Frank S. David
@franksdavid.bsky.social
Biotech R&D strategy @ Pharmagellan. Prof of Practice of Biotech @ Tufts Biology. Bio, books, blog & more at www.pharmagellan.com. #biosky
Hey, folks -- please show some love/encouragement to a recent Bio MS grad (on the job market!) who's blogging about biomedical research in the Mideast and North Africa: www.linkedin.com/newsletters/...
MENA Science | LinkedIn
I want to delve into and highlight high-impact research coming out of Arab and North African countries.
linkedin.com
Hi, folks! I just posted another "links list" of biopharma-relevant stuff that caught my attention (incl. "AI and Alzheimer's cures" -- color me skeptical). mailchi.mp/pharmagellan...
New essay on measuring biopharma innovation in The Incidental Economist -- led by @sukhunkang.bsky.social; I pitched in: theincidentaleconomist.com/wordpress/me...
Measuring Biopharmaceutical Innovation in the Modern Era | The Incidental Economist
As the Inflation Reduction Act empowers Medicare to negotiate drug prices based in part on clinical benefit, and as the FDA more closely scrutinizes accelerated approvals, a fundamental question has b...
theincidentaleconomist.com
My unsexy but easy suggestion for Marty Makary M.D., M.P.H. on boosting "radical transparency" at the FDA: www.statnews.com/2025/07/29/f...
How the FDA can score quick wins on transparency
Improving how the FDA disseminates already-public information about approved drugs may be unsexy, but it would be a big step toward the era of “radical transparency.”
statnews.com
New (from me): blogging advice for folks who want to get into biotech strategy or finance, incl. resources, examples, and tips to get started: www.linkedin.com/pulse/you-sh...
You should start a biotech blog
A lot of students and young professionals ask me how to get into biotech strategy, consulting, or investing (esp. venture capital).
linkedin.com
Ask me anything! If you have questions about writing, podcasting, global health, medical innovation, data, or anything else, I'll be doing an AMA on the EA Forum next week. It's between 6-8pm BST on July 8th but you can also leave qs here in advance: forum.effectivealtruism.org/posts/i2DtGA...
Hi, folks -- here's my inaugural "links list" of recent items that caught my eye in biotech R&D and other areas. Please let me know what you think! eepurl.com/jih0E2
Links: Chinese biotech, P3 failures, pharma revenue drivers, etc.
eepurl.com
Generics FTW. Also, anyone even mildly interested in drug pricing should read Peter Kolchinsky’s “Great American Drug Deal”.
Adrianna McIntyre@adrianna.bsky.social · last yr.Today in studying U.S. health policy has broken my brain: I had to pick up a prescription for a very ordinary antibiotic and when the pharmacist told me it was going to be "two forty-five" I assumed (horrified) that she meant $245 (The ten tablets of doxycycline were, in fact, $2.45)
Good resource for biotech entrepreneurs (HT @wilbanks.bsky.social)
Andy Coravos@arc.bsky.social · last yr.Over coffee and bagels, @catehall.bsky.social asked me: where’s the fundraising handbook that guides scientists through how the game actually works? Not the sanitized Twitter version. Didn't have one, so I wrote it with Rachel Katz. asterainstitute.substack.com/p/inside-bas...
Apparently hope *is* a strategy after all. endpoints.news/roche-moves-... by @leileiwu.bsky.social of Endpoints
Good piece —>
Genevieve Kanter@profgenkanter.bsky.social · last yr.Did someone say "conflicts of interest" and "advisory committees"? As it happens, I have a few thoughts about that. Usually, I mumble these things quietly to myself, but this time @statnews.com published my hot take: www.statnews.com/2025/06/12/r...
Great thread — bookmarking for my drug dev class. HT @thewonkologist.bsky.social
Jake Scott, MD@jakescottmd.bsky.social · last yr.❌ "Only Covid vaccine had placebo-controlled trials" ✅ Patently false Our dataset: 274 controlled vaccine trials, >3 million participants, 164 placebo-controlled trials Let’s go through each of the CDC scheduled routine vaccines: TL;DR – ALL of them have been placebo-controlled.
