Vedanta is parting ways with 23 employees, or approximately 20% of its headcount, after Phase II data for microbiome therapy VE202 failed to demonstrate significant response rates in patients with ulcerative colitis.
Citing other priorities—such as the upcoming U.S.-Russia summit—four anonymous sources claim that pharma tariffs could still be weeks away, according to Reuters.
In this episode of Denatured, BioSpace’s head of insights Lori Ellis discusses the ‘enormous implications’ of patent policy changes with Aaron Cummings and Anne Li of Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck.
Looking for a biopharma job in Texas? Check out the BioSpace list of six companies hiring life sciences professionals like you.
The layoffs will not spare Generation’s R&D team, which will initially be retained while the biotech completes its strategic review but will eventually be let go.
Prasad Returns, Delany Departs, Lilly’s Weight Loss Pill Disappoints and Sarepta’s Fallout Continues
CBER Chief Vinay Prasad reclaimed his job less than two weeks after his mysterious exit; MAHA implementor Gray Delany is out after reportedly sparring with other agency officials over communications strategy; Eli Lilly’s first Phase III readout for oral obesity drug orforglipron missed analyst expectations; and Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals addresses the recent woes of its of partner Sarepta.
FEATURED STORIES
Despite weathering a difficult year, biopharma continues to see massive pay gaps between CEOs and their median employees, with top executives often earning hundreds of times more.
Until compelling surface targets for lung cancer are developed, antibody-drug conjugates will fail to treat most patients with lung cancer, experts told BioSpace.
The insights AI affords can potentially boost sustainability, but it’s unclear whether these gains outweigh the technology’s environmental cost.
Following a series of clinical failures, optimism builds for the first disease-modifying treatment.
Since taking the helm in 2023, Anderson has embarked on a radical departure from the traditional structure of large pharma companies. Will getting rid of management layers fix Bayer?
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.
LATEST PODCASTS
In this episode of Denatured, Jennifer Smith-Parker speaks to Kenneth Galbraith, CEO of Zymeworks and Josh Smiley, president and COO of Zai Lab, about how renewed confidence is driving biotech entering 2026.
Eli Lilly’s retatrutide exceeds expectations in Phase III, capping off a sparkling 2025 for the obesity titan; an internal FDA safety review finds no confirmed pediatric deaths caused by COVID-19 vaccines, and Commissioner Marty Makary says no black box warning will be attached to the shots; and BioSpace looks at six biotechs that could be pharma’s next buy.
In this episode of Denatured presented by AnaptysBio, Jennifer Smith-Parker speaks to Dr. Joe Murray, Mayo Clinic; Marilyn Geller, the Celiac Disease Foundation; and Dr. Paul Lizzul, AnaptysBio, about the challenges and opportunities facing celiac disease treatment.
Job Trends
Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, Inc. said that Chief Executive Officer Yvonne Greenstreet has been selected as the 2024 Woman of the Year by the Healthcare Businesswomen’s Association.
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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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One day after revealing a restructuring initiative, Jounce Therapeutics announced it plans to merge its business in an all-stock deal with clinical-stage biotech Redx Pharma. -
Amid mounting pressure from investors and shareholders, Bayer’s supervisory board unanimously appointed outsider Bill Anderson as its new CEO. -
Karuna Therapeutics acquired exclusive rights to Goldfinch Bio’s investigational TRPC4/5 channel candidates in a deal potentially worth $520 million. -
Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) voiced concerns to the FTC regarding the prospective acquisitions of Horizon Pharmaceuticals and Opiant Pharmaceuticals by Amgen and Indivior. -
bluebird bio, Inc. is expecting gross proceeds of $120 million with its newly announced public offering of 20,000,000 shares.
WEIGHT LOSS
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The filing comes as Novo fights tooth-and-nail with rival Lilly to regain its footing at the top of the weight loss market. -
Participants in a Phase III trial who switched to Eli Lilly’s orforglipron after 72 weeks of treatment with Wegovy or Zepbound largely maintained their weight loss for up to a year. -
Eli Lilly’s retatrutide exceeds expectations in Phase III, capping off a sparkling 2025 for the obesity titan; an internal FDA safety review finds no confirmed pediatric deaths caused by COVID-19 vaccines, and Commissioner Marty Makary says no black box warning will be attached to the shots; and BioSpace looks at six biotechs that could be pharma’s next buy. -
These deals radically reshaped the biopharma world, either by one vaccine rival absorbing another, a Big Pharma doubling down after another failed acquisition or, in the case of Pfizer and Novo, two heavyweights duking it out over a hot obesity biotech. -
In the midst of regulatory and political upheaval, biopharma’s R&D engine kept running, churning out highs and lows in equal parts. Here are some of this year’s most glorious clinical trial victories.
