partner, Kurma Partners

Disclaimer: The views expressed in this discussion by guests are their own and do not represent those of their organizations.

Eli Lilly has been as acquisitive as ever, striking five new deals in the past week alone. On Tuesday, the company dove into the deep end of vaccine development with three separate buys in the space. Outside of vaccines, Lilly scooped up preclinical biotech Engage Bio for $202 million and teamed up with AI company Collaborative Drug Discovery for its life sciences data management solutions.

These deals and Lilly’s skyrocketing revenue pushed the Indianapolis-based company to the top of IDEA Pharma’s list of best inventors and innovators.

Lilly also continues to make headlines for its impressive data readouts, especially in the weight-loss space that it now reigns supreme. Last week, Lilly announced that next-gen asset retatrutide led to weight loss of 70 pounds, or 28.3% at 80 weeks, setting a new benchmark for the space.

Moderna also made news this week with a surprising uptick in its share price that analysts are attributing to the so-called “fear trade” that is rising amid reports of a cluster of cases of hantavirus. Moderna also announced that its mRNA flu shot—initially turned away from the FDA but later accepted for review—will be discussed at an advisory committee on June 18.

The annual conference of the American Society of Clinical Oncology starts on Friday in Chicago, where all eyes will be on Revolution Medicines’ investigational pancreatic cancer pill and Akeso’s Phase 3 trial HARMONi-6 for its Summit Therapeutics-partnered PD-1/VEGF bispecific ivonescimab.

Finally, sign up for BioPharma Executive to receive this week’s special edition breaking down executive compensation packages across the biggest pharmas.

In this episode of Denatured, as part of our series of the European life science investment ecosystem, you'll be hearing from Regina Hodits, managing director at Angelini Ventures and Sofia Ioannidou, VC partner at Andera Life Sciences. They examine Germany’s biotech and life sciences landscape, focusing on the scientific, infrastructure and policy shifts required to enable European companies to scale globally while remaining anchored in Europe.

Host

⁠Jennifer C. Smith-Parker, Director of Insights, BioSpace

Guests

Regina Hodits, Managing Director, Angelini Ventures

Sofia Ioannidou, VC Partner, Andera Life Sciences

Disclaimer: The views expressed in this discussion by guests are their own and do not represent those of their organizations.