BioCentury This Week

Hosted by BioCentury

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Episodes

381

Latest episode

Jun 2026

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EN-US

About the show

BioCentury's streaming commentary on biotech industry trends, plus interviews with KOLs. For three decades, BioCentury has helped biopharma executives and investors make business-critical decisions and build larger networks with peers across the innovation ecosystem.

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60 recent

June 16, 2026Episode 37225 min

Ep. 372 - Biotech IPOs, Biosecure Act, cachexia pipeline

Biotech IPOs that are getting out remain hot — but will that continue into the fall? On the latest BioCentury This Week podcast, BioCentury’s analysts discuss the market for fresh biotech paper on NASDAQ, including the $770 million debut by Parabilis, the largest IPO in the sector’s history.The analysts also discuss the Biosecure Act and U.S. policy toward China; the cachexia pipeline; and BioCentury’s updated Innovation Distillery.View full story: https://www.biocentury.com/article/659773 #BiotechIPO #NASDAQ #BiosecureAct #Cachexia #ChinaBiotech 00:36 - Innovation Distillery03:56 - Biotech IPOs10:13 - Biosecure Act, WuXi AppTec16:03 - Cachexia Pipeline22:03 - Ouster for RFK Jr.?To submit a question to BioCentury’s editors, email the BioCentury This Week team at podcasts@biocentury.com.Reach us by sending a text

June 11, 2026Episode 37132 min

Ep. 371 - Moving faster at the academia-industry interface

Getting into the clinic fast to de-risk assets has become the name of the game in biotech, and at the academia-industry interface, too.From AI to NAMs to starting a Phase I trial in the U.S., BioCentury’s 3rd Grand Rounds-U.S. conference brought together academic innovators, biopharma leaders and early-stage investors to debate key bottlenecks in translation and how to make early-stage R&D investible.Sam Blackman, entrepreneur in residence at GV and co-founder of Day One Biopharmaceuticals, and Aaron Coe, managing director of innovation for the Allen Institute, joined BioCentury’s analysts on stage last week in Seattle for a podcast recording to wrap up Grand Rounds and discuss key takeaways from the event.Editor’s note: We invite you to join BioCentury and Regional Host Chairs Forbion and BGV at our next edition of BioCentury Grand Rounds, scheduled for Sept. 23-25 in Amsterdam.View full story: https://www.biocentury.com/article/659729#TranslationalScience #DrugDevelopment #BiopharmaInnovation #AcademicInnovation #GrandRoundsUS00:53 - World-Class Regional Hosts02:56 - Building Grand Rounds Community05:21 - Two Nobels, One City07:43 - AI Goes End-to-End09:47 - The Data Problem14:12 - AI, Animals, Australia19:53 - Study Startup Bottlenecks26:11 - Early Science InvestabilityTo submit a question to BioCentury’s editors, email the BioCentury This Week team at podcasts@biocentury.com.Reach us by sending a text

June 9, 2026Episode 37034 min

Ep. 370 - Calmer waters for FDA; Servier, Lilly deals

FDA’s new leadership is sailing the agency into calmer waters amid a search for a permanent commissioner and permanent center directors. On the latest BioCentury This Week podcast, BioCentury Washington Editor Steve Usdin discusses how FDA’s new, interim leaders have changed the tone at the agency and why they are putting medicines derailed under former FDA Commissioner Marty Makary back on track. Usdin also highlights FDA’s new real-time clinical trials initiative.BioCentury’s analysts then turn to deals, including an analysis of the 20 deals Eli Lilly has done this year; Servier’s move to expand in neurology via BD; and Monday’s billion-dollar deals by Incyte, which will acquire Vega Therapeutics, and Johnson & Johnson, which is buying Firefly Bio.The team also discusses Grand Rounds U.S., held last week in Seattle, including the conference’s Rising Star prize winner Sylvain Simon of Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center.View full story: https://www.biocentury.com/article/659699#FDA #BiopharmaDeals #ClinicalTrials #BiotechMA #GrandRoundsUS01:23 - Grand Rounds Seattle Takeaways04:43 - FDA's New Leaders11:48 - FDA's Real Time Trials Pilot20:40 - Servier Bets on Neuro25:33 - Lilly's Deal Spree30:21 - Dealmaking RoundupTo submit a question to BioCentury’s editors, email the BioCentury This Week team at podcasts@biocentury.com.Reach us by sending a text

