The Top Line

Hosted by Fierce Life Sciences

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Episodes

100

Latest episode

Oct 2026

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EN-US

About the show

Biopharma and medtech explained. Every week, journalists from Fierce Biotech, Fierce Medtech, and Fierce Pharma recount the latest industry trends and why they matter. We'll analyze the week's biggest business news, from mergers and marketing to drug R&D and device development. Available every Friday morning.

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October 16, 202625 min

Inside Teva's Weltruza launch and Novo's GLP-1 strategy

In this week's episode of "The Top Line," we're looking at two companies building on recent successes and pursuing new opportunities in the pharmaceutical industry. From Teva's growing portfolio of innovative medicines to Novo's expanding reach in the GLP-1 market, both companies are looking to build on their momentum as they prepare for the next phase of growth. First, Fierce Pharma's Fraiser Kansteiner speaks with Christine Fox, Teva's executive vice president of U.S. commercial and head of its innovative medicines franchise, and Eric Hughes, M.D., Ph.D., executive vice president of global R&D and chief medical officer. They discuss the FDA's recent approval of Weltruza, a once-monthly injectable treatment for schizophrenia, lessons learned from the company's earlier rollout of Uzedy and how its growing portfolio of innovative medicines fits into its broader strategy. They also explain how Weltruza's formulation could help address unmet needs in schizophrenia treatment. Then, we turn to Novo and the expanding market for GLP-1 drugs. At Fierce Pharma Week in Philadelphia, Fierce Pharma's Zoey Becker sat down with Kevin Donahoe, Novo's vice president and head of diabetes therapy area marketing and patient solutions, to discuss how the popularity of GLP-1s is creating new opportunities to reach and educate patients. Their conversation covers Novo's evolving marketing strategy, lessons from the Wegovy pill launch and the company's outlook on the future of obesity treatment as more medicines enter the market. To learn more about the topics in this episode: Teva debuts Weltruza in schizophrenia as much-hyped FDA nod for long-acting olanzapine arrives Teva saddles up as stalking horse bidder for bankrupt BioXcel’s neuroscience portfolio With Austedo at helm, Teva's impressive innovative drug sales signal company's successful metamorpho… No more Nordisk as Novo goes it alone amid rebranding push The Oral GLP-1 Tracker: Prescriptions edge down for Novo, Lilly How drugmakers are tapping into the GLP-1 frenzy's unprecedented 'consumer overlay' See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

October 15, 202632 min

The Next Chapter for AI in Clinical Trials [Sponsored]

Clinical AI is moving from systems that predict and summarize toward agents that can help execute parts of a workflow. In this sponsored episode of The Top Line, Will Hurth speaks with Saama’s Ari Srinivasan, chief customer success and growth officer, and Yatesh Midha, associate vice president of product management, about what that evolution could mean for clinical development. The conversation places Agent OS, Saama’s orchestration and governance layer, within a broader shift from disconnected AI tools to coordinated clinical workflows. A practical example explores how an agentic data manager could support SAE reconciliation by retrieving records from EDC and safety systems, comparing fields and presenting important mismatches with supporting evidence. The interview also considers what trusted use requires in a regulated environment: task-appropriate models, grounding, provenance, permission controls, transparency, auditability and human oversight. The central argument is not that agents replace clinical experts, but that they take on repetitive information-gathering and comparison work so experts can focus on complex cases and consequential decisions. Listen to the full interview to learn more about the role governed, connected agents could play in the next phase of AI-enabled trials. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

October 12, 202622 min

How AI could improve clinical trial decision-making (Sponsored)

What if clinical development teams could evaluate potential trial outcomes before a study reaches patients? In this sponsored episode of The Top Line, host Irena Luo speaks with Raja Shankar, vice president for machine learning within AI and technology solutions at IQVIA, about a foundation model designed specifically for life sciences. Shankar explains why general-purpose models may overlook important relationships in patient and clinical trial data and how post-training on life sciences data can make AI more relevant to predictive decision-making. He explores how the model represents patients, diseases, treatments and endpoints, then applies those relationships to anticipate events across a patient journey. The conversation also examines the strategic role of study simulation, including how teams can compare scenarios, challenge assumptions and refine protocol decisions before a trial begins. Shankar addresses the evidence, transparency and expert oversight needed to build confidence in model outputs. Listen to the podcast to learn how simulation could help reduce uncertainty and improve clinical development planning. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

October 9, 202623 min

How we picked the Fierce 15

What does it mean to be a Fierce 15 biotech in 2026? With this year’s list unveiled, the Fierce Biotech team gets together to discuss what the winners tell us about the state of the sector. In this week’s episode of "The Top Line," the Fierce Biotech editorial team reflects on the process of distilling more than 150 high-quality entries into the final Fierce 15 list. The team discusses how the ambitions of these companies are higher than ever and looks back on some of its conversations with the winners, covering everything from cutting-edge antibody research and novel fertility treatments to innovative ways to source radioisotopes. To learn more about the topics in this episode: Introducing Fierce Biotech's 2026 Fierce 15 Regeneron backs $75M series A for antibody upstart Infinimmune Sanofi-backed Expedition uses $115M series B to advance COPD drug on phase 2 journey Beacon lights path to FDA approval with pivotal trial win for rare vision loss gene therapy Fierce Biotech at London Life Sciences Week: Learn more and register Learn more about the Fierce Vanguard Awards Gala See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

