Vertex’s Alpine buy, Goldman’s venture & IRA tea leaves: a BioCentury podcast

Plus: A look at BioCentury’s new R&D conference, Grand Rounds

The acquisition of Alpine Immune Sciences Inc. (NASDAQ:ALPN) by Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ:VRTX) will bolster a growing kidney disease franchise that could help diversify Vertex’s business beyond its blockbuster cystic fibrosis franchise. On the latest BioCentury This Week podcast, BioCentury’s editors discuss what attracted Vertex to Alpine and why it believes its newly acquired therapy povetacicept can outshine others in BAFF/APRIL class for IgA nephropathy.

The editors also discuss how Goldman Sachs aims to scale private biotechs via its life sciences venture strategy and the likely key factors for CMS as it determines prices for the first cohort of drugs in Medicare drug price negotiations under the Inflation Reduction Act.

Editor in Chief Simone Fishburn previews BioCentury’s first R&D conference — Grand Rounds — which will focus on the biotech industry’s interface with academia, bringing together decision-makers and the next innovators in Nashville, Sept. 9-11. 

To learn more about BioCentury Grand Rounds and opportunities to present, see the conference website. For information on sponsoring The BioCentury Show and the BioCentury This Week podcast, please email conferences@biocentury.com.