AI for Scientists, FDA Reverses Course, and Advances in Cancer Therapeutics

AI for Scientists, FDA Reverses Course, and Advances in Cancer Therapeutics

From Touching Base by Genetic Engineering & Biotechnology News (GEN)

February 27, 2026 · 39 min · Episode 44

About this episode

This episode discusses advancements in AI for scientists, FDA news regarding Moderna's flu vaccine, and recent developments in cancer therapeutics.

In the industry news section of this week’s episode, we kick things off with Tamarind Bio’s efforts to develop user-friendly artificial intelligence tools for science researchers. Then we examine the impact of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s reversal on its earlier refusal to review Moderna’s mRNA vaccine for the flu, discuss Gilead’s acquisition of Arcellx to expand its cancer therapy pipeline, and dive into Takeda’s investment in Vir Biotech’s prostate cancer candidate. Then on the research front, we get into the science behind new protein-like polymers engineered to target and degrade some of cancer’s most challenging driver proteins. And we discuss a potential control switch for CAR T cells that could make these immunotherapies much safer.   Join GEN editors Corinna Singleman, PhD, Fay Lin, PhD, Uduak Thomas and Alex Philippidis for a discussion of the latest biotech and biopharma news.    Listed below are links to the GEN stories referenced in this episode of Touching Base :    Tamarind Bio Secures $13.6M Series A to Make AI More Accessible for Biology By Fay Lin, PhD, GEN Edge , February 24, 2026   StockWatch: FDA Reversal Boosts…

People in this episode

Hosts: Corinna Singleman, Fay Lin, Uduak Thomas, Alex Philippidis

Topics covered

  • artificial intelligence
  • FDA news
  • cancer therapeutics
  • biotech
  • biopharma

Keywords

  • artificial intelligence
  • FDA
  • Moderna
  • cancer therapy
  • biotech news
  • biopharma

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Tamarind Bio, U.S. Food and Drug Administration, Moderna, Gilead, Arcellx, Takeda, Vir Biotech

More episodes of Touching Base

Explore listener stats, chart rankings, contacts and more on the Touching Base podcast page.