Episode 183 - May 15, 2026
From Biotech Hangout by Daphne Zohar, Josh Schimmer, Brad Loncar, Tim Opler and more
May 15, 2026 · 1h 1m
About this episode
The episode discusses significant biotech partnerships, regulatory news, and clinical trial updates while highlighting the advantages of U.S. capital markets and China's drug development capabilities.
On this week’s episode, Sam Fazeli, Josh Schimmer, Eric Schmidt, and Tess Cameron kickoff with deals, highlighting the up to $15.2B Hengrui–BMS partnership and the broader trend of outsourcing early-stage drug development to China. The discussion continues with the co-hosts noting China’s edge in speed, quality, and cost-efficiency, while underscoring that the strength of U.S. capital markets remains a key advantage. This week also saw a significant raise, with Isomorphic Labs announcing a $2.1B Series B. In regulatory news, the group described the departure of FDA Commissioner Dr. Marty Makary as creating fresh uncertainty around FDA leadership and direction as they speculated on his exit and who will replace him. On the data front, Regenxbio met the primary endpoint inits Phase 3 trial for Duchenne, though the hosts flagged potential investor skepticism around the side effects, limited data, and FDA uncertainty. Next, they discuss that Biogen and Ionis are advancing their Alzheimer’s tau program despite mixed results. The co-hosts also mention Inhibrx’s Phase 2 data in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma, as well as Moderna’s Hantavirus vaccine research following the recent…
People in this episode
Host: Josh Schimmer
Guests: Sam Fazeli, Eric Schmidt, Tess Cameron
Topics covered
- drug development
- China outsourcing
- FDA leadership
- Alzheimer's research
- clinical trials
- biotech partnerships
- upcoming conferences
Keywords
- Hengrui
- BMS
- FDA
- Alzheimer's
- Regenxbio
- Isomorphic Labs
- biotech
- clinical trials
- drug development
- China
Mentioned in this episode
Organizations: Hengrui, BMS, Isomorphic Labs, Regenxbio, Biogen, Ionis, Inhibrx, Moderna
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