June 2, 2026Episode 36939 min

Ep. 369 - ASCO advances, China innovation & U.S. science under threat

Revolution Medicines continues to impress with more pancreatic cancer data, earning a standing ovation at ASCO over the weekend. On the latest BioCentury This Week podcast, BioCentury’s analysts discuss the detailed data for the company’s daraxonrasib, Akeso’s Harmoni-6 readout, as well as other results from the meeting. BioCentury’s analysts then argue that U.S. biotech executives and policymakers should embrace the challenges and opportunities that come with the rise of innovation in China — rather than sticking their heads in the sand. They also discuss why leaders of the U.S.’s biggest drug companies should use their influence to stop an OMB proposal that threatens the foundations of U.S. science. Plus: takeaways from BioCentury's conversation with Alkermes CEO Richard Pops on The BioCentury Show.View full story: https://www.biocentury.com/article/659629#ASCO #PancreaticCancer #BiotechInnovation #ChinaBiotech #DrugDevelopment00:00 - Introduction01:49 - ASCO: RevMed06:50 - ASCO: Akeso16:33 - China U.S. Biotech Rivalry24:15 - Science Under Threat36:29 - Richard Pops TakeawaysTo submit a question to BioCentury’s editors, email the BioCentury This Week team at podcasts@biocentury.com.Reach us by sending a text

May 27, 2026Episode 36833 min

Ep. 368 - ASCO Preview, China Policy, ADC Linkers

At ASCO among presentations focused on pancreatic cancer innovation beyond KRAS; however, abstracts for the cancer conference also highlight ADCs, bispecifics and diagnostics that are broadening the field’s approach to the cancer. On the latest BioCentury This Week podcast, BioCentury’s analysts discuss Revolution’s daraxonrasib, other readouts to watch for in pancreatic cancer and what else is on BioCentury’s radar at this year’s American Society of Clinical Oncology meeting.BioCentury’s analysts also discuss a push by China hawks in Congress to get the Trump administration to invoke national security powers to narrow Chinese life sciences companies’ access to U.S. markets, technology and capital; an initiative by Rep. Jake Auchincloss (D-Mass.) that seeks to modernize how clinical trials are conducted in the U.S.; and a BioCentury analysis on new antibody-drug conjugate linker techniques. This episode of the BioCentury podcast is brought to you by Jeito Capital.View full story: https://www.biocentury.com/article/659581 #Biopharma #ASCO2026 #PancreaticCancer #ClinicalTrials #ADCInnovation00:01 - Sponsor Message: Jeito Capital02:26 - ASCO Preview14:24 - U.S. China Policy22:48 - Modernizing U.S. trials27:17 - Optimizing ADC LinkersTo submit a question to BioCentury’s editors, email the BioCentury This Week team at podcasts@biocentury.com.Reach us by sending a text

May 19, 2026Episode 36730 min

Ep. 367 - FDA, obesity targets and the rise of DACs

Marty Makary wasn’t the only official on the outs at FDA last week in another tumultuous turn of events for the regulatory agency. On the latest BioCentury This Week podcast, BioCentury Washington Editor Steve Usdin discusses who’s in, who’s out and what’s next at FDA — and why the changes may mean more conservative decision-making at the agency in the near term.BioCentury’s analysts also discuss the new obesity targets that came to light at last week’s annual meeting of the European Congress on Obesity, the market for biotech IPOs, and the emergence of degrader-antibody conjugates. DACs pair the tissue-targeting logic of antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs) with the catalytic activity of protein degraders. 3C Therapeutics is the latest entrant to the field, pitching its TriCore platform as a modular backbone for DAC generation. This episode of the BioCentury podcast is brought to you by Jeito Capital.View full story: https://www.biocentury.com/article/659510#FDA #ObesityDrugDevelopment #BiotechIPO #DACs #Biopharma00:01 - Sponsor Message: Jeito Capital 02:53 - FDA Leadership Shakeup10:35 - Obesity Target Hunt16:07 - Biotech IPOs20:02 - Degrader-antibody Conjugates28:42 - Serif: Non-viral DNATo submit a question to BioCentury’s editors, email the BioCentury This Week team at podcasts@biocentury.com.Reach us by sending a text

May 12, 2026Episode 36643 min

Ep. 366 - Europe's need for speed: Bio€quity takeaways

China’s speed in generating first-in-human data has catalyzed a race across the globe to reshape regulatory requirements to compete. BioCentury’s analysts, along with special guests Detlev Mennerich, head of Boehringer Ingelheim Venture Fund, and Mehdi Ainouche, partner at Jeito Capital, discussed where Europe fits in that landscape and other takeaways from the 26th annual Bio€quity Europe conference in Prague. This special episode of BioCentury This Week has been brought to you by Jeito Capital.View full story: https://www.biocentury.com/article/659450#EuropeanBiotech #ClinicalDevelopment #BiopharmaInnovation #DrugDevelopment #LifeSciencesStrategy00:01 - Sponsor Message: Jeito Capital 03:14 - China’s Speed Challenge04:08 - Europe’s Clinical Trial Opportunity11:48 - Speed vs. Capital Efficiency15:52 - Takeaways from Richard Pazdur19:58 - FDA Uncertainty and Global Alternatives26:50 - Biopharma M&A Outlook33:34 - The Next Wave of ScienceTo submit a question to BioCentury’s editors, email the BioCentury This Week team at podcasts@biocentury.com.Reach us by sending a text

