ASCO
Milestone Monday: A Win in China. A Shift in England. A Gap Nobody Named.
Three ASCO readouts, three announcements that claimed more than the data supported — and one question the conference floor has been too busy to ask.
Latest
AI
The Long View: Against the Specialists
Anthropic paid $400 million for an eight-month-old stealth biotech and opened a wet lab. The argument: one generalist model, trained heavily on biology, can do more for drug discovery than every specialist tool in the stack.
Therapeutic
Therapeutic Thursday: The Field Is Sorting Itself. Watch Who Is Leaving and Why.
Cell and gene therapy has its first commercial products, its first profitable company, and its first wave of strategic exits. The exits are as informative as the deals.
Regulatory
Watchdog Wednesday: The EU’s Modular Exclusivity Era Has Arrived
The EU pharma reform package has a 2028 implementation date. That is not a reason to wait.
Tuesday
Trial Tuesday: China's ASCO Moment
For the first time in ASCO's history, China-only data occupies the plenary slot. A hazard ratio of 0.40 in pancreatic cancer. And Lilly moving the obesity ceiling above bariatric surgery. Chicago has a lot to answer for this week.
Obesity
The Long View: When the Drug Escapes the Label
A drug that has already escaped the market meant to contain it. Two companies building for a future that hasn't arrived yet. This week's long view runs from a Phase III obesity readout all the way to the future of genetic medicine.
Therapeutic
Therapeutic Thursday: The ADC Gold Rush Has a Crowding Problem
The clinical logic is sound, the deal volume is real, and the differentiation question is getting harder to ignore.
Regulatory
Watchdog Wednesday: The FDA's New Front Door Is Not Where You Think
Meetings often get a bad rap around the office water cooler or in popular media, be it through Jack Donaghy’s “Four Chairs. Four!” line in 30 Rock or the anti-committee sentiments expressed by heroines in the Star Wars franchise. But meetings are also often the best way for organizations
Trial
Trial Tuesday: The data almost cooperated. Almost.
Here is a thought experiment: where would we be if the FDA and other regulators did not allow trial flexibility? Keytruda, still the world's best-selling drug, got its initial US approval on a surrogate endpoint. Without that flexibility, it reaches the market at least a year later, and
Monday
DND. Milestone Monday. The Noise Stops Here.
Week ahead: catalysts to watch 01 FDA leadership Agency calendar is light. The leadership question is not. Any movement on senior CDER appointments or the Commissioner's office affects review timelines and advisory committee scheduling for the rest of 2026. Ongoing 02 ASCO 2025: Chicago, May 30 to June