M&A headlined for a second straight week as Genmab acquired Merus for $8 billion; Pfizer strikes most-favored-nation deal with White House; CDER Director George Tidmarsh caused a stir with a now-deleted LinkedIn post; GSK CEO Emma Walmsley will step down from her role; and uniQure’s gene therapy offers new hope for patients with Huntington’s disease.
In this episode presented by Element Materials Technology, guests Dr. Jihye Jang-Lee and Dr. Khanh Courtney will explore how healthcare and pharmaceutical players are rethinking their strategies amid global supply chain disruption.
Galapagos at the start of the year had planned to split into two businesses, with one resulting entity focused on cell therapies. The biotech nixed these plans a few months later, instead choosing to put up for sale multiple cell therapy assets.
With data from the Phase III STELLAR-303 study in the books, Exelixis is plotting a 2025 regulatory application for zanzalintinib.
In May, Summit released early data from the Phase III HARMONi study showing that while the PD-1/VEGF inhibitor resulted in significant progression-free survival improvements, it fell short of the overall survival bar.
The death occurred in a patient who had a complex medical background and who was being managed with several drugs, according to RBC Capital.
The anti-CD20 antibody, developed by Roche’s Genentech along with Biogen and already approved for multiple oncology indications, is branching into autoimmune disease. Its B cell–targeting mechanism of action gives it activity in improving kidney conditions in patients with lupus nephritis.
FEATURED STORIES
Billions in market cap are being shed as the markets reel over President Donald Trump’s escalating trade war. Eli Lilly’s value has dropped more than $95 billion in just one month.
Long considered resistant to economic downturns, the pharmaceutical industry may face a greater challenge this time around as GLP-1s dominate and the population grows older.
Akero Therapeutics, 89bio, Boston Pharmaceuticals and more are working to bring novel treatment options for metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis to a market that could reach $16 billion by 2033.
Researchers in pharma and beyond have historically glommed onto a limited number of disease targets, limiting innovation. AI could change that.
While it’s not unusual for certain positions to turn over with a new administration, the number of senior-level FDA staffers who have recently left the agency is unprecedented. The lack of communication, transparency and human decency is as well.
Bo Wang is a renowned AI scientist at the University of Toronto. He’s bringing his open-source culture and computational biology to Xaira Therapeutics in June.
LATEST PODCASTS
This week on Denatured, Head of Insights Lori Ellis and guests discuss the persisting challenges of diversity, equity and inclusion when designing clinical trials.
This week’s news ranged from BioSpace’s on-the-ground updates from DIA to safety concerns in clinical trials to BIOSECURE Act updates to new projections that the GLP-1 market could top $100 billion within 10 years.
BioSpace’s Lori Ellis and Chantal Dresner bring live updates from the first day of #DIA2024 in San Diego.
Job Trends
Emergent BioSolutions Inc. announced that its 2024 Annual Meeting of Stockholders will be held in a virtual-only format via live audio webcast on Thursday, May 23, 2024 at 9:00 am eastern time.
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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
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Under a multi-year agreement announced Wednesday, Eli Lilly will leverage Haya Therapeutics’ proprietary RNA-guided genome platform to identify drug targets to address the chronic conditions. -
Not all licensing deals are successful. Here, BioSpace examines a few noteworthy assets that Big Pharma returned in the last 12 months. -
Belgium-based biopharma UCB is selling its Chinese neurology and allergy business to Singapore asset management firm CBC Group and Abu Dhabi investment company Mubadala. -
Venture capital in the sector hit $9.2 billion in the second quarter of 2024, up from $7.4 billion in Q1, while exits fell on a slower M&A cycle and picky IPO market. -
M&A activity surges and IPOs return as the biotech industry navigates a changing business landscape marked by strategic consolidation and renewed investor focus on innovation.
WEIGHT LOSS
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Investors appeared disappointed by CagriSema’s Phase III readout, which showed weight loss that fell short of Novo Nordisk’s prior projections for the therapy. Meanwhile, Eli Lilly’s stock rose on the news. -
After a couple months of uncertainty, the FDA has told compounding pharmacies that they have 60 to 90 days before the agency will enforce rules to stop their production of GLP-1s. -
In this episode of Denatured, BioSpace’s Head of Insights Lori Ellis, Miguel Forte and Ali Pashazadeh speculate on the impending Trump administration, discuss current challenges faced by CEOs and weigh investment in GLP-1s. -
According to the World Health Organization, GLP-1 receptor agonists are currently being used in a highly medicalized manner. Healthcare systems need to enact more holistic solutions, focusing on health promotion, disease prevention and policy interventions. -
Following an appeal by the Danish Medicines Agency, the European Union’s drug regulator will review two new studies that have strengthened the link between Novo Nordisk’s blockbuster GLP-1 and a rare eye disease.
