Long-term data presented at the Alzheimer’s Association International Conference show Leqembi can help patients stay in the earlier stages of Alzheimer’s disease as compared to the condition’s natural progression.
Monarez is the first CDC director to be confirmed by the Senate under a new 2023 law and will be the first person without a medical degree to assume leadership of the agency in more than 70 years.
Sarepta’s Elevidys is back on the market for ambulatory patients with Duchenne muscular dystrophy, Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. reportedly plans to dissolve the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force and “fix” the vaccine injury compensation program, Merck, AstraZeneca and more report Q2 earnings, Novo names a new leader and Roche’s trontinemab impresses at AAIC25.
CEO Emma Walmsley maintained that continued investment in the U.S. is a priority for the pharma to ensure its medicines for the country are supplied domestically.
Under the Inflation Reduction Act, medications with the same active ingredient will be treated as the same drug for price negotiation purposes—even if approved by the FDA under a separate application—disincentivizing companies from investing time and money in gaining approval for new formulations and indications.
The FDA’s dramatic summer continues to unfold as news broke late Tuesday evening that Vinay Prasad will depart the agency, where he had been the head of the Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research for less than three months.
FEATURED STORIES
Price-negotiation provisions that are out of step with reality are discouraging funders and Big Pharma partners from investing in potentially transformative therapies. Fixing some of the unintended consequences of the IRA will clear the way for innovative medicines to reach patients in need.
Non-opioid pain therapies are entering an unprecedented era, marked by the landmark FDA approval of Vertex’s Journavx and a growing number of alternative approaches. Their ultimate uptake, however, remains to be seen.
With the modality now in early clinical trials, experts say more efficiency, broader editing capabilities and delivery breakthroughs are needed to propel RNA editing to the next stage.
Morale is low at the FDA, which was hit with layoffs this week following RFK Jr.’s confirmation. Biopharma leaders and agency insiders fear further workforce cuts could delay new medicines.
2023 marked the most bankruptcies in biopharma in more than a decade, with 14 companies filing for Chapter 11 protection. The number remained high in 2024.
A cautionary tale illustrates how forging a deal with a Big Pharma can have unexpected and far-reaching tax consequences.
FROM BIOSPACE INSIGHTS
Establishing trust through thought leadership is no longer optional in today’s cautious biopharma market. This webinar will show leaders how strategic insights and targeted outreach can turn awareness into high-converting leads. Watch now.
LATEST PODCASTS
Despite early 2024 optimism, BioSpace’s Job Market Trends report outlines a still sluggish situation in the biopharma industry, Novartis and J&J announce Q2 earnings, GLP-1 market leaders expand into China and the Cassava Sciences saga continues.
This is the third episode of Denatured’s discussion on diversity, equity and inclusion. Here, our guests discuss imperatives around access and accountability.
Pfizer selects its candidate for the oral GLP-1 race as Eli Lilly strives to overtake Novo Nordisk in the injectable weight-loss drug space. Meanwhile, pressure builds to reduce drug prices in the U.S.
Job Trends
Gilead Sciences, Inc. (Nasdaq: GILD) today announced topline results from the confirmatory Phase 3 TROPiCS-04 study in locally advanced or metastatic urothelial cancer (mUC).
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SPECIAL EDITIONS
BioSpace did a deep dive into biopharma female executives who navigated difficult markets to lead their companies to high-value exits.
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.
DEALS
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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. -
The Connecticut-based biotech, which emerged from stealth last year, has secured $202 million to date as it looks to move two assets targeting prostate and breast cancer into the clinic. -
Armed with a combined $850 million in cash, the companies said Thursday the resulting biotech will have a pipeline that could deliver 10 clinical readouts over the next 18 months. -
The size of the global immunology market is projected to nearly double by 2032 to a quarter of a trillion dollars. Here are this year’s standout deals in the space. -
After dropping $4 billion on a deal with the Japanese company last year, Merck is getting back some of its investment as Daiichi Sankyo buys into a Phase I/II T-cell engager therapy acquired from Harpoon Therapeutics.
WEIGHT LOSS
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The EMA approved a kidney disease–related label expansion for the blockbuster GLP-1 drug after a study showed reduced risk of death by 20%. -
The discontinuation of STRIDES is a rare stumble for the next-generation obesity field and comes just weeks after Amgen announced underwhelming mid-stage data for MariTide. -
Eli Lilly is aggressively ramping up its manufacturing capacity for tirzepatide as compounding pharmacies continue to challenge an FDA decision to formally end the shortage of the obesity and diabetes drug. -
In recent months Novo Nordisk has invested several billions of dollars to boost its manufacturing capacity—including its highly contested $16.5 billion merger with CDMO giant Catalent. -
The Danish startup, whose lead candidate has parallels to Amgen’s MariTide, launches on the heels of Amgen’s Phase II data release for the drug last week.
POLICY
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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. -
Analysts are “cautiously optimistic” about Trump’s executive order, noting that changes to the IRA drug price negotiation program will still require Congressional action before being implemented. -
Trump could use the findings of the probe to impose certain trade restrictions on pharma products, including tariffs.
If you’re considering a career change from pharma to biotech, you’ll be happy to hear that according to industry experts, the transition is more common than you might think.
Keep reading to take a look at some of the best pharma jobs for travelers. These jobs will allow you to see different parts of the world while working in an exciting and fast-paced industry.
Thinking about starting a career in biotech? We’ve put together a guide to help you decide where to go within the biotech field and what steps you should take to get there.
The search for a biopharma job can be daunting, but it doesn’t have to be. Here is a complete guide to the biopharma job hunt, from researching job openings to writing resumes and cover letters.
Even if you aren’t looking for a new role in biopharma, nurturing relationships will only benefit you in the long run. To help, here is a complete guide to networking in the life science industry.
To help alleviate some of the stress related to finding a new job, we’ve created a comprehensive guide detailing how to prepare for your biopharma job search.
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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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. -
Novartis was among the most prolific pharma dealmakers in 2024, a trend that it expects to continue with more bolt-on deals this year to set up for sustainable long-term growth.
NEUROSCIENCE
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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. -
Some 90% of investigational drugs fail—and success rates are even more dire in the neuro space. Here, BioSpace looks at five clinical trial flops that stole headlines over the past 12 months. -
Even as Biogen and Eisai’s Leqembi and Eli Lilly’s Kisunla slowly roll out onto the market, experts question the efficacy of these anti-amyloid antibodies and the amyloid hypothesis overall. -
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.
CELL AND GENE THERAPY
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In our anniversary episode, we discuss a rare earnings miss for Eli Lilly, a pivotal metabolic dysfunction–associated steatohepatitis victory for Novo Nordisk’s Wegovy, growing excitement about CAR Ts for autoimmune disease and the ongoing controversy over HeLa cells.
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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.
