Neil Versel
Chicago
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Experienced #healthcare & #lifesciences #journalist looking for #writing #editing work. @MSACoalition volunteer. @WUSTL grad. Ironman finisher.
Articles by Neil Versel
Hart CEO Dominique Gross Named to '100 Women in HealthTech' List
Hart CEO Dominique Gross Named to '100 Women in HealthTech' List Hart CEO Dominique Gross has been named to the new “100 Women in HealthTech” report from the Parity network and community for women in healthtech leadership.
Estuary water quality trends have $100M implications, researchers find
Sample from the St. Louis River Estuary taken during a cyanobacteria bloom. Credit: Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute Estuaries across the United States are facing the same trends of warming waters, algal growth and declining oxygen concentrations that threaten water quality and fish populations, regardless of geographic location, according to new research led by a Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) faculty member.
RPI Researcher Finds Estuary Water Quality Trends Have $100M Implications
Estuaries across the United States are facing the same trends of warming water, algae growth, and declining oxygen concentrations that threaten water quality and fish populations, regardless of geographic location, according to new research led by a Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) faculty member.
Hospitals seek to prevent, mitigate attacks on clinical staff
James Phillips was working as an emergency physician at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston in 2015 when a man walked into Brigham and Women’s Hospital across the street and shot and killed cardiovascular surgeon Michael Davidson. Though Phillips was physically unharmed, the shooting served as a reminder of the several times he had been assaulted on the job. There was one time when a patient spat blood, contaminated with hepatitis C, on him.
C-Suite Shuffle: Sumitomo, Kineta, IDRx and More
Pictured: A red illustration of a businessman walking through a door/iStock, lerbank Welcome to the second in a regular series of rundowns of people coming and going from executive positions at biopharma companies that BioSpace covers. This column will highlight the hired, fired, retired, promoted or resigning, as well as those personally named in lawsuits. While there were no blockbuster moves in the last two weeks on the scale of the Feb.
C-Suite Shuffle: Lonza Hires New CEO
Pictured: Shell game with business executives/Nicole Bean for BioSpace Welcome to the latest update about people coming and going from executive positions at biopharma companies that BioSpace covers, or who have been personally named in lawsuits. Lonza headlines this installment by luring a new CEO from another Swiss CDMO just days after the company made a splash by committing $1.2 billion to buy a massive biologics manufacturing facility in California.
C-Suite Shuffle: Bayer Continues Leadership Shakeup with Hires at Subsidiaries
Pictured: Shell game with business executives/Nicole Bean for BioSpace Welcome to the latest update about people coming and going from executive positions at biopharma companies covered by BioSpace or who have been personally named in lawsuits. Bayer continued its leadership shuffle not only at its world headquarters in Germany but at two U.S.–based subsidiaries. Yet most of the executive movement of late has been at smaller companies.
Robert Hariri: Developing Cost-Effective Cell Therapies From Placentas
Robert Hariri/Celularity photo Iovance Biotherapeutics priced its recently approved Amtagvi, the first-ever cell therapy of its type, at $515,000. Bristol Myers Squibb’s CAR-T treatment Breyanzi, which received FDA approval for two additional indications in March, carries a list price of about $487,000.
C-Suite Shuffle: ReNAgade, Adaptimmune, Vittoria and More
Pictured: A red illustration of a businessman walking through a door/iStock, lerbank Welcome to the first in a regular series of rundowns of people coming and going from the executive positions in the biopharma companies that BioSpace covers. This column will highlight the hired, fired, retired, promoted or resigning, and even those personally named in lawsuits.
C-Suite Shuffle: A2 Bio, Bayer, BioNTech and More
Pictured: Shell game with business executives/Nicole Bean for BioSpace Welcome to the latest update about people coming and going from executive positions at biopharma companies covered by BioSpace or who have been personally named in lawsuits. Since our last installment two weeks ago, Bayer has really shaken up its C-suite, cutting its senior executive team by nearly half as part of a previously announced operating overhaul.
