Chris Spivey is director of Industry Relations and Strategic Partnership, MJH Life Sciences.

Chris Spivey

In Episode 31, industry veteran Deborah Dunsire goes behind the headlines to discuss the current state of innovation and evolving drug development landscape.

Behind the Headlines Episode 31: Optimism, Opportunity, Optimization of COGs & Organizational Streamlining

Behind the Headlines examines the ongoing trends, factors, and fashions that cause pharmaceutical news to happen. Panelists are a mix of consultants, venture capitalists, scientists, patient advocates, journalists, and editors. Each episode dissects the current headlines of the preceding weeks that are on everyone’s lips but seeks to highlight the more enduring lessons that hide behind these headlines.

In Episode 31, industry veteran Deborah Dunsire discusses the current state of medical innovation and the evolving landscape of drug development. Dunsire, a physician originally from Southern Africa, possesses over 35 years of experience in the pharmaceutical sector. Throughout her distinguished career, she has served as the CEO of several prominent firms, including Millennium and Lundbeck Pharmaceuticals, and currently lends her expertise to corporate boards at Blackstone Life Sciences and other public institutions.

Dunsire characterizes the present as a "golden era of the biological sciences," in which the industry has successfully transitioned from broad treatments to highly targeted therapies. She highlights the transformative nature of GLP-1s and the promise of future technologies like AI and quantum computing to streamline drug discovery. Reflecting on the core mission of her field, Dunsire explains, "Making science into medicine—that's really what the pharmaceutical industry does."

The conversation explores the balance between rapid scientific advancement and the growing skepticism of the general public. Dunsire emphasizes the importance of clear, fact-based communication to rebuild trust, particularly as life-saving technologies like mRNA and CAR-T therapies continue to evolve. Looking forward, she expresses optimism about the 2026 investment landscape and a more efficient regulatory framework under the FDA. Regarding future breakthroughs, she advocates for increased resources in neuroscience and chronic kidney disease, areas with significant unmet demographic needs.

Finally, Dunsire underscores the necessity of maintaining a robust talent pipeline by engaging young people in STEM from an early age. As she notes, "Without the people, those technologies don't come into being." This episode provides a comprehensive look at how leadership, investment, and scientific brilliance converge to shape the future of global health.

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In Episode 30, John Androsavich, Benjamin Fryer, and John Wilkerson go behind the headlines.

Behind the Headlines Episode 30: 2026 Wish List

In Episode 30, John Androsavich, general manager, Ginkgo Datapoints, Ginkgo Bioworks, Inc.; Benjamin Fryer, CEO and co-founder, Pluristyx, Inc; and John Wilkerson, Washington Correspondent, STAT News, look ahead at the pivotal developments impacting pharmaceutical investment and drug discovery, alongside political vicissitudes and geopolitics in 2026.

Androsavich is enthusiastic about seeing tangible projects for which AI advanced pharmaceuticals, pointing to the progress that Eli Lily’s Tune Labs had already forged (1), helping to train AI models and moving the right data forward to the center of attention. He also points to the shift for Google DeepMind’s Isomorphic Labs, to create their own wet lab facilities (2).

All panelists were looking for more regulatory certainty amid a changing leadership roster with a backdrop of rising complexity for the therapies being manufactured.

A lion’s share of time was used to examine not what was wished for, but mitigated against, vis-a-vis mid-term politics, the budget reconciliation process specter, and spiraling health insurance costs. Medicare part B, the reimbursement system for physicians, was also viewed as a potentially problematic feature for 2026.

Ending on a note of optimism, investor sentiment for the sector has begun a strong rebound, with much to look forward to next year. This was somewhat confirmed through news the following days for biotech journalist Kyle LaHucik, who 

 that “The biotech industry just had its best day ever for follow-on offerings, further buoying sentiment headed into the holidays. Leerink Partners' Jack Bannister confirmed to Endpoints News that the $3.2 billion in stock sales was a record-setter for a 24-hour stretch. Seven of the eight offerings were upsized. Kymera, Structure, Terns, Wave Life Sciences, Dyne and Fulcrum raised the money after data readouts. Vera raised money after submitting a BLA for IgA nephropathy last month. Denali also reeled in capital as it awaits an FDA approval decision, expected next April, for its drug candidate in Hunter syndrome” (3).

