Originally Published as The Niche Podcast
Everlywell expands at-home testing, Bayer and Atara strike deal, and Moderna heads to the FDA.
Sponsors
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Story References
https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/everlywell-announces-175-million-financing-to-expand-consumer-lab-testing-and-digital-health-offerings-301185355.html
https://media.bayer.com/baynews/baynews.nsf/id/Bayer-Atara-Biotherapeutics-enter-strategic-collaboration-generation-mesothelin-targeted-CAR-T?Open&parent=news-overview-category-search-en&ccm=020
https://investors.modernatx.com/news-releases/news-release-details/moderna-announces-primary-efficacy-analysis-phase-3-cove-study
Music by Luke Goodson
https://www.soundcloud.com/lukegoodson
Life Science Today is your source for stories, insights, and trends across the life science industry. Expect weekly highlights about new technologies, pharmaceutical mergers and acquisitions, news about the moves of venture capital and private equity, and how the stock market responds to biotech IPOs. Life Science Today also explores trends around clinical research, including the evolving patterns that determine how drugs and therapies are developed and approved. It’s news, with a dash of perspective, focused on the life science industry.
Introduction
Welcome to The Niche Podcast – Your weekly rundown of the biotech, clinical research, and applied science industries. I’m your host, Dr. Noah Goodson. This week, Everlywell expands at-home testing, Bayer and Atara strike deal, and Moderna heads to the FDA.
Everlywell Raises Big Series D
Everlywell announced a $175 million series D, backed by major investors. The previous funding rounds raised $75 million combined, the big price tag on this round comes after the company made massive strides this year. They received emergency use authorization from the FDA for their at-home COVID19 testing kit in May. On top of this they have pushed hard to expand their at-home testing footprint through partnerships at major pharmacies across the country.
Compared to many of the rapid growth high burn-rate biopharma companies we’ve featured on this show, Everlywell feels like a specimen from another age. They have actual products, actual sales, and have built on top of a core business model. Yes, they are still raising capital to expand, but they are a real company trying to meet a market need.
The push to move healthcare digital has been going on for years. But long-standing tradition, regulatory and financial dinosaurs, and consumer readiness have all combined to slow the progress. If there is one absolute certainty from this pandemic, it’s that digital and remote healthcare is here to stay. Everlywell seems to see themselves as part of this burgeoning ecosystem, where at home-testing and remote health clinics combine to provide 21st century healthcare. For anyone who has wasted time in waiting rooms or driven long distances for a cumbersome lab test, the idea of a new right-to-your-door model of healthcare should be deeply refreshing. However, rather than a movement away from all in-office healthcare, we are likely in for an extended transition period of hybrid models. But, with four years of experience and more than a million customers served, Everlywell has positioned themselves to continue to grow in this emerging market.
Sponsor
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Bayer Partners with Atara
Bayer has made a major move on their path to enter the rare-cancer immunotherapy oncology space. A partnership with Atara gives Bayer global distribution rights to ATA3271 and ATA2271, a T-cell immunotherapy for high mesothelin-expressing tumors. Atara receives $60 million upfront, up to $610 million in developmental costs, and royalties on eventual sales. ATA2271 is already in a phase 1 clinical trial. But Atara will get ATA3271 through IND and then hand over clinical development to Bayer. The announced partnership saw Atara’s stock gain about 10% in value. Long run, this partnership is expected to be part of a range of internal developments and external partnerships as Bayer tries to carve a unique niche for themselves in the cell therapy/oncology space. In other words, we should see more deals from them in 2021.
Moderna Heads to FDA
Moderna submitted their COVID19 vaccine to the FDA for emergency use authorization almost a week ago. The full results from their clinical trial suggest they have developed an incredibly effective vaccine with a 6% infection rate compared to the control and no severe cases. The FDA will review the data from both Moderna and Pfizer. Significant pressure rests on these reviewers as competing social and political pressures weigh in. More than 2000 Americans are dying daily from COVID19 and numbers will continue to rise into January based on case-rates. However, both vaccine and government distrust is high across the political spectrum and any vaccine approved must be both effective and incredibly safe to maintain public trust and empower and effective distribution. Based on the data I have access to it seems probable both vaccines will be approved sometime in the next two weeks.
Once that milestone is reached, getting it out there is the next step. Unfortunately, the logistics of the distribution have not been well defined by the current task force, so expect mixed and confusing messages along with significant hiccups across the next two months. This will certainly affect the lives of Americans, but how markets will respond is yet to be seen.
Closing Credits
Thanks for joining me on The Niche Podcast; your weekly 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.