Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Frank S. David

@franksdavid.bsky.social

1.1K followers 620 following 290 posts

Biotech R&D strategy @ Pharmagellan. Prof of Practice of Biotech @ Tufts Biology. Bio, books, blog & more at www.pharmagellan.com. #biosky

Posts Media Videos Starter Packs

Pinned

Frank S. David @franksdavid.bsky.social · Jul 29

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

Frank S. David @franksdavid.bsky.social · 20d

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...

2 1 3

Frank S. David @franksdavid.bsky.social · Aug 14

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

Reposted by Frank S. David

David Shaywitz @dshaywitz.bsky.social · Aug 8

Great curated list, @franksdavid.bsky.social -and would have expected no less!

Frank S. David @franksdavid.bsky.social · Aug 8

My latest "link list": mailchi.mp/pharmagellan...

Links: Ph2 failures, pharma innovation, oncology R&D, etc.

mailchi.mp

1 1

Frank S. David @franksdavid.bsky.social · Aug 8

My latest "link list": mailchi.mp/pharmagellan...

Links: Ph2 failures, pharma innovation, oncology R&D, etc.

mailchi.mp

Frank S. David @franksdavid.bsky.social · Jul 29

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

Frank S. David @franksdavid.bsky.social · Jul 13

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

1 4

Reposted by Frank S. David

Saloni @scientificdiscovery.dev · Jul 2

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...

AMA: Saloni Dattani
by Toby Tremlett🔹, salonium
Jul 2
1 min read
1
13
Ask Me Anything
Frontpage
+ Add topic
AMA: Saloni Dattani
Question ideas:
1 comment
Saloni will answer the questions in this AMA between 6-8pm BST on July 8th. Leave your questions as comments, and upvote other questions you’d like to see answered.

If you’ve been around EA for a while, and you’re interested in global health, you’ve probably read Saloni Dattani before.

Saloni writes about global health at Our World In Data and is a co-founder and editor of Works in Progress magazine. She’s also recently started a podcast, Hard Drugs, with Jacob Trefethen. She also (somehow) finds time to write a great blog, Scientific Discovery.

She’s recently written on:

The decline in cancer mortality, and how it’s not all down to decline in smoking.
How we calculate fertility rates, and why just calculating the total fertility rate leads us astray.
And she delivered a talk at EA Global London on the data that shapes global health.

1 4 24

Frank S. David @franksdavid.bsky.social · Jul 2

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

1 1 3

Frank S. David @franksdavid.bsky.social · Jun 20

Begs the (serious) question: where do “blog posts” fit on that list? Or do they?

Frank S. David @franksdavid.bsky.social · Jun 20

Generics FTW.

Also, anyone even mildly interested in drug pricing should read Peter Kolchinsky’s “Great American Drug Deal”.

Adrianna McIntyre @adrianna.bsky.social · Jun 20

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)

Reposted by Frank S. David

David Miller @biotechmiller.bsky.social · Jun 20

While the data have been known for some time, I have to say I keep catching myself staring off into space contemplating how life will change for so many with $GILD approval of a twice-yearly shot capable of preventing 99.9% of HIV cases. Remarkable.

1 4

Frank S. David @franksdavid.bsky.social · Jun 19

Good resource for biotech entrepreneurs (HT @wilbanks.bsky.social)

Andy Coravos @arc.bsky.social · Jun 19

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...

1 1 3

Frank S. David @franksdavid.bsky.social · Jun 17

Apparently hope *is* a strategy after all.

endpoints.news/roche-moves-... by @leileiwu.bsky.social of Endpoints

Frank S. David @franksdavid.bsky.social · Jun 13

Good piece —>

Genevieve Kanter @profgenkanter.bsky.social · Jun 13

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...

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

1 1

Frank S. David @franksdavid.bsky.social · Jun 13

Great thread — bookmarking for my drug dev class. HT @thewonkologist.bsky.social

Jake Scott, MD @jakescottmd.bsky.social · Jun 13

❌ "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.

Frank S. David @franksdavid.bsky.social · Jun 12

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 · Jan 25

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

Reposted by Frank S. David

Alexander Berger @albrgr.bsky.social · Jun 11

1 6 50

Frank S. David @franksdavid.bsky.social · Jun 11

Me: “FIVE hours?”

Also me: <hits the “subscribe” button>

Saloni @scientificdiscovery.dev · Jun 11

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.

Lenacapavir: The miracle drug that could end AIDS

Hard Drugs · Episode

open.spotify.com

2 2 5

Frank S. David @franksdavid.bsky.social · Jun 11

“Frontiers” and MDPI-pub’d journals are the most common crap citations in my classes (& I explicitly ban them), but I’ll be on the lookout in case Springer’s “Discovery” rears its ugly head.

Frank S. David @franksdavid.bsky.social · Jun 10

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...

1 2

Frank S. David @franksdavid.bsky.social · Jun 10

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

Frank S. David @franksdavid.bsky.social · Jun 6

Valid point

Reposted by Frank S. David

David Shaywitz @dshaywitz.bsky.social · Jun 5

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

1 1

Reposted by Frank S. David

David Shaywitz @dshaywitz.bsky.social · Jun 5

Or simply: Get lucky: pick winners.

Frank S. David @franksdavid.bsky.social · Jun 5

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...

2 3 17

Frank S. David @franksdavid.bsky.social · Jun 5

Awesome. Followed closely by the BD strategy of “buy de-risked late-stage assets, ideally at a bargain price”.

2 4