Aakash Babu

Aakash has covered the pharma sector since 2018, writing on everything from clinical trial successes to industry setbacks that offer lessons for those who follow. He enjoys travelling, supports Manchester United, and is an avid gamer.

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A medical doctor putting a plaster on a patient's arm following a vaccine administration

Therapeutic Thursday: The Good, The Bad And The Ugly

Aug 13, 2026 Aakash Babu 5 min read members

Scrabble tiles spelling SPEND arranged on a scattered pile of US dollar bills, mostly $20 notes.

Therapeutic Thursday: Plasters, Stitches And A $57bn War Chest

Novo Nordisk absorbs two trial failures and signals bolt-on deals, while Eli Lilly counts 31 transactions in seven months this year as it plays offense without the pressure of having to “buy revenue”.

Aug 6, 2026 Aakash Babu 6 min read members

A pile of money sitting on top of a table.

Therapeutic Thursday: GSK Bets Big, And Europe's Pricing Problem Gets A Face

An ADC with ambitions across five tumor types. A £1.9bn cost cut to fund a pipeline push. And a breast cancer drug caught between a stalled FDA review and a European pricing standoff.

Jul 30, 2026 Aakash Babu 5 min read members

Overhead shot of a sunlit beach, turquoise water breaking onto white sand dotted with a few red and teal umbrellas, evoking a heatwave week.

The Long View: Europe Sends A Warning, Japan Sends A Number

Two would-be contenders answered the same question this week, how to stay relevant when you are not the United States, and they answered it in different currencies: one in words, one in yen.

Jul 3, 2026 Aakash Babu 6 min read members Featured

A jubilant crowd of England football fans on sunny stone steps, arms raised and cheering, waving St George's Cross flags.

Therapeutic Thursday: The Lab Has A New Tenant

Jul 2, 2026 Aakash Babu 5 min read members

Therapeutic Thursday: Psychedelics Are Finally Backing the Hype. Can AI Follow?

Psychedelics produce their best clinical readout yet, while chip-making juggernaut NVIDIA turns its gaming fortunes into a pharma play.

Jun 25, 2026 Aakash Babu 5 min read members

A scientist in a white lab coat and blue gloves works at a lab bench, holding a pipette and looking down in concentration, with reagent bottles and supplies on the shelves beside him.

Therapeutic Thursday: The Crowd Is The Problem. Everyone Has A Different Solution.

Two of pharma's most crowded fields, and no agreement on whether the answer is to crowd in further or step away.

Jun 11, 2026 Aakash Babu 5 min read members

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.

Jun 1, 2026 Aakash Babu 8 min read members

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.

May 28, 2026 Aakash Babu 13 min read members

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.

May 21, 2026 Aakash Babu 7 min read members

DND. Milestone Monday. The Noise Stops Here.

You are reading this before anyone outside this room does. That is not a formality. The people who build something should be the first to see it.

May 18, 2026 Aakash Babu 13 min read members