M&A & data: recipe for a rebound? 

The proposed $5.4 billion takeout of sickle cell play Global Blood Therapeutics Inc. (NASDAQ:GBT) by  Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE) is the latest sign of life in biotech M&A, BioCentury Associate Editor Paul Bonanos says on the BioCentury This Week podcast. Bonanos and colleagues explain how Pfizer plans to use its global reach to get Oxbryta voxelotor to “parts of the world most affected by SCD,” which disproportionately affects people of African, Middle Eastern and South Asian descent.

The podcast team also discusses how schizophrenia data from Karuna Therapeutics Inc. (NASDAQ:KRTX) makes that biotech ripe for a takeout now that its lead asset is de-risked. Bonanos, Executive Director of Biopharma Intelligence Lauren Martz and Editor in Chief Simone Fishburn also assess amyloidosis data from  Alnylam Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ:ALNY), which along with the proposed $4 billion acquisition of ChemoCentryx Inc. (NASDAQ:CCXI) by Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN) last week, helped spark a positive rally in major biotech indexes over the past four days.

Finally, Martz breaks down Amgen’s latest data for Lumakras sotorasib, arguing that the future of one of the most promising KRAS inhibitor combinations is now in doubt. 

This week’s podcast was sponsored by the BioCentury-BayHelix East-West Summit 2022, a gathering of biopharma executives and investors focused on building trusted cross-border relationships across the biopharma ecosystem. The VIP event takes place in the San Francisco Bay Area Nov. 14-16. For information on how to sponsor BioCentury This Week and The BioCentury Show, please contact Sarah Shoaff at sarah.shoaff@biocentury.com.