Life Science Today 014 – Bristol Myers, Trump, NIH, and Sophia Genetics
Originally Published as The Niche Podcast
Introduction
Welcome to The Niche Podcast – Your weekly 5-minute rundown of the biotech, clinical research, and applied science industries. I’m your host, Dr. Noah Goodson. This week, Bristol Myers strikes a $13 billion deal, presidential experiments, the NIH funds under-represented testing, and Sophia Genetics raises $110 million.
Bristol Myers Spends Cash
Bristol Myers faced criticism from investors early in 2020 for their $20 billion cash reserves. The general consensus from investors was either spend the money or give it to us. Bristol Myers responded that they were hard at work on acquisitions. This week they announced the cash acquisition of MyoKardia for $225/share at a total cost of $13.1 billion.
MyoKardia’s key asset is mavacamten, a first in class cardiac myosin inhibitor. The drug is on track for approval from the FDA to treat obstructive hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM), a chronic heart condition. The results of a phase III trial were published in The Lancet in late august and showed significant improvement in cardiac function and quality of life across a number of metrics. Mavacamten is expected to be submitted to the FDA in Q1 of 2021 and based on published findings will likely have a quick approval time.
This acquisition strengthens Bristol Myers positioning in the cardiac space and gives them a key first-in-class drug. While the price tag for MyoKardia is high, Bristol Myers probably sees potential in some of the products in their pipeline, as well as a chance to gain a corner on the HCM space ahead of competition.
Experimenting on the President
President Trump was diagnosed with COVID19 last week and hospitalized as a result. I have little to add to the extensive headlines on every news network. However, it should be noted that his treatment with un-approved therapies will likely have critical impacts regardless of the results. If he recovers it adds political impetus to their approval. If the disease is more serious, it could dramatically effect perceptions of the experimental drugs he has been given. At the date of this recording he has been reported to have received remdesivir, dexamethasone, and an experimental antibody treatment.
Sponsor
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NIH Minority Testing
The NIH has earmarked $234 million to improved COVID19 testing among under-served populations. The money, drawn from the $1.5 billion fund for rapid diagnostic testing for COVID19, will be funneled through 32 selected institutions who have ongoing programs targeting minority and underserved public health needs. Unfortunately, significant data suggests that healthcare disparities among poor and minority communities in the United States has led to disproportionate illness and death related to COVID19. The purpose of the NIH initiative is to help curb these outcomes through improved testing access and delivery.
Sophia Genetics
Sophia Genetics oversubscribed a $110 million series F. Sophia is an AI-driven data analytics solution that empowers healthcare facilities to employ genetics focused healthcare. The company has managed to sign up 1000 institutions and develop their pipeline. This next round of funding will be utilized to push to broader markets. It appears that Sophia wants to position themselves in the middle of clinical research and applied medicine by providing a data-driven analytics platform. If this sounds like vague hand-waving tech-language that’s because it is.
There are huge needs for networked globalized data-driven medicine but most of these needs are not totally clear and with antiquated regulatory agencies blocking the path, moving medicine forward at the rate of technology presents persistent significant challenges. Sophia appears to be positioning themselves as a power broker with an AI platform. If they can control enough of a base in the space, they’ll be positioned to move numerous products and services into play across the next decade. So far they’ve over-subscribed through 6 rounds of funding, so they are certainly attracting the attention they need. But data management + AI + healthcare is far from a clear market group.
Closing Credits
Thanks for joining me on The Niche Podcast; your weekly 5-minute summary of top news in the biotech, clinical trials, and applied science industries. You can find us on your favorite podcast app. Like, comment, subscribe, and most of all share with your friends. If you like what you hear, please rate and review, it really helps us. Once again, I’m Dr. Noah Goodson, I’ll see you next week.
Sponsors
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Story References
https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20201005005381/en/Bristol-Myers-Squibb-to-Acquire-MyoKardia-for-13.1-Billion-in-Cash
https://www.sciencemag.org/news/2020/10/heres-what-known-about-president-donald-trump-s-covid-19-treatment
https://www.nih.gov/news-events/news-releases/nih-assess-expand-covid-19-testing-underserved-communities
https://www.sophiagenetics.com/en_US/news/media-mix/details/news/sophia-genetics-raises-110-million-in-oversubscribed-new-funding-round.html
Music by Luke Goodson