Dan Samorodnitsky

Minneapolis

Freelance Writer and Journalist at Freelance

i'm a science writer. i write about biology, genetics, the environment, stuff like that. my pronouns are he/him. cofounder @sequencermag

Articles

#ASCO25 Tracker: Meeting Kicks Off in Chicago With High Expectations in Breast, Lung Cancer

1 week ago | biospace.com | Dan Samorodnitsky |Heather McKenzie

Astellas Exec Speaks Out After Inking $1.5B+ Deal With Evopoint Biosciences Astellas joined a rapidly growing trend Thursday when it plunked down $130 million upfront for exclusive worldwide rights to Evopoint Biosciences’ XNW27011, an early-stage ADC designed to target the protein Claudin18.2.During a press conference at ASCO Friday morning, Astellas Chief Strategy Officer Adam Pearson addressed the deal. “I think we’re always on the lookout for great innovation,” he said.
Court Halts HHS' Reduction and Layoff Plans, Arguing a Lack of Authority

2 weeks ago | biospace.com | Dan Samorodnitsky

The Trump administration’s attempts to radically shrink and reorganize the Department of Health and Human Services and other departments is on hold for now after a California judge issued a preliminary injunction.
Moderna Shares Fall as Combo Flu/COVID-19 Vaccine Application Pulled

2 weeks ago | biospace.com | Dan Samorodnitsky

Just two weeks ago, Moderna announced that its combination flu/COVID-19 vaccine outperformed current shots for both diseases. But on Wednesday, the famed biotech withdrew the FDA application for the shot after consultation with the agency. Moderna had filed for a biological license application (BLA) for the vaccine, called mRNA-1083, in late 2024 with an eye toward a late 2025 approval.
Pfizer’s $6B China Deal, Drug Pricing and FDA’s New COVID Vaccine Plan

2 weeks ago | biospace.com | Heather McKenzie |Jef Akst |Annalee Armstrong |Dan Samorodnitsky

> Listen on Spotify> Listen on Apple Products> Listen on Amazon Music> Listen on iHeartPfizer stole the headlines this week with a pact worth up to $6 billion with Chinese biotech 3SBio for a PD-1/VEGF candidate just three months after inking a clinical trials collab for a similar drug with Summit Therapeutics. It’s the largest Chinese licensing deal in recent memory, as pharmas continue to turn to the country to fill their pipelines.
CRISPR Success in Single Baby Highlights Rare Disease 'Crisis'

2 weeks ago | biospace.com | Dan Samorodnitsky

Late last week, the world heard an incredible story: a baby with an exceptionally rare genetic condition seemed to have been treated with a single-use CRISPR treatment created just for him. Many won’t be so lucky. “If you’re a child who has a rare disease, one-third won’t live to five years old. That itself is a crisis, a public health emergency,” said Mark Veich, the CEO of Advancium Health Network, a public charity that works to close gaps in healthcare, including in medtech and rare diseases.
Applied Therapeutics’ Rare Disease Treatment Flunks in Late-Stage Trial

2 weeks ago | biospace.com | Dan Samorodnitsky

A few months after suffering a rejection at the hands of the FDA, Applied Therapeutics’ govorestat failed a late-stage clinical trial, the company announced Monday morning. The company’s stock, already worth only about $.50 per share, dropped another 16% after the market opened. The drug was being tested by the New York–based biopharma in a Phase II/III INSPIRE trial for sorbitol dehydrogenase deficiency, a type of Charcot-Marie-Tooth (CMT) disease.
Novo Doubles Down on Oral Obesity Meds With Septerna Deal Worth up to $2.4B

3 weeks ago | biospace.com | Dan Samorodnitsky

Novo Nordisk is looking to stay on top of the obesity drug market as competitors race ahead, striking a deal with Septerna to co-develop small molecule oral obesity drugs. Novo is fronting $200 million off the bat and up to $2.2 billion in R&D and milestone payments.
Trump’s Drug Pricing Policy, Prasad’s CBER Nod, Bayer’s Layoffs and Galapagos’ Next Chapter

3 weeks ago | biospace.com | Heather McKenzie |Jef Akst |Annalee Armstrong |Dan Samorodnitsky

> Listen on Spotify> Listen on Apple Products> Listen on Amazon Music> Listen on iHeartPresident Donald Trump unveiled a sweeping drug pricing policy this week, seeking to lower drug prices in the U.S. by up to 80% through a reprisal of the Most Favored Nation rule he attempted to introduce in his first term. The rule would essentially link U.S. prices to those paid in other nations where medications are cheaper.
This is a book burning

3 weeks ago | sequencermag.com | Dan Samorodnitsky

In May 1933, Nazis burned some tens of thousands of books across Germany in the Aktion wider den undeutschen Geist, or “action against the un-German spirit.” This not only included books from universities that were considered “un-German,” particularly those written by Jews, leftists, and foreigners, but also attacks against research institutes like the Institut für Sexualwissenschaft, the Institute for Sexual Science.
Inside a reporter's notebook: giving the land a living skin

3 weeks ago | sequencermag.com | Dan Samorodnitsky

In his new book, Air-Borne: The Hidden History of the Life We Breathe, Carl Zimmer charts a 4 billion-year history of the aerobiome, the collection of organisms, spores, bacteria, algae, viruses, and on and on that live in the air.