October 2, 202618 min

Locking in on pharma’s consumerization trend

With GLP-1s paving the way, a consumer shift is happening across markets for certain branded pharmaceuticals. Now, the CEO of a buzzy pattern-hair-loss biotech is eyeing opportunities in an evolving market that could expand well beyond his own company. In this week’s episode of "The Top Line," Fierce’s Fraiser Kansteiner chats with Reid Waldman, co-founder and CEO of hair loss-focused biotech Veradermics. With impressive data on its reformulated minoxidil candidate and an upsized IPO earlier this year, Veradermics has generated significant interest in its approach. The company now hopes to tap into an increasingly consumer-minded market for certain drugs, a shift Waldman says could carry over to a range of indications and products. To learn more about the topics in this episode: A cut above: Veradermics locks in $256M IPO and shares spike Buzzy Veradermics shows its oral minoxidil can tackle female pattern hair loss, too Contraline and its male birth control candidate rally $92.5M amid push into 'massive white space' of… ‘I’m a lot more optimistic today’: Mike Doustdar tells Fierce about pivotal first year as Novo Nordi… See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

September 25, 202624 min

Fierce Pharma Week: A look at the biggest trends, campaigns and conversations

Fierce Pharma Week brought thousands of people to Philadelphia for four days of conversations about pharma marketing, commercialization, medical affairs and communications. In this episode of "The Top Line," Fierce editors share the conversations, trends and moments that stood out from the event. Topics include Genentech’s use of humor and celebrity storytelling to raise awareness of diabetic macular edema, how Novo is navigating the extraordinary attention around GLP-1 drugs, and the growing role of AI in pharma marketing. The team also looks at some of the campaigns honored at the Fierce Pharma Marketing Awards and the creative approaches companies are using to reach patients and healthcare professionals. To learn more about the topics in this episode: ‘People like the sincerity of it’: comedian Damon Wayans on humor, relatability and DME awareness in… Standout pharma marketing takes the stage at the 2026 Fierce Pharma Marketing Awards Panthers and zebras and meerkats, oh my: A peek behind the curtain at Fierce Pharma Week 2026 Former 'Real Housewives' star Jenn Fessler and CineHealth’s Tracey Yaw break down authentic healthca… 'The growth driver of our organization'; Genentech CMO Zoë Lazarre on experimental marketing, AI and… Journalist and menopause advocate Tamsen Fadal shines a light on overlooked women’s health topics See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

September 18, 202623 min

Inside the growing world of biopharma prediction markets

Prediction markets are opening up new ways to bet on biopharma events, from clinical trial readouts to FDA approvals. But they also create a new set of risks for an industry where employees, researchers, contractors and others may have access to confidential information that could give them an edge. In this episode of “The Top Line,” Fierce Biotech’s Will Maddox talks with David Oliwenstein, a partner at Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman and former SEC enforcement attorney, about how regulators may approach misuse of nonpublic information in prediction markets, why biopharma could face heightened scrutiny and what companies should be doing now to reduce their risk. To learn more about the topics in this episode: Betting on biotech: Prediction markets set sights on clinical trials See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

September 14, 202617 min

Clinical trials reach a new automation inflection point (Sponsored)

Clinical development organizations are facing mounting pressure to do more with increasingly complex protocols, larger data sets and tighter timelines. While automation has improved individual processes, many of the industry's most persistent delays continue to occur between tasks, systems and teams. In this sponsored episode of The Top Line , host Lauren Ledger sits down with Greg Lever, director of AI and Technology Solutions at IQVIA, to discuss why agentic AI is gaining attention across clinical operations. Lever explains how the conversation is shifting from task automation to workflow orchestration, with AI systems designed to coordinate activities, connect information and help reduce operational bottlenecks. The episode explores where sponsors can find the greatest opportunities for improvement, what it takes to move from pilots to enterprise-scale adoption, and how clinical roles may evolve as routine work becomes increasingly automated. The discussion also addresses the importance of data connectivity, governance and organizational readiness in building trusted AI programs. Listen now for a forward-looking conversation about how people, processes and intelligent systems could redefine the future of clinical trial execution. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

September 11, 202629 min

The future of RAS inhibitors

Revolution Medicines recently made history with the approval of its RAS inhibitor Rasonque for advanced pancreatic cancer. But behind RevMed is an entire field of biotechs working to broaden the reach of RAS-targeting drugs. In this week’s episode of “The Top Line,” Fierce Biotech’s Darren Incorvaia sits down with Verastem Oncology CEO Dan Paterson and Chief Scientific Officer Jonathan Pachter, Ph.D., to discuss the significance of Revolution Medicines’ recent pancreatic cancer approval, Verastem’s work in the RAS-targeting space and how the company is trying to improve on existing approaches. To learn more about the topics in this episode: FDA greenlights Revolution Medicines' pancreatic cancer gamechanger As RevMed preps for ‘historic’ pancreatic cancer launch, questions linger on the ground ASCO: Revolution Medicines confident in RAS leadership as rivals square up AACR: Revolution sees pancreatic cancer win as 'tip of the iceberg' as RAS wave rises Fierce 50 of 2026: Breakthrough honoree Verastem Oncology Fierce 50 of 2026: Breakthrough honoree Revolution Medicines See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

September 4, 202625 min

The people who stayed with the problem

The 2026 Fierce 50 includes people and organizations working on very different problems across biopharma and healthcare, from designing new proteins and developing cancer medicines to protecting vaccine science, improving health literacy and expanding representation in medicine. In this episode of “The Top Line,” Fierce Editor-in-Chief Ayla Ellison looks at the stories behind several of this year’s honorees, including Revolution Medicines’ work targeting RAS, the protein-design research of David Baker, Ph.D., and Michael Osterholm, Ph.D.’s, decision to put plans to step back from public health on hold. The episode also explores the work of Lisa Fitzpatrick, M.D., Hip Hop Public Health, Eric Topol, M.D., and Mary Owen, M.D., and the problems they have chosen to keep working on. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.