The Many Ways Biopharma Can Use Artificial Intelligence, Including Generative AI
Pictured: AI robot holding biopharma-related items in hands/Taylor Tieden for BioSpace As the biopharma industry explores the potential of artificial intelligence, use cases are quickly emerging. Companies are already looking to use generative AI—think ChatGPT—to optimize pharma R&D, from target discovery to drug development to regulatory approval to commercialization and postmarket pharmacovigilance.
Generative AI Finds Its Footing in Drug Development
Pictured: Robot hand holding microscope, pill bottles and DNA/Taylor Tieden for BioSpace Xaira Therapeutics launched April 23 with $1 billion behind it to apply artificial intelligence to drug discovery and development. It was the largest initial commitment from backer ARCH Venture Partners in the biotech-focused fund’s nearly 40-year history, highlighting the flood of interest and investment in harnessing the power and potential of generative AI to advance the biopharma industry.
Generative AI Finds Its Footing in Drug Development
Xaira Therapeutics launched April 23 with $1 billion behind it to apply artificial intelligence to drug discovery and development. It was the largest initial commitment from backer ARCH Venture Partners in the biotech-focused fund’s nearly 40-year history, highlighting the flood of interest and investment in harnessing the power and potential of generative AI to advance the biopharma industry.
Drug Companies, VCs Rethink R&D Strategies as IRA Stands Strong in Court
Pictured: Collage of the U.S. Capitol, pills, money and justice statue/Taylor Tieden for BioSpace Big Pharma took another hit in court Monday as a federal judge in New Jersey threw out challenges by Johnson & Johnson and Bristol Myers Squibb to the drug price negotiations outlined in the Inflation Reduction Act.
Robert Hariri: Developing Cost-Effective Cell Therapies From Placentas
Robert Hariri/Celularity photo Iovance Biotherapeutics priced its recently approved Amtagvi, the first-ever cell therapy of its type, at $515,000. Bristol Myers Squibb’s CAR-T treatment Breyanzi, which received FDA approval for two additional indications in March, carries a list price of about $487,000.
J&J, BMS Lose Challenges to Medicare Drug Price Negotiation Program
Pictured: Judicial gavel and scales of justice/Courtesy iStock A federal judge in New Jersey on Monday ruled that the drug price negotiations outlined in the Inflation Reduction Act is constitutional, rejecting the arguments put forth by Johnson & Johnson and Bristol Myers Squibb, multiple news outlets reported late Monday. This is the latest decision in an ongoing legal battle between Big Pharma and the government over the IRA—a battle that continues to go poorly for the biopharma industry.
Tessera Cuts Dozens of Jobs Following Positive Preclinical Results
Pictured: Illustration depicting large layoffs/iStock, Andrii Yalanskyi Despite positive results in preclinical studies, Tessera Therapeutics is cutting staff as it tries to move its therapeutic candidates to clinical stage. The Somerville, Mass.–based company confirmed to BioSpace that it is reducing its workforce by 13%–14%, or fewer than 50 workers.
BMS Initiates First Round of Layoffs in New Jersey Original
Pictured: Three flags with BMS logo/Jeremy Moeller/Getty Images Bristol Myers Squibb has resumed dismissing employees as part of an ongoing workforce reduction of about 10%. A WARN notice filed in March in New Jersey indicated that 75 people would lose their jobs in Lawrenceville between now and early December. The first wave of cuts was scheduled to take place Monday, and several posters on a Reddit thread suggested that people were in fact let go this week.
BMS-Cellares CAR-T Pact Highlights U.S.-China Biopharma Tensions
Pictured: U.S. and Chinese flags in concrete, broken in the middle/iStock, ffikretow This week’s $380 million collaboration between Bristol Myers Squibb and contract drug manufacturing organization Cellares is ostensibly about securing capacity for producing CAR T cell therapies, but it also has strong geopolitical overtones.
Top Q1 Series A Investments Highlight VC Rebound in Biopharma
Pictured: Hands exchanging money for medical science objects/Taylor Tieden for BioSpace Things are starting to look up for venture capital investment in biopharmaceuticals in the early part of 2024 following a post-pandemic slump. Following a 19% year-on-year decline in overall deal value in Q4 2023, Q1 saw four Series A rounds worth at least $150 million.