POLICY
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The Health and Human Services Secretary said that he will find and eliminate the cause of autism by September, an idea that suggests how little he knows about the condition. -
GeoVax was using its HHS contract to develop its next-generation multi-antigen COVID-19 vaccine, which is in Phase IIb development. -
Despite these cuts, the FDA should be able to stay above a “trigger” level that would prevent it from collecting fees from the pharma industry and deprive it of approximately half of its annual funding, according to The Washington Post. -
In the wake of unprecedented workforce cuts at the FDA, former Commissioner Scott Gottlieb and an unnamed former CBER director spoke to analysts about potential implications for drug review timelines and agency morale. -
Playing both sides of trade war, pharma companies are asking for certain compensations for scientific innovation and a smoother regulatory framework.
What is the culture like at your company? Are employees motivated to do their best work? Is your company using employee engagement strategies to improve productivity?
Discover the pros and cons before you hire an independent contractor (IC). These include freelancers, consultants, seasonal workers, and other temporary professionals.
Getting job-hunting and career advice is hard, especially when you get it from those who have worked for decades. Some advice is still helpful today, like making a good impression, but others are considered counter-productive.
The salary expectation question is one of the most difficult questions asked during a job interview. Here’s how you can answer the question perfectly.
The coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic that has ravaged across the globe has demanded more experts in microbiology, particularly jobs in virology.
BioSpace’s Pharm Country Hotbed ranges from Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Rhode Island.
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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Adding a new indication for the CAR T cell therapy could help BMS offset the loss-of-exclusivity headwinds it faces in the coming years.
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Kuro Oncology and partner Kyowa Kirin are on track for an NDA submission for ziftomenib in the second quarter of this year. -
Despite significant dips in its vaccines sales, the British pharma narrowly beat consensus estimates for Q4 2024 and raised 2031 sales projections to just over $50 billion. -
Faced with the encroaching threats of patent expirations and generics, biopharma companies in 2024 invested 33% more in licensing deals, on average, than in 2023 with an eye toward enriching their pipelines with novel and potentially more effective therapies. -
Topline data on a combo including Pfizer’s kinase inhibitor Braftovi point to improved progression-free survival and pave the way for its full approval for the treatment of certain colorectal cancers, according to the company.
NEUROSCIENCE
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In a highly anticipated readout for the kappa opioid receptor class in major depressive disorder, Neumora’s navacaprant failed to meet the primary and key secondary endpoint in the first of three identical Phase III studies. -
This year saw lofty highs and devastating lows for neuroscience drug developers like Bristol Myers Squibb, Eli Lilly and AbbVie, following the predictable pattern of successes and failures that characterizes this space. -
Already established as cornerstone therapies in diabetes and obesity, GLP-1 receptor agonists also show potential in several other indications, including cancer, addiction and neurodegenerative diseases. -
BioArctic received $100 million upfront with another $1.25 billion in potential milestone payments on the line for two pyroglutamate-amyloid-beta antibodies. -
The report comes just two days after Novartis announced its own Parkinson’s drug failure.
CELL AND GENE THERAPY
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In a tough fundraising space, cell therapy biotechs pursuing autoimmune indications review staffing to ensure the right expertise is in place to tackle the new disease area. -
BEAM-101 seems to be competitive with approved sickle cell treatments, William Blair analysts said in a note to investors, but a patient death underscores the need for less-toxic preconditioning treatments. -
Multiple players are exploring whether modalities designed to combat B cell malignancies can be repurposed against lupus, myasthenia gravis and other conditions traced to misdirected immune response. -
While some of the initial excitement around immunotherapies has waned, companies—particularly smaller biotechs—are developing newer iterations that will take cancer care to the next level. -
The biotech beat Wall Street’s third-quarter revenue forecast by 6%, driven by increased uptake of its achondroplasia drug Voxzogo. However, William Blair downgraded BioMarin’s shares to market perform due to a “lack of near-term catalysts” and uncertainty around Voxzogo’s potential revenue growth.
