Novo Nordisk, under new CEO Maziar Mike Doustdar, has a new attitude. It’s making Pfizer livid.
Before being discontinued, the P2X7 receptor blocker had cleared a master protocol study in chronic pain, though Eli Lilly said that results were not sufficient for advancement of the Asahi Kasei–partnered asset.
Gilead is actively looking for late-stage and de-risked assets for potential deals across various therapeutic spaces, including liver disease, cancer and immunology.
IPO
With the shutdown ongoing, Evommune plans to close its IPO on Nov. 5 via a Securities Act clause that allows registrations to come into effect after a certain window has passed.
CEO David Ricks wants Eli Lilly’s upcoming obesity pill to be accessible to patients who need it, but the company still needs to pay for the next generation of obesity medicines to come after that.
While the company’s sales outlook was otherwise rosy, Merck took sales hits on Gardisil, Proquad, Varivax and Vaxneuvance.
Follow along as BioSpace tracks job cuts and restructuring initiatives.
FEATURED STORIES
Ensho Therapeutics CEO Neena Bitritto-Garg, recently named to BioSpace’s 40 Under 40, proved her mettle managing one of the toughest partnerships out there: the one between Eisai and Biogen that led to new Alzheimer’s drugs Aduhelm and Leqembi.
While the FDA continues to put out guidance documents and approve drugs, some companies are already reporting delays in dealings with the agency, while insiders warn of falling morale and a negative perception from the rest of the biopharma world.
Selecting the ideal pharmaceutical label manufacturer requires careful consideration. This article compares leading companies, highlighting their strengths in regulatory compliance, material performance, serialization, innovation, and sustainability, to help you make an informed decision for your product’s safety and success.
Mergers and acquisitions are not just for Big Pharma. A new report from Leerink Partners takes a stab at identifying the small- to mid-cap pharmas best prepared to bolster their pipelines with a buyout.
The coming flu season is the clearest indication yet that biopharma’s long-standing assumptions about predictability, prevention and portfolio structure are no longer guaranteed.
Executives from Eli Lilly, Merck and other companies foresee the FDA’s new onshoring proposal being anything from a bureaucratic waste of time to a transformative program that will eliminate inspection-related complete response letters.
FROM BIOSPACE INSIGHTS
BioSpace’s Q3 2025 U.S. Life Sciences Job Market Report reveals a turbulent quarter for biopharma hiring, with record declines in job postings, rising layoffs, and cautious employer sentiment shaping the industry’s employment landscape.
UPCOMING EVENTS
LATEST PODCASTS
In this episode presented by Element Materials Technology, BioSpace’s head of insights discusses how China, historically focused on manufacturing, is increasingly becoming an innovation leader, particularly in pharmaceuticals, with guests Dr. Jihye Jang-Lee and Dr. Khanh Courtney. Ultimately, balanced strategies involve domestic capacity investments coupled with global collaboration.
As third-quarter earnings continue to roll out, Novartis makes headlines with the second biggest acquisition of the year; Novartis’ CEO also downplayed the impact of Big Pharma pricing deals with the Trump administration; Regeneron continued the trend of dropping cell therapy assets; BioSpace takes a look at how the FDA is functioning mid-shutdown.
In this episode presented by Element Materials Technology, guests Dr. Jihye Jang-Lee and Dr. Khanh Courtney discuss how small biotechs face mounting pressure amid manufacturing uncertainties.
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SPECIAL EDITIONS
In this deep dive, BioSpace investigates China’s rise as a biotech powerhouse.
In this deep dive, BioSpace explores the next big thing in obesity.
BioSpace did a deep dive into biopharma female executives who navigated difficult markets to lead their companies to high-value exits.
DEALS
  1. Pfizer called Novo’s offer “reckless and unprecedented,” in a statement issued Thursday morning.
  2. Vas Narasimhan confirmed that Novartis is having weekly discussions with the Trump administration on drug pricing, but a deal has not yet been reached.
  3. M&A
    The deal, announced early Sunday afternoon, will see Novartis gain access to Avidity’s neuroscience assets, while the San Diego biotech spins out a new company to shepherd its early-stage precision cardiology programs.
  4. The $70 million upfront deal adds to a portfolio of drugs Biogen has been growing in various immunological conditions since 2024.
  5. The cornerstone of the deal is Ixo-vec, an intravitreal gene therapy currently in Phase III development for wet age-related macular degeneration. Eli Lilly made another foray into genetic medicine in June, picking up Verve Therapeutics for up to $1.3 billion.
WEIGHT LOSS
  1. Mounjaro and Zepbound contributed more than $10 billion to the $11.98 billion in sales Lilly recorded for key products in the third quarter, despite price decreases for the GLP-1 medicines.
  2. The reprioritization initiative extends Aldeyra’s cash runway into the second half of 2027.
  3. Viking Therapeutics CEO Brian Lian is watching the growth of interest in MASH and obesity but prepared to go it alone.
  4. Two patients experienced grade 3 liver enzyme elevations that were deemed related to Terns’ investigational obesity pill TERN-601.
  5. Rybelsus can now be used as a primary or secondary prevention pill to lower the risk of major adverse cardiovascular events in at-risk patients with type 2 diabetes.
POLICY
  1. While the threat of tariffs dies down for the pharma industry, President Donald Trump is reportedly weighing a new investigation that could result in import taxes against U.S. trading partners that don’t pay enough for drugs.
