Episode 185 -June 5, 2026

Episode 185 -June 5, 2026

From Biotech Hangout by Daphne Zohar, Josh Schimmer, Brad Loncar, Tim Opler and more

June 9, 2026 · 1h 0m

About this episode

The episode discusses the current state of the biotech market, policy implications, and highlights from ASCO 2026.

On this week’s episode, Yaron Werber, Tess Cameron, SamFazeli, and Brian Skorney kick off with a look at markets, noting that while AI remains hot, biotech may be cooling amid anticipated tech IPOs. The co-hosts note that biotech saw a significant recovery over the past year driven by M&A and improving sentiment, highlighting that the XBI has remained remarkably stable. The discussion then turns to policy, where momentum to expand the COINS Act into biotech raises concerns. The group highlights the need to distinguish between manufacturing supply chains, where national security risks are real, and innovation ecosystems, where restricting capital flows could slow drug development and shift advantage outside of the US. Recapping the highlights from ASCO 2026, Akeso/Summit’s ivonescimab showed meaningful survival benefits, while Revolution Medicines’ KRAS program in pancreatic cancer stood out as a breakthrough, receiving a standing ovation at the conference. In breast cancer, the focus was centered on emerging CDK4 selective inhibitors from Pfizer and others. Grail’s multi-cancer early detection readout was also discussed, along with in vivo CAR-T data from Kelonia that showed…

People in this episode

Guests: Yaron Werber, Tess Cameron, Sam Fazeli, Brian Skorney

Topics covered

  • biotech market trends
  • policy and regulation
  • drug development
  • cancer research
  • M&A activity
  • AI in biotech

Keywords

  • biotech
  • AI
  • COINS Act
  • drug development
  • cancer research
  • M&A
  • ASCO 2026

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: XBI, COINS Act, Akeso/Summit, Revolution Medicines, Pfizer, Grail

Products: ivonescimab, KRAS, CAR-T

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