Scott Gottlieb, who served as FDA commissioner during the first Trump administration, wrote in a JAMA editorial that China is speeding drugs to market and could potentially surpass the U.S. in the innovation game.
AMX0035—approved as Relyvrio in 2022 for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis but voluntarily pulled from the market last year—was unable to distinguish itself from placebo in a mid-to-late-stage trial of progressive supranuclear palsy.
Novartis has bet up to $772 million to gain access to BioArctic’s BrainTransporter platform, which was leveraged in a partnership with Eisai to produce Leqembi.
Regeneron’s cemdisiran, used alone or in combination with its complement inhibitor Veopoz, significantly improved activities of daily living in patients with generalized myasthenia gravis.
Follow along as BioSpace tracks job cuts and restructuring initiatives throughout 2025.
The layoffs will affect employees at Pfizer’s Bothell, Washington site, which previously served as the headquarters for Seagen before being acquired by the pharma for $43 billion.
FEATURED STORIES
Generate:Biomedicines’ Nicole Clouse is one of the key legal minds trying to understand who owns what AI creates. The answers are critical to the future of biotech.
If the trend holds, IQVIA expects 2025 deal volume between Chinese and multinational companies to easily eclipse the 100 agreements signed in 2024.
Companies have claimed improvements to yield, batch consistency and output while acknowledging the risks and challenges created by the technology.
The mad rush for safe and effective obesity drugs has winners—including Eli Lilly’s Zepbound and Novo Nordisk’s Wegovy—and losers. Here are five molecules that never made it to the market.
While it’s impossible to make apples-to-apples comparisons of the many obesity candidates with so many differences across clinical trials, we at BioSpace are giving it our best shot.
With results from highly anticipated trials of Eli Lilly’s orforglipron and Viking Therapeutics’ VK2735 “underwhelming” investors, William Blair’s Andy Hsieh predicts weight loss pills will play a bigger role in low- and middle-income countries than in the U.S.
FROM BIOSPACE INSIGHTS
Establishing trust through thought leadership is no longer optional in today’s cautious biopharma market. Learn how strategic insights and targeted outreach can turn awareness into high-converting leads.
LATEST PODCASTS
Eli Lilly drops a second Phase III readout for orforglipron; AbbVie committed to the psychedelic therapeutics space with the $1.2 billion acquisition of Gilgamesh’s depression asset; the CDC taps vaccine skeptic Retsef Levi to lead its COVID-19 immunization working group; and the FDA prioritizes overall survival in cancer drug development.
Closely watched data from Eli Lilly and Viking Therapeutics this month have reignited the discussion around oral weight-loss drugs—and their ultimate place within the anti-obesity medication market.
In this episode presented by Cresset, BioSpace’s head of insights Lori Ellis discusses clinical trial fail rates and AI’s potential to reduce preclinical costs with Mutlu Dogruel, VP of AI and Mark Mackey, CSO of Cresset.
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SPECIAL EDITIONS
BioSpace did a deep dive into executive pay, examining the highest compensation packages, pay ratios and golden parachutes—what a CEO would get paid to leave.
A new generation of checkpoint inhibitors is emerging, with some showing more promise than others. From recent TIGIT failures to high-potential targets like VEGF, BioSpace explores what’s on the horizon in immuno-oncology.
Peter Marks, the venerable head of the FDA’s Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research, has been forced out. In this special edition of BioPharm Executive, BioSpace takes a deep dive into the instability of the HHS.
DEALS
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The deal extends AbbVie’s commitment to the psychedelics space and depression, after emraclidine’s high-profile flop in schizophrenia last November. -
Patients who are prescribed Wegovy or Ozempic can now use GoodRx to access the medications at just $499 a month if they skip insurance. This is not the first time Novo has partnered with a pharmacy to offer the blockbuster drugs. -
After a slow 2024, the biotech shell company Concentra Biosciences is back, offering to buy four biotechs in the past month and seven so far this year. -
Sarepta’s troubles had nothing to do with Arrowhead’s assets, and yet both companies have seen their stock prices decline this past month. BioSpace caught up with Arrowhead’s Chris Anzalone to talk about the biotech’s role as an RNAi pipeline savior. -
Out-licensing drugs to multinational corporations is a natural step for Chinese biotechs, but the recent rise in deals is only scratching at the surface of partnership-ready biotechs in the region.
WEIGHT LOSS
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Eli Lilly drops a second Phase III readout for orforglipron; AbbVie committed to the psychedelic therapeutics space with the $1.2 billion acquisition of Gilgamesh’s depression asset; the CDC taps vaccine skeptic Retsef Levi to lead its COVID-19 immunization working group; and the FDA prioritizes overall survival in cancer drug development. -
While Truist Securities analysts said the results from the ATTAIN-2 trial leave “room for competition,” they also pointed to a manufacturing advantage that could unlock a “double-digit billion dollar opportunity” for Eli Lilly. -
Closely watched data from Eli Lilly and Viking Therapeutics this month have reignited the discussion around oral weight-loss drugs—and their ultimate place within the anti-obesity medication market.
