Behind the Headlines Episode 30: 2026 Wish List

Behind the Headlines examines the ongoing trends, factors, and fashions that cause pharmaceutical news to happen. Panelists are a mix of consultants, venture capitalists, scientists, patient advocates, journalists, and editors. Each episode dissects the current headlines of the preceding weeks that are on everyone’s lips but seeks to highlight the more enduring lessons that hide behind these headlines.

In Episode 30, John Androsavich, general manager, Ginkgo Datapoints, Ginkgo Bioworks, Inc.; Benjamin Fryer, CEO and co-founder, Pluristyx, Inc; and John Wilkerson, Washington Correspondent, STAT News, look ahead at the pivotal developments impacting pharmaceutical investment and drug discovery, alongside political vicissitudes and geopolitics in 2026.

Androsavich is enthusiastic about seeing tangible projects for which AI advanced pharmaceuticals, pointing to the progress that Eli Lily’s Tune Labs had already forged (1), helping to train AI models and moving the right data forward to the center of attention. He also points to the shift for Google DeepMind’s Isomorphic Labs, to create their own wet lab facilities (2).

All panelists were looking for more regulatory certainty amid a changing leadership roster with a backdrop of rising complexity for the therapies being manufactured.

A lion’s share of time was used to examine not what was wished for, but mitigated against, vis-avis mid-term politics, the budget reconciliation process specter, and spiraling health insurance costs. Medicare part B, the reimbursement system for physicians, was also viewed as a potentially problematic feature for 2026.

Ending on a note of optimism, investor sentiment for the sector has begun a strong rebound, with much to look forward to next year. This was somewhat confirmed through news the following days for biotech journalist Kyle LaHucik, who posted on LinkedIn that “The biotech industry just had its best day ever for follow-on offerings, further buoying sentiment headed into the holidays. Leerink Partners' Jack Bannister confirmed to Endpoints News that the $3.2 billion in stock sales was a record-setter for a 24-hour stretch. Seven of the eight offerings were upsized. Kymera, Structure, Terns, Wave Life Sciences, Dyne and Fulcrum raised the money after data readouts. Vera raised money after submitting a BLA for IgA nephropathy last month. Denali also reeled in capital as it awaits an FDA approval decision, expected next April, for its drug candidate in Hunter syndrome” (3).

References

1. Khwaja, Z. Scaling Bio 005: Eli Lilly's Aliza Apple on Building Collaborative AI Infrastructure for Drug Discovery. Decoding BIO. Dec 2, 2025.
2. Raczynski, J. AI at the Speed of Enterprise R&D: Isomorphic Labs and the Future of Drug Discovery. JT Consulting and Media. Dec 3, 2025.
3. LaHucik, K. Investors Buy Up Stocks in Biggest Follow-on Offering Day in Biotech History. EndPoints News. Dec 10, 2025.