Scaling Bio 005: Eli Lilly's Aliza Apple on Building Collaborative AI Infrastructure for Drug Discovery

AI at the Speed of Enterprise R&D: Isomorphic Labs and the Future of Drug Discovery

Investors Buy Up Stocks in Biggest Follow-on Offering Day in Biotech History

In Episode 29, John Androsavich, Benjamin Fryer and John Wilkerson go behind the headlines.

Behind the Headlines Episode 29: 2025 Year in Review

In Episode 29, John Androsavich, general manager, Ginkgo Datapoints, Ginkgo Bioworks, Inc.; Benjamin Fryer, CEO and co-founder, Pluristyx, Inc; and John Wilkerson, Washington Correspondent, STAT News, look back at the pivotal developments impacting pharmaceutical investment and drug discovery, manufacturing twists and turns, and political vicissitudes and geopolitics. On balance, vaccines managed ultimately to de-throne weight loss GLP-1's as the watercooler must-share storyline.

The panel also covered the year’s largest acquisitions, especially AbbVie & Capstan Therapeutics (1), alongside 

Johnson & Johnson and Intra-Cellular Therapies

GSK licensing exclusive rights to a PDE3/4 inhibitor (HRS-9821) for COPD treatment from Jiangsu Hengrui

 for ~$12 billion for RNA-based therapies for rare neuromuscular diseases (4), which continued a run of good news in the CNS space; 

Bristol Myers Squibb licensing bispecific antibody BNT-327 for solid tumors in oncology from BioNTech

 for more than $11 Billion (5), which itself merged with CureVac, ending patent litigation and creating a consolidated powerhouse for mRNA in Germany; in an effort to bolster their respiratory portfolio, 

Merck acquiring Verona pharma for $10 billion to own Ohtuvayre

 (6), an FDA-approved COPD treatment, in the same way 

—just yesterday, Pfizer moved to expand its small-molecule obesity pipeline with a $150 million upfront deal for YaoPharma’s oral GLP-1 agonist (7)—for the same amount to backfill their gap in the weight loss market with a GLP-1 and amylin obesity drug candidates (8); and Sanofi buying Blueprint Medicines for $9.5 billion for rare disease and oncology assets, including the approved drug Ayvakit (9).

Much of the conversation, however, centered around the Trump administration’s attitudes to vaccines generally, and mRNA in particular, alongside the US Department of Health and Human Services funding Rollercoaster, especially for basic academic research.

The conversation also celebrated pivotal proofs of concepts, like the breakthrough CRISPR therapy for baby KJ Muldoon (10) and, most recently, success in restoring a healthy copy of SLC6A1, to restore normal GABA function, for the 8-year-old Maxwell Freed (11).

AbbVie to Acquire Capstan Therapeutics, Further Strengthening Commitment to Transforming Patient Care in Immunology

Johnson & Johnson Closes Landmark Intra-Cellular Therapies, Inc. Acquisition to Solidify Neuroscience Leadership

GSK and Hengrui Pharma Enter Agreements to Develop Up to 12 Innovative Medicines Across Respiratory, Immunology & Inflammation and Oncology

Novartis agrees to acquire Avidity Biosciences, an innovator in RNA therapeutics, strengthening its late-stage neuroscience pipeline, Company Press release, Oct 26, 2025, 

https://www.novartis.com/news/media-releases/novartis-agrees-acquire-avidity-biosciences-innovator-rna-therapeutics-strengthening-its-late-stage-neuroscience-pipeline

BioNTech Commences Public Exchange Offer for All Outstanding Shares of CureVac N.V.

Merck Completes Acquisition of Verona Pharma

Pfizer Enters into Exclusive Collaboration and License Agreement with YaoPharma

Sanofi Completes Acquisition of Blueprint Medicines

World's First Patient Treated with Personalized CRISPR Gene Editing Therapy at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia

8-Year-Old Has Disease So Rare It Doesn’t Have a Name. Now He’s First in the World to Receive Treatment

In Episode 29, John Androsavich, Benjamin Fryer and John Wilkerson go behind the top headlines from 2025.

In Episode 28, Miroslav Gasparek, Lizzy Lawrence, and Joe Lewis go behind the headlines.

