In the first half of 2026, pharmaceutical and artificial intelligence companies announced fourteen major deals totaling at least US$23.6 billion in potential value, according to a survey by analyst Oliver Sprague Kelly. The prevailing interpretation was that the pharmaceutical industry is betting heavily on radical innovation . I spent a good part of my twenty-five years in the industry in environments where such agreements are discussed and approved, and those who have lived

In recent days, after I wrote about PNIRS, I received the same question from founders, researchers, and investors, phrased in different ways: and the money, where is the money? I heard this from people I've known for years, people who built good science within universities, started companies, won grants, and then saw their projects stall not due to technical failures, but due to a lack of a next step . It is about this next step that I want to write, because it contains the m

Last week, Insilico Medicine announced the start of Phase III trials for rentosertib, an oral TNIK inhibitor for idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF). At first glance, the news seems like just another biotechnology milestone among many. But it's unlike anything we've seen so far, and it's worth understanding why before we return to the discussion about the Brazilian program for radical innovation in healthcare. Rentosertib is the first molecule in history to reach a pivotal Ph