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A draft copy of an upcoming MAHA report reveals a strategy in lockstep with recent HHS actions such as reviving the Task Force on Safer Childhood Vaccines; Viking Therapeutics reports robust efficacy from mid-stage oral obesity candidate but is tripped up by tolerability concerns; Novo Nordisk wins approval for Wegovy in MASH; and Lilly takes a pricing stand.
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Viking Therapeutics’ VK2735 achieves a 10.9% placebo-adjusted weight loss at 13 weeks, but a less than ideal safety profile marred the results.
POLICY
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The MIT professor of management, who already sits on the CDC’s revamped immunization advisory committee, is a known skeptic of vaccines, particularly mRNA technology. -
The White House has denied reports that the government could soon ban COVID-19 vaccines, noting that in the absence of an official announcement, “any discussion about HHS policy should be dismissed as baseless speculation.” -
Thousands of employees across the Department of Health and Human Services are set to lose their collective bargaining rights in a move that American Federation of Government Employees national president Everett Kelley called “illegal and immoral.” -
There’s still much more to come from the White House on tariffs, but the European Union has now reached a trade agreement with the U.S. -
In this episode presented by Cresset, BioSpace’s head of insights Lori Ellis discusses clinical trial fail rates and AI’s potential to reduce preclinical costs with Mutlu Dogruel, VP of AI and Mark Mackey, CSO of Cresset.
Looking for a biopharma job? Check out the BioSpace list of 12 top companies hiring life sciences professionals like you.
It’s easy to get caught up in defending yourself against critique that feels unfair. Leadership coach Angela Justice recommends a different approach that can help you better align how you want to be seen with how you’re showing up.
Tapping into the hidden job market can be challenging but is important in today’s employer-driven market. Three talent acquisition experts share tips for accessing hard-to-find roles.
In the latest installment of his column, Kaye/Bassman’s Michael Pietrack shares five ways leaders can help their teams after a layoff, from acknowledging emotions to reestablishing culture.
Looking for a new opportunity in New Jersey? These nine companies have open roles that could be a great fit for you.
Whether you’re moving on or being moved out, how you leave can shape your reputation more than how you led.
HOTBEDS
REPORTS
In this Employment Outlook report, BioSpace explores current workforce sentiment, job activity trends and the prospective job and hiring outlook for 2025, particularly as it compares to the previous year.
BioSpace’s third report on diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging in life sciences examines dramatic shifts in attitude around diversity initiatives.
CANCER
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The FDA recommends that companies use overall survival as a primary endpoint for clinical trials where feasible. The new guidance follows the surprising return of CBER Head Vinay Prasad, who has previously argued for prioritizing OS. -
The platform strategy of using one molecule to target an underlying biological pathway to address many different diseases can be a goldmine for smaller companies. But it also has a unique set of challenges. -
VantAI will use its machine learning capabilities to identify novel target-effector pairs that Halda can use in designing its bifunctional small-molecule drugs. -
The Department of Health and Human Services’ mRNA pullback only applies to their use in upper respiratory disease, according to Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. -
After two patients who received the investigational CDC7 blocker died, pushing forward with SGR-2921’s development would be “difficult,” according to Schrödinger, whose stock dropped 17.5% before the opening bell on Thursday.
NEUROSCIENCE
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LB Pharma will test the IPO market to seek funding for a Phase III-ready schizophrenia asset. -
The small molecule, vatiquinone, had already flunked a Phase III trial, but the company pushed ahead with an approval bid anyway. -
Waltham, Massachusetts–based Skyhawk Therapeutics has been collecting collaborations with larger companies in spades since launching in 2018. -
Arguably the FDA’s most anticipated decision this month is for a subcutaneous induction formulation of Biogen and Eisai’s Alzheimer’s drug Leqembi, which, according to Eisai, could “help reduce the burden on healthcare professionals and patients.” -
Praxis’ vormatrigine reduced seizures by 56.3%, an effect size that, according to analysts at Truist Securities, exceeds that of its closest competitors.
CELL AND GENE THERAPY
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Appia Bio’s shutdown continues an unfortunate trend this year that has seen biotech closures nearly every month. -
In late May, a patient died after receiving Rocket Pharmaceuticals’ investigational gene therapy for Danon disease, spurring the hold. After lowering the dose and changing the regimen of immune modulators patients receive, the company has received FDA clearance for the trial to continue. -
The FDA has postponed its decision date for Regenxbio’s Hunter syndrome gene therapy to review additional longer-term clinical data for the asset. -
Kriya is advancing a host of gene therapies for a wide variety of chronic diseases, including geographic atrophy, trigeminal neuralgia and type 1 diabetes. -
Prasad Returns, Delany Departs, Lilly’s Weight Loss Pill Disappoints and Sarepta’s Fallout ContinuesCBER Chief Vinay Prasad reclaimed his job less than two weeks after his mysterious exit; MAHA implementor Gray Delany is out after reportedly sparring with other agency officials over communications strategy; Eli Lilly’s first Phase III readout for oral obesity drug orforglipron missed analyst expectations; and Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals addresses the recent woes of its of partner Sarepta.
