Bayer's novel 2016 joint venture with the venture capital group Versant Ventures has spawned something like a big pharma, new science start-up, with an open mandate to disrupt drug development through generous endowments in the scarce commodities of freedom, time and patience.

Casebia Therapeutics, a three-year old start-up in the hotly contested gene therapy space, is the product of a remarkably relaxed joint venture between the German multinational giant Bayer and CRISPR Therapeutics, a leader in conducting the first clinical trial involving the CRISPR-Cas9 editing platform. 

As Bayer prepares for several of its key products to lose patent exclusivity in four to five years’ time, In Vivo caught up with the company’s new head of pharma, Stefan Oelrich, to hear more on his strategy for the future – especially his plans for drug R&D, collaboration and a pipeline built on external innovation.

Neuroscience data specialist IXICO has broad ambitions to partner with pharmas large and small, helping them develop better-targeted clinical trials using imaging and digital biomarker data. A business review in late 2017 by CEO Giulio Cerroni refined the company’s value proposition, while keeping the headline elements in place: scale the business and diversify within neuroscience.

ImmunoGen CEO Mark Enyedy, a leading proponent of targeted ADC oncologics, explains to In Vivo how high risk – and dogged resilience – are central features of a challenging innovative landscape in cancer today. Despite some recent setbacks on the road to commercialization, science will continue to transform, bolstered by the industry's financial commitments; revolutionary new data sources, validated by patient-centered outcomes; and that persistent human intangible called hope. 

Aduro Biotech announced a “strategic reset” in January 2019 that will see the Californian company center around two core pipeline programs, cut its headcount and focus on pharma partnerships. Stephen Isaacs, chair, president and CEO of the company, speaks to In Vivo about his vision for Aduro as the 2020s approach, and the challenges a smaller biotech faces when balancing multiple big pharma agreements.

Ascensia is pushing back the borders of diabetes control, using its legacy BGM technology as a business platform to move into CGM en route to becoming a one-stop-shop for diabetes management solutions. A significant step toward these goals was taken in January, when the Swiss group completed a key China deal with a local CGM innovator, as chief marketing and strategy officer Martin Lange explained to In Vivo.

Industry executives, consultants and analysts speculate on what they believe the big themes, trends and events will be this year.

The health care world once viewed barriers to access in terms of reimbursement and legislation. While these are still prevalent in the conversation, there is a greater focus on nuanced barriers – such as how treatments impact quality of life, convenience for patients, route of administration and side effects.

Cell and gene therapy represent a transformative advance in drug delivery and outcomes, with implications equally as important to human progress as the digital revolution that began three decades ago.In Vivo speaks with a key player in this evolving field, GE Healthcare’s strategy manager for cell and gene therapy and board member of the Alliance for Regenerative Medicine, Phil Vanek, PhD.

In 1988 Len Schleifer took a talented scientist, George Yancopoulos, out to dinner to persuade the immunologist to join his newly formed company. Thirty years, six drug approvals and many arguments later, pharma’s most famous friendship is now looking to change the way allergies are treated.

If strategic planning is a necessary hedge against the drawn-out, asset-draining product cycles of today’s big pharma enterprise, then what is the secret of doing it well? In Vivo looks for answers in a conversation with Novartis strategy lead Stephen Moran.

In an exclusive interview, Seth Lederman, CEO of New York-based Tonix Pharmaceuticals, talks about the company’s R&D rollercoaster ride and how it plans to keep its lead asset on track for approval as a treatment for post-traumatic stress disorder. 

Healios, a Japanese regenerative medicine bioventure, expects to continue benefiting from a supportive regulatory environment in Japan as it progresses three clinical assets toward approval in the next few years, says CEO Dr. Hardy Kagimoto in an exclusive interview.

Gene therapy’s promise depends on the ecosystem now being built to deliver real product to patients – safely and at quantities that match the soaring expectations fed by the curative potential of the science. To assess the state of play, In Vivo talks to the man who leads the team responsible for bringing forward the first US-approved gene therapy to treat an incurable, inherited genetic condition: John Furey, chief operating officer of Spark Therapeutics.