May 12, 2026Episode 36530 min

Ep. 365 - Thin ice for Makary, redosing AAVs

Marty Makary’s hold on the top job at FDA is slipping, with White House leaks about President Donald Trump’s displeasure with the FDA commissioner shifting the question from whether he will be fired to when. On the latest BioCentury This Week podcast, Washington Editor Steve Usdin discusses the pressures on Makary, how long he will hold onto his post, and the leading candidates to succeed him.BioCentury’s analysts then discuss solutions to AAV’s redosing problem, which could reignite industry interest in a modality that has fallen out of favor, and other topics in the spotlight at this week’s American Society of Gene and Cell Therapy annual meeting. The analysts also discuss opportunities to attend and present academic posters at the third BioCentury Grand Rounds U.S. conference June 3-5 in Seattle. This episode of the BioCentury This Week podcast has been brought to you by Jeito Capital.View full story: https://www.biocentury.com/article/659426#FDA #GeneTherapy #AAV #CellTherapy #Biopharma00:01 - Sponsor Message: Jeito Capital01:43 - Bio€quity Europe Prague Highlights04:54 - Makary on Thin Ice14:37 - Grand Rounds Poster Pitch16:40 - AAVs at ASGCTTo submit a question to BioCentury’s editors, email the BioCentury This Week team at podcasts@biocentury.com.Reach us by sending a text

May 5, 2026Episode 36432 min

Ep. 364 - UCB’s Candid buy, Grand Rounds and leukodystrophies

UCB is the latest biopharma player to consummate a multibillion-dollar deal amid a surge in biotech M&A activity, acquiring Ken Song’s Candid Therapeutics, one of the leading T cell engager companies. On the latest BioCentury This Week podcast, BioCentury’s analysts discuss the $2 billion takeout and the opportunity in the TCE space.They also assess the drug development landscape for leukodystrophies and the market for biotech IPOs on NASDAQ, where a trio of biotechs exceeded expectations last week, lifting hopes that the window for new listings is broadening. Looking ahead to June, the analysts also preview the third BioCentury Grand Rounds U.S. conference. This episode of the BioCentury This Week podcast was brought to you by Jeito Capital.View full story: https://www.biocentury.com/article/659365#BiotechMA #TCellEngagers #Leukodystrophy #BiotechIPO #TranslationalScience00:01 - Sponsor Message: Jeito Capital02:19 - Grand Rounds Seattle12:47 - UCB’s Candid Buy20:27 - Leukodystrophies Pipeline27:22 - Biotech IPOsTo submit a question to BioCentury’s editors, email the BioCentury This Week team at podcasts@biocentury.com.Reach us by sending a text

April 28, 2026Episode 65330 min

Ep. 363 - New targets at AACR, biopharma deals, Kurma fund

More than 175 new oncology targets surfaced at this year’s American Association for Cancer Research annual meeting in San Diego, with the focus on new ways to enhance the immune response against solid tumors and to make existing immunotherapies more effective. On the latest BioCentury This Week podcast, BioCentury’s analysts assess the new targets identified among the thousands of abstracts at AACR, as well as emerging pan-RAS inhibiting antibody-drug conjugates.The analysts also discuss Eli Lilly's latest deal — for a JAK-2 inhibitor from Ajax — and what the current pace of M&A and partnerships says about the state of biopharma dealmaking. This episode also features Kurma Partners’ new venture fund and the latest in BioCentury’s Emerging Company Profile series, spotlighting U.K.-based rheumatoid arthritis company Elevara Medicines. This episode of the BioCentury This Week podcast was brought to you by IQVIA Biotech.View full story: https://www.biocentury.com/article/659298#AACR #OncologyTargets #Immunotherapy #BiotechMA #ADC00:01 - Sponsor Message: IQVIA Biotech02:50 - AACR: New Targets11:08 - AACR: Pan-RAS Inhibitor ADCs15:35 - Biopharma Deals23:53 - Kurma's New Venture Fund27:28 - Emerging Company Profile: ElevaraTo submit a question to BioCentury’s editors, email the BioCentury This Week team at podcasts@biocentury.com.Reach us by sending a text