Michael Wong
@michaelwong.bsky.social
Biotech venture creation and pharma partnerships. Company builder by practice, placental biologist by training. 🇨🇦
Huge congrats to the ProFound Therapeutics and @novartis.bsky.social teams on kicking off this exciting relationship to discover and develop novel protein drugs and drug targets in cardiovascular disease. www.fiercebiotech.com/biotech/nova...
Novartis pens ProFound pact, offering up $750M biobucks per cardiovascular target
Novartis is penning a four-year pact with ProFound Therapeutics to create new therapeutics for heart disease, with $750 million in biobucks up for grabs per target. | Novartis is penning a four-year p...
www.fiercebiotech.com
June 26, 2025 at 11:22 AM
Huge congrats to the ProFound Therapeutics and @novartis.bsky.social teams on kicking off this exciting relationship to discover and develop novel protein drugs and drug targets in cardiovascular disease. www.fiercebiotech.com/biotech/nova...
Unbelievably rapid shift in landscape. Curious how this compared to other industries. This is a massive injection of pharma funding into Chinese biotech industry (and continued injection as milestones and royalties are triggered) that will also have downstream implications on innovation.
41% of external molecules licensed by large pharma so far in '25 are coming from China said Stifel's Tim Opler on Fri's Biotech Hangout. This is up from 31% in '24. It was 0% in '19. Data from DealForma/CEO Chris D. The # of upfront $ for China biotech licensing deals increased too he said #biosky
#BiotechHangout: Chris Garabedian, Tim Opler, Bruce Booth & Sam Fazeli on investor mood, PIPEs, startup contraction, policy updates: (FDA, NIH, CDC, HHS) data: ($CGON, $SLNO), #ELCC2025: ($JNJ, $AZN, $BNTX), $NVO’s obesity deals, aging report, $LYRA wind-down & more: twitter.com/i/spaces/1MY...
March 31, 2025 at 6:13 PM
Unbelievably rapid shift in landscape. Curious how this compared to other industries. This is a massive injection of pharma funding into Chinese biotech industry (and continued injection as milestones and royalties are triggered) that will also have downstream implications on innovation.
Good PoV. While Canada does need to strengthen its domestic market, it won’t be sustaining a standalone ecosystem anytime soon.
The key near-term opportunities will be to double-down on investments into science/biotech and lock in its place as the next preferred global partner for innovation.
The key near-term opportunities will be to double-down on investments into science/biotech and lock in its place as the next preferred global partner for innovation.
For Canada's life-sciences sector, the U.S. has always been market #1.
The trade war is a huge threat to that - but also an opportunity to address some long-standing red-tape issues like domestic procurement.
@seansilcoff.bsky.social and I write: www.theglobeandmail.com/business/eco...
The trade war is a huge threat to that - but also an opportunity to address some long-standing red-tape issues like domestic procurement.
@seansilcoff.bsky.social and I write: www.theglobeandmail.com/business/eco...
Are U.S. tariffs a threat to Canadian health sciences innovators – or a golden opportunity?
The Trump administration’s unpredictability could make Canada an attractive destination for American researchers
www.theglobeandmail.com
March 22, 2025 at 1:35 PM
Good PoV. While Canada does need to strengthen its domestic market, it won’t be sustaining a standalone ecosystem anytime soon.
The key near-term opportunities will be to double-down on investments into science/biotech and lock in its place as the next preferred global partner for innovation.
The key near-term opportunities will be to double-down on investments into science/biotech and lock in its place as the next preferred global partner for innovation.
Congrats to Jason and Ampersand team on the raise.
Ampersand Biomedicines raises $65M in Series B with backing from Eli Lilly to advance targeted biologics.
Flagship's Ampersand gets Eli Lilly's support in $65M Series B
Ampersand Biomedicines, a biotech working on medicines
endpts.com
March 20, 2025 at 11:31 AM
Congrats to Jason and Ampersand team on the raise.
Reposted by Michael Wong
Ampersand Biomedicines raises $65M in Series B with backing from Eli Lilly to advance targeted biologics.
Flagship's Ampersand gets Eli Lilly's support in $65M Series B
Ampersand Biomedicines, a biotech working on medicines
endpts.com
March 19, 2025 at 7:58 PM
Ampersand Biomedicines raises $65M in Series B with backing from Eli Lilly to advance targeted biologics.
Really cool application of technology leading to uncovering of new biology.
Exciting discovery by Svensson lab and collaborators @stanfordmedicine.bsky.social, computational discovery of 2500 new bioactive peptides, including 12-mer named BRP that reduces food intake leading to weight loss w/o nausea in mice!
