Vertex Pharmaceuticals' acquisition of Alpine Immune Sciences will bolster a growing kidney disease franchise that could help diversify Vertex’s business beyond its blockbuster cystic fibrosis franchise. On the latest BioCentury This Week podcast, BioCentury’s editors discuss what attracted Vertex to Alpine and why it believes its newly acquired therapy can outshine others for IgA nephropathy. The editors discuss how Goldman Sachs aims to scale private biotechs via its venture strategy and the likely key factors for CMS as it determines prices for the first cohort of drugs in Medicare drug price negotiations under the Inflation Reduction Act. They also preview BioCentury’s first R&D conference — Grand Rounds — which will focus on the biotech industry’s interface with academia, bringing together decision-makers and the next innovators in Nashville, Sept. 9-11. This week’s podcast is sponsored by Jeito Capital.