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
Pinned
Frank S. David
@franksdavid.bsky.social
· Jul 29
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.”
www.statnews.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...
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.
www.linkedin.com
October 21, 2025 at 4:42 PM
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/...
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...
September 18, 2025 at 8:31 PM
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
August 14, 2025 at 11:22 AM
New essay on measuring biopharma innovation in The Incidental Economist -- led by @sukhunkang.bsky.social; I pitched in: theincidentaleconomist.com/wordpress/me...
Reposted by Frank S. David
Great curated list, @franksdavid.bsky.social -and would have expected no less!
My latest "link list": mailchi.mp/pharmagellan...
Links: Ph2 failures, pharma innovation, oncology R&D, etc.
mailchi.mp
August 8, 2025 at 12:23 AM
Great curated list, @franksdavid.bsky.social -and would have expected no less!
My latest "link list": mailchi.mp/pharmagellan...
Links: Ph2 failures, pharma innovation, oncology R&D, etc.
mailchi.mp
August 8, 2025 at 12:09 AM
My latest "link list": mailchi.mp/pharmagellan...
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.”
www.statnews.com
July 29, 2025 at 11:35 AM
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...
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).
www.linkedin.com
July 13, 2025 at 10:31 PM
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...
Reposted by Frank S. David
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...
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...
July 2, 2025 at 9:57 AM
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...
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
July 2, 2025 at 10:17 AM
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
Generics FTW.
Also, anyone even mildly interested in drug pricing should read Peter Kolchinsky’s “Great American Drug Deal”.
Also, anyone even mildly interested in drug pricing should read Peter Kolchinsky’s “Great American Drug Deal”.
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)
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)
June 20, 2025 at 4:22 PM
Generics FTW.
Also, anyone even mildly interested in drug pricing should read Peter Kolchinsky’s “Great American Drug Deal”.
Also, anyone even mildly interested in drug pricing should read Peter Kolchinsky’s “Great American Drug Deal”.
Good resource for biotech entrepreneurs (HT @wilbanks.bsky.social)
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...
Didn't have one, so I wrote it with Rachel Katz. asterainstitute.substack.com/p/inside-bas...
June 19, 2025 at 3:47 PM
Good resource for biotech entrepreneurs (HT @wilbanks.bsky.social)
Apparently hope *is* a strategy after all.
endpoints.news/roche-moves-... by @leileiwu.bsky.social of Endpoints
endpoints.news/roche-moves-... by @leileiwu.bsky.social of Endpoints
June 17, 2025 at 11:32 AM
Apparently hope *is* a strategy after all.
endpoints.news/roche-moves-... by @leileiwu.bsky.social of Endpoints
endpoints.news/roche-moves-... by @leileiwu.bsky.social of Endpoints
Good piece —>
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...
www.statnews.com/2025/06/12/r...
I study conflicts of interest. Here’s why RFK Jr.’s approach to the vaccine advisory committee could backfire
Ridding the government, including CDC’s vaccine advisory committee, of industry interests should not play out this way, writes an expert on conflicts of interest.
www.statnews.com
June 13, 2025 at 4:34 PM
Good piece —>
Great thread — bookmarking for my drug dev class. HT @thewonkologist.bsky.social
❌ "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.
✅ 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.
June 13, 2025 at 10:54 AM
Great thread — bookmarking for my drug dev class. HT @thewonkologist.bsky.social
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.)
Writing 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 🧪
Technical blogging for growth and learning
Writing a technical blog improves your writing, forces you to learn new things, helps others and yourself, and helps your career. This post: why blog, what to blog about, how to start, and using AI.
doi.org
June 12, 2025 at 10:04 AM
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.)
Reposted by Frank S. David
Me: “FIVE hours?”
Also me: <hits the “subscribe” button>
Also me: <hits the “subscribe” button>
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.
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.
Lenacapavir: The miracle drug that could end AIDS
Hard Drugs · Episode
open.spotify.com
June 11, 2025 at 8:20 PM
Me: “FIVE hours?”
Also me: <hits the “subscribe” button>
Also me: <hits the “subscribe” button>
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...
June 10, 2025 at 9:00 PM
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
June 10, 2025 at 1:05 PM
Good reading recs here from Jacob Trefethen of Open Phil: blog.jacobtrefethen.com/science-writ...
Reposted by Frank S. David
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
June 5, 2025 at 10:47 PM
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
Reposted by Frank S. David
Or simply: Get lucky: pick winners.
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...
“Spend on R&D. Not too much. Mostly Phase 3 trials.”
www.ideapharma.com/insights/rev...
June 5, 2025 at 3:44 PM
Or simply: Get lucky: pick winners.
Good template for a clear paper abstract — HT @johnholbein1.bsky.social (who credits @fgilardi.bsky.social)
June 5, 2025 at 3:50 PM
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...
“Spend on R&D. Not too much. Mostly Phase 3 trials.”
www.ideapharma.com/insights/rev...
June 5, 2025 at 3:43 PM
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...
“Spend on R&D. Not too much. Mostly Phase 3 trials.”
www.ideapharma.com/insights/rev...