The biopharma job market likely won’t turn around until 2026, according to two industry experts. Both cited a need for more investment and noted the impact of uncertainty on the industry.
Takeda’s Julie Kim argues that Trump’s idea to match drug prices to that of other countries could cost the industry up to $1 trillion over the next 10 years.
In this episode of Denatured BioSpace’s head of insights Lori Ellis discusses the public health consequences of vaccine hesitancy and the critical distinction between skepticism and cynicism with Paul Offit, MD, director of the Vaccine Education Center at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia.
Following a similar decision in case the trade group Outsourcing Facilities Association brought against FDA over its decision to declare the end of the shortage of Novo Nordisk’s semaglutide, Judge Mark Pittman agreed that Eli Lilly’s tirzepatide is in sufficient supply, meaning compounding pharmacies can no longer sell the lucrative weight loss drugs.
Gilead will construct three new facilities in the U.S., while upgrading three others. The company claims the investment will produce "$43 billion in value.”
The independent experts will meet on May 22 to discuss updates to the COVID-19 vaccine for the upcoming season.
FEATURED STORIES
Pharma stocks went on a wild ride Wednesday amid whiplashing tariff threats from the U.S. president.
Experts express concern that last week’s unprecedented FDA layoffs will trigger a little-known mechanism that could result in a “disaster” the Trump administration doesn’t see coming.
As the industry awaits official word from the administration on how the tariffs will hit, analysts go over the possibilities with one certainty: there will be increased costs for medicines.
FROM BIOSPACE INSIGHTS
In a year when eradicated diseases are on the uptick in America, how will American children survive RFK Jr.’s vaccine scrutiny and inconsistency? Two experts call on pharma and regulatory bodies to rebuild trust.
LATEST PODCASTS
The Novo-Catalent deal now moving ahead highlights unprecedented investment in manufacturing, while also standing out as an exception to the unspoken rule of keeping M&As to less than $5 billion this year.
GSK, Gilead and Arcellx, Vertex and more present new data at the American Society of Hematology annual meeting just as sickle cell therapies Casgevy and Lyfgenia have a new outcomes-based payment model; Eli Lilly and Novo Nordisk pump new funds into manufacturing; and AbbVie makes a Cerevel comeback while uniQure clears a path toward accelerated approval in Huntington’s disease.
In this episode of Denatured, BioSpace’s Head of Insights Lori Ellis, Miguel Forte and Ali Pashazadeh discuss how a slow and steady pace is a continuation of the pattern we have seen throughout the last three years.
Job Trends
Pfizer Inc. announced the election of Cyrus Taraporevala to its Board of Directors, effective immediately.
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SPECIAL EDITIONS
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.
Year-over-year BioSpace data show biopharma professionals faced increased competition for fewer employment opportunities during the first quarter of 2025.
DEALS
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Licensing deals have risen in prominence in a restrained market environment. Is it desperation, or an important part of the biotech ecosystem? Experts weigh in. -
Look for renewed investment driven by lower interest rates in the new year, and a continued focus on late-stage assets, oncology and reaping the benefits of AI. -
China is adapting its Life Sciences policy to bolster innovation and data transparency. Big Pharma is taking note. -
The acquisition from Wuxi Biologics, the embattled CDMO named in the BIOSECURE Act, marks another expansion of Merck’s manufacturing operations in Ireland. -
M&A didn’t return as hoped for in 2024. The biopharma industry is heading into the J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference next week in a grim mood.
WEIGHT LOSS
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Donald Trump continues to make waves in biopharma; Sage rejects Biogen’s unsolicited takeover offer; the obesity space sees more action with new company launches, IPOs and fresh data; and experts get ready for an important era in the Duchenne muscular dystrophy space. -
It’s been a rocky few months for BioAge Labs, which shuttered a Phase II trial of its lead candidate azelaprag Tuesday after the molecule caused liver-based side effects. -
Versant Ventures continues to invest in the increasingly competitive obesity space, this time launching Helicore with $65 million and a GIP-targeting asset intended to induce higher-quality weight loss. -
The GLP-1 IPO arena has been heating up for the past two years and Metsera’s ask is one the largest in recent history. -
Patients taking Novo Nordisk’s Wegovy plus Veru’s enobosarm saw 71% lower lean mass loss than those who were taking Wegovy alone but investors await more data.