Behind the Headlines Episode 28: Navigating FDA Shakeups and Obesity Drug Wars

Behind the Headlines bi-weekly episodes examine the ongoing trends, factors and fashions that cause pharmaceutical news to happen. Panelists are a mix of consultants, venture capitalists, scientists, patient advocates, journalists, and editors. Each episode talks about the current headlines of the preceding weeks that are on everyone’s lips but seeks to highlight the more enduring lessons that hide behind these headlines.

In Episode 28, Miroslav Gasparek, CEO and co-founder, Sensible Biotechnologies; Lizzy Lawrence, FDA reporter, STAT; and Joe Lewis, managing director, Deloitte Consulting, focus on an accelerating loss of expertise at FDA’s vaccine center. While 

, the organizational structure is fractious at best (some say unstable), as 

, officially as “resigned,” along with many others. This creates “uncertainty on top of uncertainty,” one of our panelists exclaimed. It is a highly charged moment for the organization but also for all industry stakeholders, including patients.

The same day as recording, as if to emphasize this point, the seemingly certain approval of UniQure’s Huntington disease (HD) candidate AMT-130 suddenly seems unlikely (1). UniQure described the feedback as a "key shift from prior communications," and said the timing of its plan to ask for approval of AMT-130 now looks bleak. Leerink Partners analyst Joseph Schwartz said the news is a "confusing" and "unexpected" twist (2). "QURE has been thoroughly aligned with the FDA over the past year, has breakthrough therapy designation and the data update QURE presented in September was very strong," he said in a note. So, while patients look likely to wait longer for improved therapies, the upshot for Uniqure is a plummeting share price, dropping nearly 50% at close of the stock market day. The HD community has been enthusiastically hopeful about what AMT-130 could mean for HD treatment, with key HD opinion leaders calling these results 'game-changing,'" Schwartz said. "So we expect there could be a rallying effort on that front to support QURE in the coming weeks."

As a discussion point, the panel noted a LinkedIn post from Amedo Vetere, senior group leader, Arena BioWorks, that reads “the obesity wars are getting spicy” (3). Pfizer isn’t just suing Novo Nordisk, they’re going after Metsera too. Breach of contract. Fiduciary duty. Interference. All because Metsera said “thanks, but no thanks” to Pfizer’s $7B and leaned toward Novo’s $9B counteroffer… The science is hot. The business is cutthroat. And in this arena, who gets to treat obesity may depend less on biology…and more on who survives the merger. All the while, Eli Lily raises guidance to $65Billion, on the back of a stronger-than-expected US revenue increase of 45% “driven by Zepbound and Mounjaro, despite a 15% price decline due to a one-time adjustment in Q3 2024. European revenue increased by over 100% in constant currency, bolstered by Mounjaro uptake and a $380 million milestone benefit (4). Revenue for Japan, China, and Rest of World grew 24%, 22%, and 51% respectively, with Mounjaro volume as the primary driver.”

UniQure Plummets 49% On A 'Confusing' And 'Unexpected' Twist For Its Gene Therapy

UniQure’s FDA submission for its Huntington’s disease therapy thrown into question

Lilly Raises 2025 Revenue Guidance to $63–$63.5B with 54% Q3 Growth and Major Pipeline Advances

In Episode 28, Miroslav Gasparek, Sensible; Lizzy Lawrence, STAT; and Joe Lewis, Deloitte, go behind the headlines.

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In episode 27, Christopher Hopkins, PhD; Omkar Kawalekar, PhD; Barnaby Pickering; and Jerry Rosenbaum, MD, go behind the headlines.

Behind the Headlines Episode 27: Unpacking Mega Deals and R&D Directions

Behind the Headlines bi-weekly episodes examine the ongoing trends, factors, and fashions that cause pharmaceutical news to happen. Panelists are a mix of consultants, venture capitalists, scientists, patient advocates, journalists, and editors. Each episode talks about the current headlines of the preceding weeks that are on everyone’s lips but seeks to highlight the more enduring lessons that hide behind these headlines.

, director, Center for the Neuroscience of Psychedelics, Massachusetts General Hospital, and co-founder, Psy Therapeutics and Entheos Labs—take a 30,000 foot look at multiple recent multi-billion dollar deals. On October 15, 2025, J.P. Morgan released its Q3 2025 report showing biopharma licensing valued at $63.7 billion, while M&A transactions reached $30.8 billion (1).