Arvinas Strikes Deals With Pfizer, Novartis to Compete in Protein Degrader Space
Pictured: Abstract collage of money, pills, prostate cancer cells and signing a contract/Taylor Tieden for BioSpace When Arvinas agreed to license an oral targeted protein degrader for prostate cancer to Novartis last week, it represented a change in direction for the New Haven, Conn.–based biopharma firm.
C-Suite Shuffle: Bayer Continues Leadership Shakeup with Hires at Subsidiaries
Pictured: Shell game with business executives/Nicole Bean for BioSpace Welcome to the latest update about people coming and going from executive positions at biopharma companies covered by BioSpace or who have been personally named in lawsuits. Bayer continued its leadership shuffle not only at its world headquarters in Germany but at two U.S.–based subsidiaries. Yet most of the executive movement of late has been at smaller companies.
7 Billion-Dollar Oncology M&As from Q1
Pictured: Abstract handshake/Taylor Tieden for BioSpace With the post-pandemic slump firmly in the rearview mirror, merger and acquisition activity in the biopharma sector continued to rebound in the early part of 2024. In addition to dominating early-stage investments of late, oncology was the most active therapeutic area for M&As in the first quarter.
Birth Control Market Evolves as OTC Opill Hits US Stores
Pictured: Pharmacist giving over-the-counter birth control pills/Taylor Tieden for BioSpace The market for oral contraception is being turned upside-down as Perrigo has begun shipping Opill to thousands of retail stores nationwide, to be sold as the first over-the-counter birth control pill in the U.S. The FDA approved Opill July 2023 as an OTC birth control option for patients 18 and older.
AstraZeneca, BMS, Pfizer Among Big Pharma to Present at Inaugural AACR Event
Pictured: Professionals standing around a conference room networking/iStock, Caiaimage/Martin Barraud While American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) membership has historically been dominated by academics, the organization is making an effort to engage with the biopharma industry.
Chinese ADC Investment Boom in Question With China-U.S. R&D Relations in Flux
Pictured: Abstract collage of Statue of Liberty, temple and pills/Taylor Tieden for BioSpace The future of Western cooperation in antibody-drug conjugate R&D in China is up in the air after a tumultuous first quarter that saw a very public separation between a key industry group and a major Chinese biotech company. Meanwhile, U.S. legislation that would bar federal funding from supporting “foreign adversary” biotech firms is advancing in Congress.
Flush With New $150M Investment, Avenzo Pursues Licensing Strategy
Pictured: Photo illustration featuring Avenzo Therapeutics CEO Athena Countouriotis/ Nicole Bean for BioSpace Having completed an oversubscribed $150 million Series A-1 funding round, Avenzo Therapeutics is looking to add at least one new cancer-focused asset in the next year, CEO Athena Countouriotis told BioSpace. The company will not be conducting in-house drug discovery, but rather licensing clinical-stage or near-clinical-stage compounds from other companies.
C-Suite Shuffle: Lonza Hires New CEO
Pictured: Shell game with business executives/Nicole Bean for BioSpace Welcome to the latest update about people coming and going from executive positions at biopharma companies that BioSpace covers, or who have been personally named in lawsuits. Lonza headlines this installment by luring a new CEO from another Swiss CDMO just days after the company made a splash by committing $1.2 billion to buy a massive biologics manufacturing facility in California.
C-Suite Shuffle: A2 Bio, Bayer, BioNTech and More
Pictured: Shell game with business executives/Nicole Bean for BioSpace Welcome to the latest update about people coming and going from executive positions at biopharma companies covered by BioSpace or who have been personally named in lawsuits. Since our last installment two weeks ago, Bayer has really shaken up its C-suite, cutting its senior executive team by nearly half as part of a previously announced operating overhaul.
C-Suite Shuffle: Sumitomo, Kineta, IDRx and More
Pictured: A red illustration of a businessman walking through a door/iStock, lerbank Welcome to the second in a regular series of rundowns of people coming and going from executive positions at biopharma companies that BioSpace covers. This column will highlight the hired, fired, retired, promoted or resigning, as well as those personally named in lawsuits. While there were no blockbuster moves in the last two weeks on the scale of the Feb.