POLICY
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The latest cuts, which are part of a larger reduction of 10,000 at the Department of Health and Human Services, were reportedly underway Tuesday, with CDER Office of New Drugs Director Peter Stein added to the list of casualties. -
Analysts at financial firm Cantor Fitzgerald are urging President Donald Trump to rethink his appointment of Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as Secretary of Health and Human Services. -
The European Union’s CHMP said that the benefits of the drug, already approved in the U.S., do not outweigh the risk of potentially fatal brain swelling and bleeding. -
The announcement by the Department of Health and Human Services highlighted a flurry of moves, which include the shifting of departments. Also this week, HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. tapped fellow vaccine critic David Geier to investigate vaccine safety within the CDC. -
Donald Trump’s proposed tariffs on the EU would increase manufacturing costs for pharma companies and would stall medical innovation, according to the results of a recent survey by the Biotechnology Innovation Organization.
If you overidentify with your job, there are ways to find self-worth outside of work, starting with using your transferable skills somewhere else.
Transitioning from team member to manager has its challenges, including managing ex-peers. There are a few ways you can make the change easier.
Odds are, you won’t love every job. Is that OK? And what should you do if you’re struggling to find happiness at work?
While biopharma professionals cited age discrimination as an issue in a new BioSpace report, it’s not the only factor affecting older and younger people’s job searches.
Learn how to discuss career gaps and how to be a great hiring manager and interviewer.
Dry promotions include new titles and responsibilities without higher pay. What should you do if you’re offered this type of promotion?
HOTBEDS
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
President Donald Trump unwrapped a massive drug pricing policy as CMS prepares for the next round of Medicare drug price negotiations; Vinay Prasad to take the helm at the FDA’s Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research; Bayer cuts 2,000 more employees; Eli Lilly’s Zepbound scores again; and the Galapagos story turns again.
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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More than a decade after Merck’s Keytruda and BMS’ Yervoy ushered in the immuno-oncology revolution, the space is at a crossroads, with experts highlighting novel targets, combinations and pre-emptive immunization as the next wave for IO. -
The company will push through with an accelerated approval application for odronextamab in follicular lymphoma, leaving diffuse large B cell lymphoma behind. -
In the Phase III SERENA-6 trial, camizestrant—in combination with CDK-inhibitors—beat out current standard-of-care treatments in terms of progression-free survival, according to AstraZeneca. -
Eikon’s lead candidate, EIK1001, is being tested for advanced melanoma. The candidate is currently in late-stage development, which the biotech will fund using Wednesday’s series D raise.
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At the 2025 National Biotechnology Conference, gene therapies, bispecific antibodies and other novel modalities—relative newcomers to medicine—will be much discussed. In this curtain raiser, BioSpace speaks with conference chair Prathap Nagaraja Shastri of J&J about these highly anticipated topics.
NEUROSCIENCE
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Vigil Neuroscience reported a strong safety profile and 50% sTREM2 reduction in an early-stage trial for VG-3927, potentially representing a new avenue for treating Alzheimer’s disease. -
In a good-news-bad-news week for Biogen, the company will cut an undisclosed number of employees, just as a higher dose of its Ionis-partnered therapy Spinraza for spinal muscular atrophy will be considered by the FDA and EMA. -
The drugs’ active ingredient, glatiramer acetate, has been linked to more than 80 cases of anaphylaxis worldwide since December 1996 and six patient deaths. -
The U.S. Court of Federal Claims ruled that Vanda cannot claim a breach of confidentiality for specifications that it did not develop itself. -
Cebranopadol, a dual-NMR agonist, reached the primary endpoint in a Phase III trial and matched placebo for safety, a significant concern in the analgesic field.
CELL AND GENE THERAPY
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Sarepta Therapeutics’ Duchenne muscular dystrophy therapy Elevidys handily beat analysts’ expectations in the fourth quarter of 2024, reflecting the biotech’s “world-class” execution, according to BMO Capital Markets analysts. -
Benefiting from technological and conceptual groundwork and positive early data, gene therapies are advancing in the clinic for cardiovascular diseases including congestive heart failure, chronic refractory angina and cardiomyopathy. -
Among the 55 novel drugs that crossed the regulatory finish line last year were notable new mechanisms of action, coming particularly in the oncology and neurosciences spaces. -
In this short teaser, BioSpace’s Head of Insights Lori Ellis talks to CBER Director Peter Marks and Tom Whitehead, Co-Founder of the Emily Whitehead Foundation about anticipated discussions at the upcoming GenScript Biotech Forum. -
In a deal expected to close in Q1 2025, Roche will gain access to Poseida’s off-the-shelf CAR T candidates.