POLICY
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Shifts in the FDA’s approach present an unprecedented opportunity to solve problems with patient access and trial design. -
The BIOSECURE Act, which seeks to protect U.S. national security from Chinese biotech companies, will not be part of the House of Representatives vote on the 2025 fiscal year National Defense Authorization Act. -
The FDA has a packed calendar this week, with six decisions on the docket, including ones for Merck’s Keytruda, BMS’s Krazati and Sarepta’s Elevidys. -
Teva Pharmaceuticals lost its patent row with Amneal Pharmaceuticals on Monday as a New Jersey court ruled that some of Teva’s claims over its inhaler product ProAir HFA were improperly listed on the FDA’s Orange Book. -
Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), chair of the Senate health committee, has proposed issuing a subpoena to Novo Nordisk President Doug Langa forcing him to testify regarding the company’s pricing for Wegovy and Ozempic.
While it’s unlikely that you’ll get the answers you want to all of your questions, there are still appropriate ways to approach your interviewers or the employer and find out as much as you can about their decision.
If you’re currently on the job market or getting ready to find a new job, you’re probably spending a fair amount of time adding to, revising, tweaking, and in general optimizing your resume so it will get noticed by a potential employer and, eventually, be so powerful and effective that it leads to a call-back for a job interview.
Your workplace habits can interfere with your work life and cause professional imbalance. Therefore, you should avoid these habits to boost your productivity.
Are you ready to look for a new job? If you have made the decision to put yourself on the job market, there are a few things that you need to do right away to get yourself ready for the process.
Now that school is back in session, it’s never too early to start thinking about an internship program for summer breaks. Use these steps to secure one for yourself.
You should regularly update LinkedIn profile to give the best outlook to the recruiters looking at your profile. Here are some more reasons to consider.
HOTBEDS
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
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.
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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Keytruda, when used with AstraZeneca’s Lynparza, did not significantly improve overall and progression-free survival in specific patients with metastatic non-squamous non-small cell lung cancer. -
Bristol Myers Squibb secured another late-phase immuno-oncology victory Wednesday, showing that the combination of Opdivo and Yervoy improved overall survival in a patient population served by rival checkpoint inhibitors from AstraZeneca and Roche. -
Following in the footsteps of Bristol Myers Squibb and Eli Lilly, AstraZeneca on Tuesday jumped into the radiopharmaceuticals space by acquiring Fusion Pharmaceuticals in a deal worth $2.4 billion. -
The Chinese biotechs are broadening their collaboration. Hansoh Pharma is licensing Biotheus’ anti-EGFR/cMet bispecific antibody to develop antibody-drug conjugates. -
The PD-1 inhibitor Keytruda significantly improved overall survival in a late-stage trial when used with chemoradiotherapy to treat patients with newly diagnosed advanced cervical cancer.
NEUROSCIENCE
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Phase I/II data showed AC Immune’s anti-amyloid-beta vaccine candidate could safely elicit an antibody response in patients with Alzheimer’s disease. Now, it will expand to Down Syndrome patients. -
Cassava Sciences reported Phase II data from its Alzheimer’s candidate simufilam Tuesday. The company’s stock dropped 17% following the reveal.
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Research hasn’t shown that removing amyloid plaques alone improves function in Alzheimer’s patients, said Sharon L. Rogers, CEO of AmyriAD. -
The FDA issued a complete response letter Thursday refusing accelerated approval for Eli Lilly’s Alzheimer’s disease candidate donanemab. -
The neurodegenerative drug development space saw incremental victories in 2022. Leaders from Eisai, Voyager and QurAlis discuss upcoming milestones.
CELL AND GENE THERAPY
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A report from analysts at Jefferies suggested that new screenings for metachromatic leukodystrophy and Duchenne muscular dystrophy could bump sales of the gene therapy Libmeldy by more than $100 million. -
Addition joins a growing list of launches this year, following in the footsteps of startups like Crystalys Therapeutics and Ollin Biosciences. -
Backed by Italy-based Fondazione Telethon ETS, Waskyra, for Wiskott-Aldrich syndrome, is the first gene therapy from a non-profit sponsor to win FDA approval. -
For traditional approval, CAR T therapies will need to establish superiority over current standard treatments, including already-approved CAR T products. -
As big pharmas including Takeda and Novo Nordisk flee the cell therapy space and smaller biotechs shutter their operations, these players are sticking around to take the modality as far as it can go.