Love this — I’ve sent it to many Tufts Bio students. (So far only 1 has started a blog, but I’m not giving up.)
Stephen Turner@stephenturner.us · 2y agoWriting a technical blog improves your writing, forces you to learn new things, helps others and yourself, and helps your career. In this essay: (1) why blog, (2) what to blog about, (3) how to get started, and (4) using AI. https://doi.org/10.59350/bqnfd-7p249 🧪
Saloni@scientificdiscovery.dev · last yr.LAUNCH DAY 🚀 Today I’m launching a new podcast, Hard Drugs, with Jacob Trefethen (@jacobtref.bsky.social) Our first episode is about lenacapavir — a new HIV drug that blocks infections with an efficacy rate of nearly 100%, and which could completely change the fight against HIV worldwide.
Me: “FIVE hours?” Also me: <hits the “subscribe” button>
Saloni@scientificdiscovery.dev · last yr.LAUNCH DAY 🚀 Today I’m launching a new podcast, Hard Drugs, with Jacob Trefethen (@jacobtref.bsky.social) Our first episode is about lenacapavir — a new HIV drug that blocks infections with an efficacy rate of nearly 100%, and which could completely change the fight against HIV worldwide.
I don’t follow the generics market closely, let alone international Gx — so I found this piece by @dereklowe.bsky.social particularly bananas! Go read it. www.science.org/content/blog...
Good reading recs here from Jacob Trefethen of Open Phil: blog.jacobtrefethen.com/science-writ...
Science writing from the last two years that stuck with me
This list consists of writing that ticked two boxes: 1) did I think about the article again more than a week after reading it?, and 2) was it written for a popular audience? So, academic papers, inclu...
blog.jacobtrefethen.com
Really interesting post from new Ch Med Ofc of Oura Ring pointing to next steps for device: integration w traditional patient care systems (presumably Epic etc), impact on health behavior… (in previous role at Apple his expertise included health data interoperability…) cc @franksdavid.bsky.social
Good template for a clear paper abstract — HT @johnholbein1.bsky.social (who credits @fgilardi.bsky.social)
New paper on pharma revenue drivers by IDEA Pharma — here’s the TL;DR (w/apologies to Michael Pollan; IYKYK): “Spend on R&D. Not too much. Mostly Phase 3 trials.” www.ideapharma.com/insights/rev...
New “Healthspan” whitepaper by the folks at Whoop. I’m skeptical of these sorts of things but I haven’t read it yet and this isn’t my expertise. Curious to hear thoughts from @dshaywitz.bsky.social and others who follow this area. www.whoop.com/us/en/theloc...
Most cogent “bear case” I’ve read on where we are / where we’re going on AI. By Dwarkesh Patel: www.dwarkesh.com/p/timelines-...
Big “college student seeing final course grade” energy(Rep. Jason Smith (R-MO) via NYT).
This is a really fun question to throw at your colleagues when you’re a biologist
Lilah Sturges@lilahsturges.com · last yr.Are all muppets the same species just with wildly different phenotypes like dogs or are there a lot of different species of muppet
My new Timmerman Report column discusses recent @nejm.org study linking exercise, cancer recov, focusing on methodological ?s of Dr. J Mandrola, pt-focused concerns of Jennifer Goldsack timmermanreport.com/2025/06/nejm... @alicecallahan.bsky.social @franksdavid.bsky.social @meganranney.bsky.social
NEJM Study Linking Exercise, Cancer Recovery Raises Two Concerns: What If It’s Wrong? What If It’s Right? - TimmermanReport.com
This week featured a rare crossing of the streams, as the buttoned-down world of cancer research met the buzzy world of exercise and wellness. One result: a randomized controlled study of exercise in...
timmermanreport.com
