Episode 177 - March 27, 2026
About this episode
The episode discusses the current biotech market landscape, recent deals, and regulatory news affecting the industry.
On this week’s episode, Grace Colón, Josh Schimmer, Eric Schmidt, and Brian Skorney open with a look at the macro backdrop. With market volatility and interest rate uncertainty, the hosts agree the macro is still “driving the bus,” tempering what might otherwise be stronger bullish sentiment. Even so, biotech continues to demonstrate relative resilience – XBI holding up better than the broader market – reinforcing the view that investors still want to own biotech. In deals, the co-hosts discuss Gilead’s more than $2 billion purchase of Ouro Medicines for its autoimmune disease drug, Merck’s $6.7 billion takeover of Terns to bolster its oncology pipeline, and Novartis’ deal for Exellergy to strengthen its allergy portfolio. The conversation shifts to regulatory news, including the approval of Denali’s Hunter syndrome drug, Avlayah, which comes shortly after the FDA rejected Regenxbio’s gene therapy for the same condition. Other recent rare disease approvals are noted, with the group interpreting them as signs of slightly increased regulatory flexibility following leadership changes, though uncertainty remains across the health agencies. The episode concludes with recent data news…
People in this episode
Host: Josh Schimmer
Guests: Grace Colón, Eric Schmidt, Brian Skorney
Mentioned in this episode
Organizations: Gilead, Ouro Medicines, Merck, Terns, Novartis, Exellergy, Denali, Regenxbio, Sarepta, Arrowhead
Products: Avlayah
More episodes of Biotech Hangout
- Episode 180 - April 17, 2026
- Episode 179 - April 10, 2026
- Episode 178 - April 3, 2026
- Episode 176 - March 13, 2026
- Episode 175 - March 6, 2026
- Episode 174 - February 27, 2026
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