Biotech Hangout

On this week’s episode, Eric Schmidt, Yaron Werber, PaulMatteis, and Kate Haviland opened with a look at the biotech market, with the XBI up roughly 25% year to date, though it feels much worse to many buy-side clients. The group discussed the midterm elections, weighing a potential blue wave against a market pricing in two more rate hikes. They also previewed next week’s Senate vote on Dr. Heidi Overton’s nomination as FDA commissioner, with Paul sharing his conversation with former FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb at the Stifel Healthcare Conference, where Gottlieb expressed optimism about her confirmation and her grasp of the agency’s need to rehire and rebuild expertise. The co-hosts then discussed the longer-term future of MFN deals, including sunset provisions and the question of whether the policy returns. The conversation turned to drug launches, covering how companies set expectations through pre-launch conversations with clinicians, office staff, and patients, and whether expert network physicians are a representative sample. The group also covered forecast guidance as both an art and a science, annual market-size updates, Blueprint’s Ayvakit launch, and the friction of physician habit change, including the last mile and practice economics. The episode closed with an overview of PepGen’s DM1 data. *This episode aired on November 13, 2026.

On this week’s episode, Brian Skorney, Paul Matteis, Yaron Werber, and Adam Feuerstein opened with a look at what the midterm results could mean for biotech, covering the macro backdrop, the FDA, and drug pricing. The conversation then turned to Vertex’s povetacicept ahead of a potential IgAN approval at the end of November, and the competitive landscape as Vertex enters a market with two formidable competitors. In earnings news, the group discussed Revolution Medicines’ strong Q3 launch sales for Rasonque, which doubled market predictions, and the safety questions and possible label changes facing Neurocrine’s Vykat. The group also covered the race for the first FDA approval of a psilocybin depression treatment, with Compass nearing NDA completion and a reported filing from the Usona Institute, as well as Novartis’ update on tumor cases in Zolgensma-treated patients. The episode closed with the Phase 3 miss for Novartis and Ionis’ pelacarsen despite significant Lp(a) reduction, and what to watch for at AHA 2026 and ASH 2026. This episode aired on November 6, 2026.

On this week's episode, Chris Garabedian, Graig Suvannavejh, Sam Fazeli, Brian Skorney, and Yaron Werber opened with the M&A outlook from recent pharma earnings, with optimism for a stronger fourth quarter than the third. The group discussed Alnylam's post-earnings stock drop and the commercial challenges of launching its own drug. Next, Anthropic's acquisition of Mithril Medicine, a one-person company, and the unveiling of its founder, X user @Prof_Oak_, as Cody Tranbargar sparked a debate among the co-hosts on AI in biotech, with Amgen's fast trial enrollment cited as an early proof point. The group then covered a mixed IPO year, with early-stage companies still drawing investor appetite, and weighed the market outlook against interest rate and post-midterm tariff risks. They also discussed Plowshare Therapies' philanthropy-backed gene therapy approach and IgAN data from Kidney Week, led by Otsuka's Voyxact, whose full two-year results showed it halting disease progression. The episode closed with ESMO 2026, including Moderna and Merck's data and Genmab's run of successes, which largely addresses its 2029/2030 royalty cliff. *This episode aired on October 30, 2026.

On this week's 200th episode, Daphne Zohar, Brad Loncar, Chris Garabedian, Sam Fazeli, Eric Schmidt, Josh Schimmer, Matt Gline, and special guest former Silence CEO Ali Mortazavi kicked off by reflecting on five years of Biotech Hangout, including the show's role as an “open door” resource for those across the industry. The co-hosts then discussed Moderna's stock dip after leaked ESMO 2026 data and how outsized market hopes for the cancer vaccine shaped the reaction. Matt expanded on his "woodchipper" analogy from his STAT Summit panel, while the group examined degrossing as a structural pressure on the sector. They also covered the Endpoints sentiment index turning positive for the first time since the pandemic. In deals, the group discussed Merck KGaA's $1.1 billion acquisition of Silence for its siRNA polycythemia vera candidate, with the company's former CEO, Ali Mortazavi, reflecting on its journey and the future of biotech structure in an AI world. The group also highlighted Lilly CEO Dave Ricks' growing X presence, signs of more big pharma deals ahead in a year tracking toward the second most active for M&A, and how options-driven trading around Abivax is distorting sentiment. The episode closed with reflections on the biggest surprises of the past five years and a look ahead to 2031. *This episode aired on October 23, 2026.

On this week’s episode, Graig Suvannavejh, Paul Matteis, Brian Skorney, Yaron Werber, and Jake Becraft opened with a look at the biotech market, with the XBI down roughly 700 basis points in two weeks but still up about 20% year to date. The IPO window remains open, though M&A has quieted. The co-hosts then discussed degrossing, overviewing a Goldman Sachs report that showed degrossing at the largest in over five years. The group also covered valuations, rate and midterm uncertainty, and M&A as a potential catalyst. In data news, the group discussed BMS’ admilparant in IPF, where only the low dose reached significance, and the read-through to Contineum. Next, they discussed Mirum’s Livmarli success in cholestatic pruritus, and celiac programs from Teva, argenx, and First Tracks, which all showed encouraging early data,ahead of November’s celiac meeting. The group also covered argenx’s Sjögren’s futility termination, Arrowhead’s first clinical data for a TfR-delivered tau siRNA, Alector’s brain shuttle update and $75 million raise, and Verastem’s KRAS G12D inhibitor data in pancreatic cancer. The episode closed with a preview of Moderna and Merck’s cancer vaccine data at ESMO 2026 and the open question of its placebo control. *This episode aired on October 16, 2026.