Alabama Ruling, Political Blowback Rattle In Vitro Fertilization Market
Pictured: IVF collage/Nicole Bean for BioSpace The world of in vitro fertilization was turned upside-down a month ago when the all-Republican Alabama Supreme Court ruled that frozen embryos could be considered “extrauterine children” under state law, making anyone caught destroying them legally liable.
Innovent Biologics Closes ADC-Focused Maryland Site, Lays Off Researchers
Pictured: a collage depicting a secret layoff/ Nicole Bean for BioSpace Innovent Biologics has eliminated its entire research team at its U.S. headquarters and wet lab in Rockville, Md., and will close the facility in the near future, BioSpace has learned. Several former employees posted on LinkedIn about the layoffs, which took place near the end of February. The site closure has not yet been completed.
$4.9B Vertex-Alpine Deal Highlights Continued 2024 M&A Upswing
Pictured: A collage of biopharma M&A/ Nicole Bean for BioSpace After a slow 2022 and early part of 2023, the pace of mergers and acquisitions in the pharmaceutical and biotech sectors has accelerated since the middle of last year, highlighted by Pfizer’s $43 billion takeover of Seagen.
AstraZeneca Loses Court Challenge to Inflation Reduction Act
Pictured: AstraZeneca office building/iStock, Sundry Photography A federal court in Delaware ruled Friday against AstraZeneca’s challenge to the Medicare drug price negotiation provisions of the Inflation Reduction Act, according to multiple reports. U.S. District Judge Colm Connolly determined that AstraZeneca had “no legitimate claim of entitlement to sell its drugs to the Government at any price other than what the Government is willing to pay,” according to Endpoints News.
C-Suite Shuffle: ReNAgade, Adaptimmune, Vittoria and More
Pictured: A red illustration of a businessman walking through a door/iStock, lerbank Welcome to the first in a regular series of rundowns of people coming and going from the executive positions in the biopharma companies that BioSpace covers. This column will highlight the hired, fired, retired, promoted or resigning, and even those personally named in lawsuits.
10 Multibillion-Dollar M&As That Closed Since July 2023
Pictured: Handshake in front of raining money / Taylor Tieden for BioSpace The slow pace of mergers and acquisitions in 2022 continued into 2023 but has since picked up steam, highlighted by a frenzy of big-dollar M&A announcements and the closing of Pfizer’s $43 billion purchase of Seagen, the largest pharmaceutical or biotech M&A agreement in three years. As M&A activity accelerates in early 2024, BioSpace looks back over the biggest deals in the biopharma sector over the past eight months.
AstraZeneca Case Leads Off Busy Year of Challenges to Medicare Drug Pricing Law
Pictured: Statue of Justice over collaged background/Taylor Tieden for BioSpace A federal court in Delaware heard arguments Wednesday in a key lawsuit challenging Medicare drug-negotiation provisions of the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA). Reports from inside the courtroom suggested that the judge was skeptical of the arguments raised by plaintiff AstraZeneca, though experts told BioSpace this is just an early step in what could be a protracted series of legal battles.
PhRMA, BIO Push Back Against Rare String of Setbacks
Pictured: Illustration of office workers holding their belongings and going out the exit/iStock, nadia_bormotova The Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA) and the Biotechnology Innovation Organization (BIO) entered 2024 a little battered, having lost multiple high-profile members and top executives over the past 18 months, not to mention enduring a political battle exemplified by the passage of the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA).
Tips to manage safe pixel tracking
Online tracking tools such as pixels are moving to the forefront of the debate about healthcare policy. The American Hospital Association and several allies in Texas last monthsued the U.S. Health and Human Services Office for Civil Rights seeking to block enforcement of aDecember 2022 guidance that limits use of pixels on websites and mobile apps by HIPAA-covered entities and business associates.
AHA files suit against against HHS over online tracking rules Original
The American Hospital Association and allies in Texas have sued the U.S. Health and Human Services Office for Civil Rights seeking to block enforcement of a HIPAA guidance regarding online tracking technologies for customer relationship management.