  2. EMD Serono will offer its fertility treatments on TrumpRx at a steep discount, and Roche’s direct-to-consumer offering will cover its flu pill Xofluza.
  3. An unnamed source clarified that Sandra Retzky has not been fired from the FDA, but it remains unclear where she was reassigned.
  4. The last few months have been tumultuous for the CDC, which has seen the ouster of Director Susan Monarez and all 17 members of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices.
  5. A new version of the controversial bill removes the specific company names that were included in a previous iteration but still requires the industry to ditch Chinese biotech contractors in order to receive federal dollars.
CAREER HUB
Biopharma professionals have become increasingly likely to be dishonest when interviewing for jobs, based on BioSpace interviews with three talent acquisition experts. The experts discuss the reasons why as well as the types of fraud happening, including people posing as applicants.
Biopharma professionals aren’t typically hired right away, based on a BioSpace LinkedIn poll. In the past year, only about one-third of respondents found employment in three months or less. Several who did share their keys to success.
In a volatile industry, staying put might seem like a smart bet, but job hugging can quietly erode your visibility, growth and future opportunities.
Looking for a biopharma job? Check out the BioSpace list of 12 top companies hiring life sciences professionals like you.
Transparency doesn’t drive people away. It attracts the right ones and keeps them committed. Leadership coach Angela Justice discusses the problem with leaders only selling the upside and the value of setting accurate expectations from the start.
Media coverage can help biopharma executives connect with, inform and inspire the public. In this column, Kaye/Bassman’s Michael Pietrack and three communications experts share how to make the most of these opportunities.
BioSpace data show biopharma professionals faced increased competition for fewer employment opportunities during the second quarter of 2025, with increased pressure from further layoffs.
HOTBEDS
Where are the Best Places to Work in life sciences? BioSpace’s annual Best Places to Work list demonstrates a company’s desirability in the recruitment marketplace - find out who made the list this year.
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
Generic versions of biologic drugs could hit the market without human trials and allow the market forces to bring down costs, HHS leaders said while announcing new draft guidance.
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
  1. The discontinued CAR T therapy bbT369 came to Regeneron when the pharma bought all of 2seventy bio’s pipeline assets for $5 million upfront in January 2024.
  2. The antibody-drug conjugate, withdrawn from the market by GSK in 2022 after failing a confirmatory study, was approved Thursday by the FDA for previously treated patients with multiple myeloma. This is despite a negative advisory committee vote in July.
  3. The deal focuses on ICT01, a monoclonal antibody being tested in acute myeloid leukemia. ImCheck is also developing assets in infectious disease and other oncology indications.
  4. Pfizer, Merck, AstraZeneca and Bristol Myers Squibb were among the many biopharmas showing off novel cancer modalities at ESMO, with antibody-drug conjugates, bispecific antibodies and kinase inhibitors demonstrating encouraging efficacy and safety for various cancers.
  5. For $1.2 billion upfront and up to $10.2 billion in milestones, Takeda will gain access to a bispecific antibody fusion protein targeting both the PD-1 and IL-2 pathways, among other assets.
NEUROSCIENCE
  1. Bristol Myers Squibb beat analyst and consensus estimates for the third quarter with $12.2 billion in sales, but executives on the company’s investor call faced questions about a sluggish uptake for schizophrenia drug Cobenfy as well as a highly anticipated Alzheimer’s psychosis readout for the product.
  2. To expand the population for the anti-amyloid Alzheimer’s drugs, Lilly and Biogen are testing presymptomatic patients. Will doctors be open to this paradigm-shifting change?
  3. New interim data from a Phase III trial puts the company on track to file for FDA approval next year in an indication that not only lacks a disease-modifying treatment but suffered significant setbacks after a patient died in a clinical trial for Sarepta’s investigational gene therapy.
  4. Intellia earlier this year reported a similar grade 4 liver enzyme elevation associated with the gene therapy nexiguran ziclumeran, though analysts at BMO Capital Markets at the time brushed it off as a “non-concern.”
  5. ALS
    The BioSpace 40 Under 40 winner opens up about his very personal career transformation from wealth management to biotech—and what it’s like to develop a drug for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and frontotemporal dementia as a potential patient himself.
CELL AND GENE THERAPY
  1. With a 100% response rate in a Phase II study, KYV-101 sets a new efficacy bar in generalized myasthenia gravis, according to analysts at William Blair.
  2. The clinical hold comes days after Intellia voluntarily paused enrollment and dosing in the same two studies.
  3. As third-quarter earnings continue to roll out, Novartis makes headlines with the second biggest acquisition of the year; Novartis’ CEO also downplayed the impact of Big Pharma pricing deals with the Trump administration; Regeneron continued the trend of dropping cell therapy assets; BioSpace takes a look at how the FDA is functioning mid-shutdown.
  4. The takeover of its competitor, announced Sunday, could also bring some attention to Dyne Therapeutics, which has a similar RNA-based pipeline in rare muscle diseases.
  5. Novo Nordisk’s leadership gets another shake-up as President Trump promises to significantly slash prices for its GLP-1 drugs; Summit/Akeso, Exelixis and more present new data at ESMO 2025; Replimune pops as FDA accepts resubmitted BLA; FDA names first winners of Commissioner’s National Priority Voucher program; and more.