Angela Hwang on her pivot from Big Pharma to biotech
Angela Hwang spent nearly three decades at Pfizer before joining Flagship Pioneering in 2025 as a CEO-partner and the CEO of Metaphore Biotechnologies. In this week’s episode of "The Top Line," the former Pfizer chief commercial officer speaks with Fierce Pharma Deputy Editor Angus Liu about her transition from marketing drugs at a Big Pharma company to advancing novel technology at a young biotech startup. Hwang discusses how her upbringing in apartheid-era South Africa—and two key lessons from her career—shaped who she is today. A longtime champion of diverse talent, she emphasizes that regardless of the broader environment or the size of an organization, it’s essential to ensure “everybody has a chance of developing in their careers and that they have a level playing field.” To learn more about the topics in this episode: 'We have not seen anything similar': Novo Nordisk pens $600M obesity pact with Flagship's Metaphore 2022's Fiercest Women in Life Sciences—Angela Hwang Done deal: Pfizer completes $43B acquisition of Seagen, doubling its oncology pipeline See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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29:41
ElevAAte and the push for East Asian American leaders in biopharma
Although East Asians make up a significant share of entry-level roles in U.S. biopharma, few have risen to senior leadership positions. That disparity is what inspired the launch of ElevAAte—a new nonprofit founded this year to support and grow East Asian American leadership in the industry. In this week’s episode of "The Top Line," Fierce Pharma Deputy Editor Angus Liu speaks with two of ElevAAte’s co-founders: Architect Therapeutics CEO Angie You and Candid Therapeutics CEO Ken Song. The veteran biotech leaders discuss why a group like ElevAAte is needed and how East Asian Americans can harness their collective strength to build the next generation of biopharma executives. You and Song—who led Amunix’s $1.2 billion sale to Sanofi and RayzeBio’s $4.1 billion acquisition by Bristol Myers Squibb, respectively—also share insights from their dealmaking careers and offer advice for young professionals entering the field. To learn more about the topics in this episode: Though prevalent in the lab and middle management, East Asian Americans are underrepresented in biopharma C-suites: report Candid's T-cell engager shopping spree rolls on with WuXi Biologics pact worth up to $925M A reason to fight: Former FDA leader Janet Woodcock inspires 3rd Biotech Sisterhood summit Takeda taps Julie Kim to take over for retiring CEO Christophe Weber This episode is sponsored by Cencora. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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35:59
Angus on Angus: A Fierce oncology discussion
We’ve known for a while that there are two Anguses—both journalists covering oncology at health- and biopharma-focused news outlets. Now, for the first time, we’re bringing them together for a “Variety Studio: Actors on Actors”-style conversation. In this week’s episode of "The Top Line," Fierce Pharma Deputy Editor Angus Liu and STAT Cancer Reporter Angus Chen share insights into their work covering cancer and their thoughts on racial identity during a tumultuous time. They discuss what excites them most in the oncology field, how their reporting approaches differ and how they’ve often been mistaken for one another. To learn more about the topics in this episode: Judge permanently blocks NIH grant caps, prompting HHS appeal Cancer research, long protected, feels ‘devastating’ effects under Trump As Trump targets DEI practices, 4 pharmas reaffirm commitment to diversifying clinical trials For struggling cell and gene therapy field, Peter Marks' FDA exit adds even more uncertainty CAR-T cells can arm other immune cells with engineered proteins to fight cancer, study says See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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36:58
Navigating Trump’s tariffs for pharma
After a batch of much-anticipated reciprocal tariffs spared pharmaceuticals in early April, drugmakers, medtech companies, manufacturers and other outfits across the life sciences spectrum are still scrambling to respond to mounting trade pressures. While many unknowns remain, biopharma companies should waste no time in starting to evaluate their options. In this week’s episode of “The Top Line,” we dig into the latest round of tariffs unveiled by the Trump administration and how they could impact multiple areas of the life sciences industry. Fierce Pharma’s Fraiser Kansteiner sits down with KPMG’s life sciences sector leader Kristin Pothier, who discusses how the current tariffs could pose challenges, how drugmakers and other life sciences companies should respond and whether additional sector-specific duties are on the horizon. To learn more about the topics in this episode: As Trump's 'Liberation Day' tariffs seem to spare pharmaceuticals, threat of industry-specific duties and loopholes persists Drugmakers fear Trump tariffs will drive up manufacturing costs, hurt medicine access: BIO survey Eli Lilly CEO on Trump's tariffs: 'It'll be hard to come back from here' Trump again threatens tariffs on pharmaceuticals in 'not too distant' future This episode is sponsored by Cencora.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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25:12
Q1 biopharma layoff trends, plus expectations for Q2
In this week’s episode of "The Top Line," Fierce Deputy Editor Andrea Park and Fierce Biotech Senior Editor Gabrielle Masson discuss how workforce reductions impacted the biopharma industry in the first quarter. The pair examine industry trends, company closures, developments in the cell and gene space—and the reductions in force happening at federal health agencies alongside them. To learn more about the topics in this episode: Biopharmas laid off staffers at least 63 times in Q1: Fierce Biotech analysis Fierce Biotech Layoff Tracker 2025: Pfizer sells site, cuts staff; Opthea reduces workforce by 65% See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Biopharma and medtech explained. Every week, journalists from Fierce Biotech, Fierce Medtech, and Fierce Pharma recount the latest industry trends and why they matter. We'll analyze the week's biggest business news, from mergers and marketing to drug R&D and device development. Available every Friday morning.
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