Brian Buntz
15 articles on Drug Discovery and Development
Appears on
Articles15
Salesforce lands 140 life sciences clients, pitches ‘headless’ AI to pharma
As Peter Gassner, CEO of Veeva Systems, the influential cloud software provider for the life sciences industry, took the stage at the Veeva Commercial Summit in Boston, Salesforce announced that more than 140 life sciences organizations are using its competing Agentforce Life Sciences platform. In the mix as Salesforce clients are several marquee industry na
Rubedo turns a senescence-targeting drug on precancerous skin, and sees an efficacy signal without the intense redness
For millions of individuals with actinic keratoses (AK), rough, scaly patches of skin caused by cumulative UV exposure, the path to preventing skin cancer can seem like a destructive ordeal. Current standard therapies, such as cryosurgery, photodynamic therapy or topical treatments like 5-fluorouracil (Efudex) and imiquimod, are often associated with severe
Retatrutide eases sleep apnea and knee arthritis in new Phase 3 data, extending Lilly’s obesity lead over Novo
Eli Lilly used the American Diabetes Association’s annual meeting to announce that its investigational triple agonist retatrutide can treat the conditions obesity drives, beyond the excess weight itself. Detailed Phase 3 results from the TRIUMPH-1 program showed the once-weekly GIP, GLP-1 and glucagon agonist cut moderate-to-severe obstructive sleep apnea se
Remepy, a startup that pairs drugs with AI-driven apps, clears a Phase IIa test in Parkinson’s
“There’s an app for that.” The phrase became something of a mantra in the early smartphone era, as apps went from niche to mainstream after Apple opened its App Store in July 2008 and Android Market followed months behind it. Medicine caught the fever quickly. Prominent future-facing clinicians, from Scripps cardiologist Eric Topol to Singularity… The post R
Ginkgo, Tangible and Inductive Bio aim to move ADME decisions from lead optimization to hit ID
For years, many small-molecule teams have treated comprehensive Absorption, Distribution, Metabolism and Excretion (ADME) profiling as a lead-optimization step. That is, it serves as a place to spend heavily once a lead series has already emerged. Now, Ginkgo Datapoints, Tangible Scientific and Inductive Bio are betting that AI, automation and tighter compou
Boehringer Ingelheim eyes MASH as the next front for survodutide, a GLP-1/glucagon receptor dual agonist
For decades, fatty liver disease and its more serious inflammatory form, metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis (MASH), were often overlooked conditions with few approved treatments. Boehringer Ingelheim is among the companies now going after them with a concerted push. “We have a program in MASH, in the liver, the LIVERAGE program, plus a robust d
J&J poster puts Spravato remission data at center of treatment-resistant-depression growth push
spravato_annual_worldwide_sales_2019_2026More than six decades after Calvin Stevens first synthesized ketamine at Parke-Davis while searching for a safer anesthetic, the molecule has completed its migration into psychiatry, where it has become a blockbuster. Esketamine, the more potent S-enantiomer of that original compound, won FDA approval for treatment-re
What if psilocybin works about as well for depression as an SSRI?
For all the hope invested in them as treatments for depression, classic psychedelics may end up offering only incremental gains for most patients, based on some of the most recent data in the field. If that thesis proves true, the arc of psilocybin, the most widely studied psychedelic of late, would broadly echo the trajectory… The post What if psilocybin wo
FUJIFILM Biotechnologies COO Maja Herold Pedersen on AI, autonomy and the path from quality to operations
The CDMO FUJIFILM Biotechnologies is in the midst of a growth upswing, with about $7 billion in expansion projects underway across the United States and Europe. The centerpiece is its $3.2 billion Holly Springs, North Carolina site, whose first phase came online in September 2025. A second phase is slated for around 2028. In Denmark,… The post FUJIFILM Biote
Diabetes to MASH: the specimens behind GLP-1’s widening roster
The GLP-1 wave keeps widening Semaglutide hits the GLP-1 receptor alone, tirzepatide adds a second in GIP, and next-generation candidates layer on a third in glucagon or drop incretins altogether for amylin and FGF21 biology. The competitive map is widening, too, as the Novo Nordisk and Eli Lilly duopoly meets oral small molecules, monthly dosing,… The post
Pens to pills: what oral GLP-1s change at the bench
The modern GLP-1 era effectively began with semaglutide’s 2017 approval as Ozempic. While the field had evolved considerably since the FDA approval of the first GLP-1 receptor agonist, exenatide (brand name Byetta), in 2005 for Type 2 diabetes, the drug class remained injectable peptides throughout that period. Dosing intervals lengthened as molecules were e
How most-favored-nation pricing is reshaping generic drug economics, according to Dr. Reddy’s finance director
In the U.S. market, generics play a significant role in reducing overall drug spending. The FDA, for instance, estimated that the generics it approved in 2022 alone saved $18.9 billion in their first year on the market. Those savings come out of margins that keep thinning, because generic retail prices are in sustained deflation, as Brookings… The post How m
Insuring the trip: an underwriter on what it will take for approved psilocybin can become a real business
More than five decades after the Controlled Substances Act that President Richard Nixon signed in 1970 placed psilocybin in Schedule I, the same tier as heroin and reserved for drugs the federal government deemed to have no accepted medical use, the compound is on the verge of becoming the first classic psychedelic to win FDA… The post Insuring the trip: an
PharmSci 360 2026 heads to New Orleans this October
The American Association of Pharmaceutical Scientists (AAPS) will hold its 2026 PharmSci 360 meeting October 25 to 28 at the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center in New Orleans. The event is the association’s flagship annual gathering, drawing thousands of scientists from across academia, industry, and government. AAPS, which counts roughly 7,000 members, posi
How ConcertAI turned CancerLinQ into a point-of-care oncology intelligence platform
More than a decade ago, the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) launched CancerLinQ, a platform designed to pool electronic health record data from oncology practices, turning routine patient encounters into a learning system. The platform has since become central to ConcertAI, an oncology-focused AI and real-world data company, which acquired it fr