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Prohormone cleavage prediction uncovers a non-incretin anti-obesity peptide - Nature
Computational drug discovery is used to identify a 12-mer peptide derived from BRINP2 with potent anti-obesity effects that are independent of leptin, glucagon-like peptide 1 receptor and melanocortin...
www.nature.com
March 16, 2025 at 4:40 PM
Really cool application of technology leading to uncovering of new biology.
Canada (and much of the world) is overly reliant on the US for biopharmaceutical innovations.
The NIH cutdown combined with an ensuing trade war will inevitably impact our future access to medicines from the US.
Canada needs to build up its own scalable, sustainable biopharmaceutical sector.
The NIH cutdown combined with an ensuing trade war will inevitably impact our future access to medicines from the US.
Canada needs to build up its own scalable, sustainable biopharmaceutical sector.
March 14, 2025 at 1:40 AM
Canada (and much of the world) is overly reliant on the US for biopharmaceutical innovations.
The NIH cutdown combined with an ensuing trade war will inevitably impact our future access to medicines from the US.
Canada needs to build up its own scalable, sustainable biopharmaceutical sector.
The NIH cutdown combined with an ensuing trade war will inevitably impact our future access to medicines from the US.
Canada needs to build up its own scalable, sustainable biopharmaceutical sector.
Love this visualization from the pharmas FY financials showing breakdown of where money came in from and how it was spent.
AbbVie reported their financial performance on January 31st. Here is the recap from their interim financial report.
February 6, 2025 at 1:02 PM
Love this visualization from the pharmas FY financials showing breakdown of where money came in from and how it was spent.
Organelle transfer is an area of biology that never ceases to amaze. A lot of creative mechanisms that cancer cells could teach us for avoiding immunogenicity.
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Immune evasion through mitochondrial transfer in the tumour microenvironment - Nature
Mitochondria with mutations in their DNA from cancer cells can be transferred to T cells in the tumour microenvironment, which leads to T cell dysfunction and impaired antitumour immunity.
www.nature.com
January 23, 2025 at 10:06 PM
Organelle transfer is an area of biology that never ceases to amaze. A lot of creative mechanisms that cancer cells could teach us for avoiding immunogenicity.
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
US biotechs need to ensure they are spending $$ innovating in highly novel and differentiated biology, as it is going to be near impossible to outcompete China head-on. Their growing prominence was clear in ADC deal boom 2 yrs ago, obesity and multispecifics last yr - where next?
Chinese drug developers are pursuing novel drug targets and hot therapeutic areas like obesity. The exploding trend has sent shocks through the biotech industry and its center of gravity, which has long been anchored in a handful of cities in the US.
endpts.com/chinas-drug-...
endpts.com/chinas-drug-...
China's biotech boom is threatening US drugmakers' dominance
In 2019, Stanford University professor Irv Weissman and a colleague published a paper that represented a new way to target some aggressive cancers. Shortly after, they did what many researchers ...
endpts.com
January 21, 2025 at 8:32 PM
US biotechs need to ensure they are spending $$ innovating in highly novel and differentiated biology, as it is going to be near impossible to outcompete China head-on. Their growing prominence was clear in ADC deal boom 2 yrs ago, obesity and multispecifics last yr - where next?
Recharged by the inspiring discussions with current and prospective partners at #JPM2025. Our industry undoubtedly has flaws but there are a lot of great people at the helm seeking to make a difference in drug discovery and healthcare.
Now back to the bitter cold week ahead in Boston…
Now back to the bitter cold week ahead in Boston…
January 20, 2025 at 2:11 PM
Recharged by the inspiring discussions with current and prospective partners at #JPM2025. Our industry undoubtedly has flaws but there are a lot of great people at the helm seeking to make a difference in drug discovery and healthcare.
Now back to the bitter cold week ahead in Boston…
Now back to the bitter cold week ahead in Boston…
As a Canadian, it is painful to watch #Canada continue to struggle with global leadership. This is not only true of national politics - but also of Canada’s #biotech sector, where the lack of leaders generally has been a key bottleneck to realizing the potential of its science and current ventures.
January 7, 2025 at 12:48 PM
Reposted by Michael Wong
We are having #JPM2025 networking event on 1/14 at Persona. Meet our #BiotechHangout co-hosts and other colleagues with open bar thanks to our generous sponsors register here docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F... #BioSky
https://bit.ly/41LDMIP
t.co
January 4, 2025 at 9:27 AM
We are having #JPM2025 networking event on 1/14 at Persona. Meet our #BiotechHangout co-hosts and other colleagues with open bar thanks to our generous sponsors register here docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F... #BioSky
January 3, 2025 at 6:39 PM
Well, this has got to be one of the coolest and funniest gifts I’ve ever received.
