Analysts at Jefferies give Roche and Prothena’s Phase III study just a 25% to 40% probability of success.
Regeneron did not bid higher on the genetic testing company because of “its assessment of 23andMe’s remaining value,” according to a spokesperson for the pharma.
Stifel analysts said the deal “feels like an unremarkable outcome for a company that was once one of the hottest stories in CNS.” Supernus’ offer beats Biogen’s unsolicited bid of about $7.22 per share, which arrived with a thud in late January.
Analysts at Truist Securities called J&J’s CAR T readout “compelling,” noting that the efficacy figures could position the cell therapy as a formidable competitor to the current standard of care, Gilead’s Yescarta.
According to an internal email, the agency may be in for more consolidation in areas including human resources, communications, travel and acquisitions.
Sarepta’s shares crashed 41% in premarket trading Monday morning to $21.01 after the biotech reported a second death from acute liver failure, a known side effect of adeno-associated virus-based gene therapies.
FEATURED STORIES
Women are already underrepresented in clinical trials; the new abortion and IVF laws could make it worse.
Pfizer’s sudden market withdrawal of sickle cell therapy Oxbryta, which some analysts predicted would reach $750 million in sales by the end of the decade, has left patients and healthcare providers with few options, while investors question the pharma giant’s dealmaking prowess.
BMS’ KarXT targets muscarinic receptors and “is at least 2-3 years ahead of the competition” including AbbVie and Neurocrine Biosciences, Truist Securities wrote in a note to investors.
Sen. Bernie Sanders’ aggressive targeting of Danish drugmaker Novo Nordisk’s Ozempic and Wegovy pricing, and not Eli Lilly’s rival drugs, is not fair.
Many Big Pharma companies including Pfizer, Merck and BMS make the drugs that some researchers expect to be selected by CMS for next year’s Medicare price negotiations alongside analysts’ top pick, Novo Nordisk’s Ozempic.
Novo Nordisk and Eli Lilly are expected to rule the obesity market for a few more years without much challenge. To ensure they stay there as competition enters, the companies are spending billions in licensing and M&A deals.
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
This week on The Weekly we talk struggles with GLP-1 drug shortages and what that might mean for Novo and Lilly competitors; Regeneron and Sanofi positive results for Dupixent in COPD. Plus, Merck buys Caraway, Beigene’s deal with Ensem, ups and downs for Flagship.
CRISPR gene-editing has had its first ever approval in the UK. Will the FDA follow suit? What can patients expect the price tag to be?
This is part one of a discussion focused upon data bias, accuracy, access and the future of AI in drug development. Topics explored are ROI, human bias, data challenges, data management plans, and human expertise.
Job Trends
Sage Therapeutics, Inc. announced topline results from PRECEDENT, a double-blind, placebo-controlled Phase 2 study of the investigational oral medicine dalzanemdor in people with mild cognitive impairment in Parkinson’s Disease.
Subscribe to Genepool
Subscribe to BioSpace’s flagship publication including top headlines, special editions and life sciences’ most important breaking news
SPECIAL EDITIONS
BioSpace data show biopharma professionals faced increased competition for fewer employment opportunities during the second quarter of 2025, with increased pressure from further layoffs.
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.
DEALS
-
Metagenomi could potentially raise over $100 million if the underwriters exercise their option to purchase additional shares in full, assuming an initial public offering price of $16 per share. -
The investment arm of the Novo Nordisk Foundation is acquiring contract development and manufacturing organization Catalent to help meet high demand for Ozempic and Wegovy. -
Alto Neuroscience and Fractyl Health provided further momentum to the recent spate of biotech initial public offerings, with both companies going public on Friday morning in respective $128 million and $110 million IPOs.
-
Kyverna Therapeutics, the fifth biotech with plans for an initial public offering this year, will use the proceeds to support the development of its anti-CD19 CAR-T therapies for autoimmune diseases. -
On the heels of ArriVent and CG Oncology’s upsized IPOs last week, Alto Neuroscience and Fractyl Health on Monday announced their respective plans to go public.
WEIGHT LOSS
-
President Joe Biden and Sen. Bernie Sanders in a Tuesday op-ed in USA Today called on Novo Nordisk and Eli Lilly to “stop ripping off Americans” with “unconscionably high prices” for their GLP-1 medicines. -
Eli Lilly, Rivus Pharmaceuticals and more target different biological processes in hopes of generating higher-quality weight loss and avoiding metabolic issues. -
Zealand Pharma is looking to build on last week’s positive Phase Ib trial results by raising around $1 billion in a public offering, with the proceeds being used to advance its obesity candidates. -
Novo Nordisk on Monday announced it is boosting its manufacturing capabilities with a $4.1 billion commitment to construct a second fill and finishing facility in Clayton, North Carolina. -
Data showed that Eli Lilly’s Zepbound could resolve obstructive sleep apnea in at least 43% of patients, solidifying the pharma’s case for label expansion.