Our panel singled out Novo Nordisk buying Akero Therapeutics for up to $5.2B (2), AstraZeneca’s construction of a $4.5B API plant in Virginia (3), the Bristol Myers Squib (BMS) $5B Orbital buyout that extended the 

 cell therapy deal streak (including late-breaking news from Kite Pharma, a part of Gilead, partnering with Chinese company Pregene in a deal worth up to $1.2B) (4). Of note, the orbital acquisition provides BMS an experimental autoimmune disease treatment that could begin clinical testing in 2026.

All this, however, while both Novo and Takeda withdrawal from cell therapy R&D, despite myriad news like Regeneron’s gene therapy restores hearing in children with OTOF genetic hearing loss (5). Behind these headlines, the panel discusses to what direction all this activity leads.

Of particular note, we examine progress in central nervous system therapies, especially the chief opportunities and challenges of psychedelics, as anchored by the 50-year informed perspective of Dr. Rosenbaum. The panel also covered the relative strengths of several life science clusters, especially in Northern Europe.

Biopharma, Medtech Activity Diverges in Q3 2025

Akero Therapeutics to be Acquired by Novo Nordisk for up to $5.2 Billion

AstraZeneca Breaks Ground at $4.5 Billion Virginia Plant as Drugmakers Court Trump

Gilead's Kite Signs $1.64B In Vivo Cell Therapy Pact With Pregene Biopharma

Latest DB-OTO Results Demonstrate Clinically Meaningful Hearing Improvements in Nearly All Children with Profound Genetic Hearing Loss in CHORD Trial

Pfizer re-balances weight loss portfolio with Metsera, Bristol Myers Squibb and Roche make Breast cancer progress, and Keytruda gets under your skin.

Behind the Headlines Episode 26: Clinical Advances, Weight-Loss Deals, and Swiss Startup Strength

Behind the Headlines bi-weekly episodes examine the ongoing trends, factors and fashions that cause pharmaceutical news to happen. Panelists are a mix of consultants, venture capitalists, scientists, patient advocates, journalists and editors. Each episode talks about the current headlines of the preceding weeks that are on everyone’s lips but seeks to highlight the more enduring lessons that hide behind these headlines.

In Episode 26, Sirpa Tsimal, Global Marketing Director, Switzerland Global Enterprise; Philip Just Larsen, MD, PhD, CEO, Six Peaks Bio; and Stephan Emmerth, Director of Business Development & Operations, BaseLaunch, take a close look at recent clinical trial progress, including Bristol Myers Squibb’s successful phase 3 results for relapsed refractory multiple myeloma (1) and Roche’s evERA study on advanced breast cancer (2), alongside Eli Lilly and Company's oral treatment for ESR1-mutated breast cancer (3) and Merck 's FDA approval for subcutaneous keytruda delivery (4).

Because of its very clear importance to Scandinavian countries, this all Swiss-based panel also examined the reasons behind Pfizer’s Metsera acquisition for $4.9Billion (5), a key move to re-shape the weight loss drug landscape, once again.

The panel also discussed what makes for a great set of accelerator business conditions for life sciences and scores Switzerland’s performance for several of the most important factors determining successful outcomes for the life science industry, most especially as they relate to innovative young companies, as well as the university systems that feed them, alongside the big pharma companies that help sustain the momentum being built.

Bristol Myers Squibb Announces Phase 3 EXCALIBER-RRMM Study Evaluating Iberdomide in Combination with Standard Therapies Demonstrated a Significant Improvement in Minimal Residual Disease Negativity Rates in Relapsed or Refractory Multiple Myeloma

Positive Phase III Results Show Roche’s Giredestrant Significantly Improved Progression-free Survival in ER-positive Advanced Breast Cancer

U.S. FDA Approves Inluriyo (Imlunestrant) for Adults with ER+, HER2-, ESR1-mutated Advanced or Metastatic Breast Cancer

FDA Approves Pembrolizumab and Berahyaluronidase Alfa-pmph for Subcutaneous Injection

Pfizer to Acquire Metsera and its Next-Generation Obesity Portfolio. Press Release

Pfizer re-balances weight loss portfolio with Metsera, Bristol Myers Squibb and Roche make breast cancer progress, and Keytruda gets under your skin.

Chris Spivey

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