Qlucore Moves Closer to IVDR Certification of Dx Software for Leukemia Testing
NEW YORK – Swedish bioinformatics technology developer Qlucore is working toward securing European Union In Vitro Diagnostics Regulation (IVDR) certification for its diagnostics software for acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) testing, targeting February 2025. This will be followed by tests for other cancer types the firm will seek regulatory approval for.
With Tempus Test Integration, CureMD Wants Genomics to Inform Oncology Clinical Decision Support Original
NEW YORK – When CureMD Healthcare announced a partnership with Tempus last week to integrate cancer genomic test workflows into its electronic health records system, it marked a new focus on genomics for the maker of EHRs and other IT for specialty medical practices. "As genomics becomes increasingly prevalent … we knew that expanding our reach in this area was of critical importance," said Ben Reynolds, CureMD's assistant VP of sales for oncology.
Rapid Sequencing Yields High Newborn Epilepsy Diagnostic Rates in Gene-STEPS Study
NEW YORK – Early results from a multinational genomic study of infantile epilepsy found that rapid whole-genome sequencing (WGS) improved diagnostic yield over more common methods, giving hope to those wishing whole-genome testing would become a standard of care for diagnosing and developing treatment plans for genetic disorders in newborns.
GeneDx Q2 Revenues Increase 35 Percent, Boosted by Growth in Exome, Genome Tests
NEW YORK – GeneDx said Tuesday after market close that its first quarter revenues grew nearly 35 percent to $48.7 million from $36.2 million a year ago, boosted by growth in whole-exome and genome sequencing testing revenue. The total beat the Wall Street consensus estimate of $47.6 million. More than 96 percent of revenues in the three months ended June 30 came from diagnostic testing, with the balance attributed to the legacy Sema4 informatics business.
Myriad Genetics to Settle Shareholder Lawsuit for $77.5M; Q2 Revenues Grow 2 Percent
NEW YORK – Myriad Genetics said Thursday after market close that it has agreed to pay $77.5 million to settle a longstanding class-action shareholder lawsuit. The total will include at least $20 million in cash, with as much as $57.5 million payable in company stock. Filed in 2018, the suit alleged that Myriad failed to disclose how it billed Medicare and Medicaid for its MyRisk Hereditary Cancer test.
Maryland Community Health System Expands PGx Testing to All Employees Original
NEW YORK – Frederick Health is rare among community health systems in its pursuit of universal pharmacogenomics. The Frederick, Maryland-based organization hasn't reached its goal yet but is trying to set an example by providing pharmacogenetic testing for all of its employees for no out-of-pocket cost, as well as for many commercially insured patients in specific programs.
With $50M Investment in MOSAIC Project, Owkin Seeks to Become Cancer 'Drug Discovery Enterprise' Original
NEW YORK – A newly launched research project aims to build the world's largest database of spatial omics data in hopes of advancing cancer biomarker and drug discovery through bioinformatic analysis. Lead sponsor Owkin also sees it as a means to position itself as a "drug discovery enterprise" rather than a diagnostics-focused company, according to Joseph Léhar, the firm's senior VP of R&D strategy.
SomaLogic Q1 Revenues Fall 11 Percent but Beat Wall Street Consensus
NEW YORK – SomaLogic said Thursday after market close that its first quarter revenues fell by 11 percent to $20.4 million from $23.0 million in the same period a year earlier. The total still beat the consensus Wall Street estimate of $18.0 million. Assay services revenues were $18.4 million, down from $18.8 million a year ago, while product revenues rose to $1.2 million from $453,000 a year ago.
GeneDx Q1 Revenues Fall 20 Percent but Beat Consensus Estimate
NEW YORK – GeneDx said Tuesday after market close that its first quarter revenues fell 20 percent to $43.1 million from $53.9 million a year ago but easily outstripped the Wall Street consensus estimate of $38.0 million. Almost all revenues in the three months ended March 31 came from diagnostic testing. GeneDx performed 52.8 million tests in the quarter, excluding COVID-19 tests, 28 percent more than the 41.1 million tests it conducted a year earlier when calculated on a pro forma basis.
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