POLICY
-
The Big Pharma companies made a last-ditch effort asking a U.S. appeals court to reconsider their lawsuits against the Inflation Reduction Act’s Medicare drug price negotiations, which they contend infringe on their constitutional rights. -
While some analysts say Donald Trump is a wild card when it comes to drug pricing, many argue his presidency would be more positive for the industry overall, as Kamala Harris has her price-cutting sights squarely on Big Pharma. -
The CDC’s vaccine advisors on Thursday maintained that respiratory syncytial virus immunization is only recommended for adults aged 75 and older, and in seniors 60 to 74 years who are at risk of severe disease. -
The CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices on Wednesday backed the use of Merck’s Capvaxive and Pfizer’s Prevnar 20 in adults between 50-64 years of age, opening a bigger market for the respective companies. -
On election day, Tuesday, November 5, Americans will choose between former President Donald Trump and current Vice President Kamala Harris for their next president. The election will also see the rearrangement of Congress.
Depending on your master’s program of interest and your personal qualifications, you might need to take months (or years) to develop into the type of candidate that is admitted.
If you are certain that attending graduate school is the right move for you, it’s time to look into the specifics of various programs.
While continued learning opportunities are easy to access and many are quite affordable, the real question is, can you list these courses on your resume? And if you do so, what will recruiters in the biotech field think of them?
Some semblance of a work-life balance is already a challenge to maintain, but doing so when you’re working and living in the same space takes effort and one (or more!) of these strategies.
While you’ve likely answered many of these before, it never hurts to brush up on solid answers and think of new or recent anecdotes to illustrate your point.
How productive are you on a daily basis? The truth is, you probably don’t get as much done as you possibly can due to distractions. But, these productivity methods can help you for sure.
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
-
The FDA’s Oncology Drugs Advisory Committee voted near-unanimously that the benefits of PD-1 inhibitors like Keytruda and Opdivo in PD-L1 low patients do not outweigh the risks. -
Merck follows in the footsteps of Bristol Myers Squibb, which in December 2023 also failed to secure a late-stage victory for its combo regimen of a PD-1 blocker and an anti-LAG-3 antibody. -
If approved, the potential restrictions would impact Merck’s Keytruda and Bristol Myers Squibb’s Opdivo, which are marketed for the first-line treatment of several types of stomach cancer regardless of PD-L1 expression. -
Monday’s failure to improve overall survival in breast cancer “further dents belief” in the companies’ Dato-DXd and “likely complicates regulatory discussions for approval of this indication,” Jefferies analyst Peter Welford wrote in a note to investors. -
With Friday’s approval, Sanofi’s anti-CD38 antibody Sarclisa will go head-to-head with the first such therapy for multiple myeloma, Johnson & Johnson’s Darzalex, which raked in nearly $10 billion last year.
NEUROSCIENCE
-
The next six months for the FDA are primed to be as groundbreaking as the first six, with Eli Lilly’s donanemab and Lykos Therapeutics’ MDMA-assisted PTSD therapy on the docket, among others. -
Accurately diagnosing Alzheimer’s disease pathologies is becoming increasingly important, but the U.S. is facing imaging resource constraints. -
While Sage Therapeutics’ drug candidate showed a slight difference compared to placebo in a mid-stage Huntington’s disease trial, William Blair analysts in a Tuesday note to investors said they “remain cautious” on dalzanemdor and “do not view the small numerical changes as definitive.” -
Despite concerns raised in FDA briefing documents about Eli Lilly’s Alzheimer’s treatment, donanemab, the committee concluded that the benefits outweighed the risks. -
In advance of an advisory committee meeting on Monday, the FDA’s internal reviewers have raised issues regarding Eli Lilly’s Alzheimer’s disease candidate donanemab, flagging problems with its study design and safety outcomes.
CELL AND GENE THERAPY
-
The Celularity CEO and founder tells BioSpace he believes that placenta-derived cells are the future of stem cell therapies to fight autoimmune disease, cancer, even aging. -
While Sanofi restructures and parts with employees from U.S. and Belgian sites, a new company in the GLP-1 space emerges from stealth. -
While Bristol Myers Squibb did not explicitly mention China as the company expands and diversifies its manufacturing capacity, Cellares said the BIOSECURE Act would be a boon to its own growth. -
The regulator on Monday slapped Abeona Therapeutics with a Complete Response Letter for its investigational cell therapy pz-cel due to chemistry, manufacturing and controls issues. -
Bristol Myers Squibb will be using Cellares’ Cell Shuttles, an automated production system capable of producing multiple cell therapies simultaneously, to potentially improve turnaround time to support the pharma’s CAR T cell therapies.
