Taking center stage at the American Society of Gene and Cell Therapy meeting was the first-ever reported case of a personalized in vivo CRISPR editing therapy, which substantially eased the symptom burden in an infant.
The restrictions on Novavax’s vaccine could portend changes at the FDA. Commissioner Marty Makary suggested last week that the agency could update its vaccine approval guidelines “in the coming days.”
Analysts at BMO Capital Markets said in a weekend note that a non-invasive blood test could help boost uptake of Alzheimer’s disease therapies.
The star of the acquisition is the enzyme replacement therapy INZ-701, being developed for the rare disease ENPP1 deficiency.
The FDA also approved the use of Zynyz as a monotherapy for patients with squamous cell carcinoma of the anal canal who are intolerant to platinum chemotherapy or whose disease has progressed.
Since Elevidys’ accelerated approval in 2023, experts have been clamoring for more data, particularly in older and non-ambulatory children. New results, presented Friday, show mobility improvements in 8- to 9-year-old patients after one year of follow-up.
FEATURED STORIES
Johnson & Johnson’s Joaquin Duato is no longer the highest paid CEO in pharma. Meanwhile, just two women make the top 10.
Lined up for the FDA in the coming weeks are a cell-based gene therapy for a rare skin disease and two product expansions for Regeneron, one with partner Sanofi.
AI is enabling the development of a next generation of drugs that can more precisely target cancer cells while sparing healthy tissues.
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
Trump fingers Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to lead the HHS, lupus and ATTR-CM dominate headlines this week, bluebird bio has a cash gap to leap and RegenxBio eyes Sarepta in Duchenne muscular dystrophy.
A tale of two multi-billion schizophrenia deals, AstraZeneca touts strong sales while deflecting questions about an investigation into China exec, the Huntington’s pipeline builds momentum and layoffs continue with Sana Biotechnology and 23andMe.
In this episode of Denatured, BioSpace’s Head of Insights Lori and guests from Teva Pharmaceuticals and TOWER Capital discuss the opportunities, regulatory challenges and uncertainty surrounding AI.
Job Trends
Slope is excited to announce today the formation of a new industry-led consortium to enable the future of complex clinical research by driving sample excellence.
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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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Photys is eligible for up to $186 million from Novo Nordisk for its PHICS small molecules that pair a kinase to a disease-causing protein for phosphorylation. -
BioSpace Senior Editor Annalee Armstrong reflects on the year that was, and what’s to come in 2025. -
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. -
Blackstone and Bain Capital are said to be among the final bidders for the Japanese company’s Mitsubishi Tanabe Pharma, sources told Reuters Friday. -
By far, the largest acquisition of 2024 was Novo Holdings’ yet-to-be-closed buyout of manufacturer Catalent at $16.5 billion. Outside of that, the leading pharmaceutical companies kept to less than $5 billion per deal.
WEIGHT LOSS
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The readout comes on the heels of CagriSema’s disappointing Phase III performance, where it missed Novo’s projection of 25% weight reduction. -
The San Diego–based company’s molecules avoid the well-trod GLP-1 pathway in favor of an alternate route in the gut. -
Biopharma executives shared their thoughts on the potential impacts of the new administration; Annalee Armstrong recaps JPM and her talks with Biogen, Gilead, Novavax and more; Wegovy’s higher dose induces more weight loss; AstraZeneca and Daiichi Sankyo’s Dato-DXd scores its first FDA approval.
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Computational research conducted by scientists from Washington University in St. Louis shows that GLP-1 agonists can have mental and cognitive health benefits but may also harm the kidneys and pancreas. -
As the year gets underway, analysts and biotech executives highlight cell therapy’s pivot from oncology to autoimmune diseases, a continued appetite for next-generation obesity drugs and an increased focus on neuromuscular, kidney and cardiovascular diseases.
POLICY
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Johnson & Johnson will not appeal the dismissal of its bankruptcy proposal. -
Nearly two dozen states on Tuesday sued the Department of Health and Human Services over a planned $11 billion funding cut for public health projects while New Jersey Senator Cory Booker spoke for 25 hours in protest of Trump administration policies. -
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.
Join us in this discussion on how you can optimize your chances of landing a new role despite a highly competitive job market.
BioSpace spoke to HR leaders about how they have been supporting companies navigating a challenging economy while meeting the needs of the workforces they support.
Politics can be a touchy subject, especially during a presidential election year. How should you engage in political discussions at work?
A string of rejections prompt some to look beyond research roles in the biopharma industry as they seek to launch a career.
The past year saw the slowest year-over-year growth in biopharma salaries in the past five years, according to the BioSpace 2024 Life Sciences Salary Report.
Staffing agencies say contract work is a great way to break into an industry and avoid a resume gap.
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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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. -
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. -
The agreement, in which Merck will pay the biotech an undisclosed initial sum to license drugs targeting a solid tumor, could net Epitopea up to $300 million down the line. -
The news comes on the heels of promising Phase I/Ib data, which point to the potential of casdatifan as a more effective alternative to Merck’s Welireg in renal cell carcinoma. -
Exelixis’ next-generation tyrosine kinase inhibitor zanzalintinib is being tested for colorectal cancer, renal cell carcinoma and head-and-neck cancer, with several readouts slated for the second half of 2025.
NEUROSCIENCE
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Boehringer Ingelheim’s trio of late-stage schizophrenia failures on Thursday came a day after the Department of Health and Human Services hit back on the pharma’s legal challenge to the IRA’s drug price negotiation program. -
AbbVie and Gilead are going back to their roots and leaning on their established areas of expertise to set themselves up for sustainable success in 2025. -
Amidst a “renaissance” of interest in neuropsychiatry, Seaport’s executive team is taking nothing for granted. -
J&J, GSK, Eli Lilly and others struck high-value transactions in the early days of biopharma’s annual kickoff conference. Meanwhile, Biogen proposes to acquire struggling neuro partner Sage, and obesity dominates discussions as Pfizer goes “all in.”
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Lykos Therapeutics is currently working out ways to fund an additional Phase III study for its MDMA-assisted PTSD therapy following an FDA setback last year.
CELL AND GENE THERAPY
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Tenaya’s share slump following the TN-201 data drop could be due to its “significantly lower” level of RNA expression in the Phase Ib/II trial than in preclinical models, according to William Blair analysts. -
Bristol Myers Squibb aims to generate around $1.5 billion in savings through 2025—a goal that it hopes to reach by lowering third-party expenditures, focusing only on key growth brands and cutting some 2,200 jobs by year-end. -
When hiring job candidates to work on cell and gene therapies, companies look for more than just technical skills. Talent acquisition executives from Bristol Myers Squibb and Intellia Therapeutics offer an inside look at what they want in an employee. -
With nearly 90% of patients showing no detectable cancer cells after treatment, J&J and Legend’s Carvykti could stave off competition from emerging CAR T therapies such as Gilead and Arcellx’s anito-cel. -
In a Type B meeting, the FDA signified that it will allow uniQure to use a natural history control, the composite Unified Huntington’s Disease Rating Scale, and neurofilament light chain levels to support the accelerated approval of its gene therapy AMT-130.