December 20, 2024 at 2:20 AM
Well, this has got to be one of the coolest and funniest gifts I’ve ever received.
Congrats to the Tessera team on new partnership with Gates Foundation to receive up to $50M to develop globally accessible in vivo genetic therapies for sickle cell disease www.tesseratherapeutics.com/news/tessera...
Tessera Therapeutics Receives Investment to Develop Curative In Vivo…
Pioneering Gene Writing™, a new biotechnology designed to offer the ability to make almost any change to the genome curing diseases at their source.
www.tesseratherapeutics.com
December 18, 2024 at 5:51 PM
Congrats to the Tessera team on new partnership with Gates Foundation to receive up to $50M to develop globally accessible in vivo genetic therapies for sickle cell disease www.tesseratherapeutics.com/news/tessera...
Hansoh deal is another reminder that Chinese pharmas are pivoting to becoming incredible sources of innovation, not just manufacturers. US biotechs are now competing against them for pharmas attention, even for early-stage deals.
And they have really moved from giving bargains to charging premiums.
And they have really moved from giving bargains to charging premiums.
December 18, 2024 at 1:18 PM
Hansoh deal is another reminder that Chinese pharmas are pivoting to becoming incredible sources of innovation, not just manufacturers. US biotechs are now competing against them for pharmas attention, even for early-stage deals.
And they have really moved from giving bargains to charging premiums.
And they have really moved from giving bargains to charging premiums.
Wow. Will be interesting to see how this performs against some of the other oral GLPs as it goes into the clinic. Must’ve been a pretty amazing preclinical data package.
Merck turns to Hansoh for an oral GLP-1 deal. $112m up front, $1.9b milestones: www.businesswire.com/news/home/20...
Merck Enters into Exclusive Global License Agreement with Hansoh Pharma for Investigational Oral GLP-1 Receptor Agonist
Merck (NYSE: MRK), known as MSD outside of the United States and Canada, and Hansoh Pharma, a Chinese biopharmaceutical company, today announced that
www.businesswire.com
December 18, 2024 at 12:53 PM
Wow. Will be interesting to see how this performs against some of the other oral GLPs as it goes into the clinic. Must’ve been a pretty amazing preclinical data package.
My personal take is that GSK is making the right investment by casting a wide net to lock up all these novel target opportunities with cutting edge startups at a time when the market still values novel targets at lower economics because of the biological risk.
www.globenewswire.com/news-release...
www.globenewswire.com/news-release...
Relation announces two strategic collaborations with GSK to advance therapeutics for fibrotic diseases and osteoarthritis
Relation announces two strategic collaborations with GSK to advance therapeutics for fibrotic diseases and osteoarthritis London, UK, December 10, 2024 –...
www.globenewswire.com
December 10, 2024 at 12:40 PM
My personal take is that GSK is making the right investment by casting a wide net to lock up all these novel target opportunities with cutting edge startups at a time when the market still values novel targets at lower economics because of the biological risk.
www.globenewswire.com/news-release...
www.globenewswire.com/news-release...
My 6 yr old wrote this tonight. Any guesses who “DT” is?
(I’m just glad I made the good list.)
(I’m just glad I made the good list.)
December 10, 2024 at 2:52 AM
My 6 yr old wrote this tonight. Any guesses who “DT” is?
(I’m just glad I made the good list.)
(I’m just glad I made the good list.)
GSK on fire with deals, especially focused on novel target ID.
Also spurs an interesting question around how much is a novel target opportunity really worth?
www.fiercebiotech.com/biotech/gsk-...
Also spurs an interesting question around how much is a novel target opportunity really worth?
www.fiercebiotech.com/biotech/gsk-...
GSK inks 2nd neuro pact in weeks, this time with Danish biotech Muna in Alzheimer's
GSK has penned another neuroscience pact, this time with Danish biotech Muna Therapeutics. | GSK has penned another neuroscience pact, this time with Danish biotech Muna Therapeutics. The two companie...
www.fiercebiotech.com
December 5, 2024 at 2:20 PM
GSK on fire with deals, especially focused on novel target ID.
Also spurs an interesting question around how much is a novel target opportunity really worth?
www.fiercebiotech.com/biotech/gsk-...
Also spurs an interesting question around how much is a novel target opportunity really worth?
www.fiercebiotech.com/biotech/gsk-...