Terns, once a rising star in obesity and the MASH space, will refocus on cancer and partner out a handful of obesity assets.
Maziar Mike Doustdar, who was named as Novo Nordisk’s new CEO last week, spoke on a second quarter earnings call of reallocating resources to the company’s “main core” of metabolic disease.
President Donald Trump plans to start with a “small tariff” on pharmaceutical imports before ramping duties up to 250% within a year and a half.
BioNTech also laid off 63 employees in June in conjunction with the discontinuation of its cell therapy manufacturing operations in Gaithersburg, Maryland.
The Department of Health and Human Services is terminating around $500 million in BARDA contracts associated with mRNA vaccine development, a move that will affect several pharma companies, including Moderna, Pfizer, Sanofi and AstraZeneca.
From tariffs to drug pricing to the FDA, biopharma CEOs find themselves pulled into policy discussions on this year’s second quarter earnings calls.
FEATURED STORIES
Sanofi paid a more than 300% premium on its acquisition of Vigil Neuroscience, suggesting a fierce battle to seal the deal. Across biopharma, companies are sometimes willing to put it all on the line for the right buyout. Novartis’ recent acquisition of Regulus for $800 million upfront provides a case study.
AstraZeneca, Pfizer and more are leveraging the computational power of AI to better design trials, predict the potential efficacy and safety profiles of their molecules and synthesize massive multi-omic information to gain a more complete understanding of challenging cancers.
Looking at licensing deals struck in the past 10 years, Jefferies found that many Big Pharmas do not ultimately follow through with M&A after earning a right of first negotiation. Sanofi, on the other hand, almost always does, as it did with Vigil recently.
Gene therapies have ridden investor mania to huge valuations but commercialization challenges have pushed market caps to the floor. At a roundtable last week, FDA leaders promised faster approvals and broad support to the industry.
As multiple companies vie to expand on Alnylam’s success in commercializing RNAi therapeutics, the pioneering company has set a goal of targeting small interfering RNA to any tissue by 2030.
Vaccine skepticism is at an all-time high in the U.S., and HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is making some drastic moves in the name of reversing that trend. But misinformation and inconsistencies within the country’s healthcare agencies highlight problems with his approach.
FROM BIOSPACE INSIGHTS
Following a tumultuous start to 2023, layoffs have cooled off though recruiting activities have been significantly impacted by the economic environment.
LATEST PODCASTS
In this bonus episode, BioSpace’s vice president of marketing Chantal Dresner and careers editor Angela Gabriel take a look at Q1 job market performance, layoffs and administration decisions impacting the workforce.
In this episode presented by DIA, BioSpace’s head of insights Lori Ellis discusses the underrepresentation of women in clinical trials with Martin Hodosi, partner at Kearney and Melissa Laitner, director of strategic initiatives at the National Academy of Medicine.
A consumer-driven weight loss market could put pharma at greater risk if a recession hits; the continued turmoil at FDA and other HHS agencies magnifies the uncertainty facing the industry; Lilly files a lawsuit against a med spa selling its drugs; and more.
Job Trends
BioSpace has named 50 biopharma companies to its 2025 Best Places to Work list, including Moderna and Sutro Biopharma, whose executives share what makes their organizations special.
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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
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The deal is a blast from the not-too-distant past, when special purpose acquisition companies were an easy way for companies to list on the public market with a bundle of cash to operate on. -
Roche’s Genentech is betting on the Flagship Pioneering–founded company’s discovery platform called DECODE to find new targets for an undisclosed autoimmune disorder. -
Alis Biosciences’ plan is a familiar tactic in the private equity world, but the firm will instead be listed on the public markets “in due course.” -
Despite making an unsolicited bid for gene therapy maker bluebird bio, Ayrmid failed to deliver a binding offer after weeks of due diligence. Bluebird’s board recommended that it go with Carlyle and SK Capital Partner’s original offer to take the company private for $30 million. -
Merck has not disclosed which of its peptide therapies it plans to develop oral formulations for.
WEIGHT LOSS
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Like fellow Big Pharmas Eli Lilly and Johnson & Johnson, Amgen is urging the Trump administration to consider tax policy instead of tariffs to promote domestic pharma manufacturing. -
Eli Lilly CEO David Ricks is confident that weight loss med Zepbound is gaining market share at the expense of Wegovy, even as its rival strikes deals with CVS and Hims & Hers pharmacies. -
To say, as CEO David Ricks did, that this was a good quarter, is an understatement. Mounjaro in diabetes brought in $3.84 billion for the quarter while Zepbound in weight loss booked $2.31 billion. -
As Q1 2025 earnings season continues, tariffs remain top of mind for pharma CEOs and investors. Meanwhile, the American Association for Cancer Research’s annual event kicks off this year’s oncology conference season. Plus, will the FDA become politicized under HHS Secretary RFK Jr.? -
In December 2024, the FDA affirmed that the shortage of tirzepatide, marketed as Zepbound for weight loss, had ended, formally barring compounders from producing their knockoff versions of the drug.
POLICY
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As an office of the executive branch, the Department of Health and Human Services “does not have the authority” to implement sweeping changes to the structure of the agency as created by Congress, a judge wrote. -
Kennedy wants to expand the injury compensation program to include COVID-19 vaccines, while also stretching the “statute of limitations” to more than three years. -
In an open letter addressing the Trump administration’s proposed budget cuts to HHS, the executives urged Congress to continue “robust federal funding” for scientific research, which they say will help maintain U.S. biotech leadership globally. -
The revamped and “more anti-vax skewed ACIP committee” at the CDC “has a bone to pick with mRNA vaccines,” according to Truist Securities analysts. Meanwhile, the FDA moves forward on having Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna update labels for their COVID vaccines. -
Susan Monarez, already acting director of the CDC, said during her confirmation hearing that she sees no causal link between vaccines and autism.
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After more than 20 years at Eli Lilly, Leslie Sam moved into independent consulting. To prepare for the transition, she focused on becoming technically deep and earning industry recognition.
Employed and unemployed biotech and pharma professionals are thinking about job hunting in other fields amidst a challenging labor market.
When you don’t get the promotion you wanted, it’s important to assess your company and yourself so you can improve your odds in the future.
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HOTBEDS
REPORTS
The 2021 Salary Report is significant in more ways than one. This year, BioSpace analyzed salary data through two key lenses: the impact of the pandemic, and for the first time, race and ethnicity.
BioSpace’s 2022 Salary Report explores the average salaries and salary trends of life sciences professionals. Though movement in the labor market slowed during the pandemic, recovery has been swift and employers are once again having to cope with a highly competitive talent market.
BioSpace has created guidelines on how biopharma organizations, large and small, can effectively support employee resource groups (ERGs), encouraging both their creation and ongoing participation.
CANCER
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Analysts said the data suggest “a strong treatment effect.” Jazz has filed for FDA approval for the combination, which could offer an alternative to monotherapy treatments from Roche and AstraZeneca. -
Bristol Myers Squibb is dropping at least $3.5 billion to jointly develop the bispecific antibody, which will race with Summit Therapeutics, Merck and Pfizer in the crowded PD-1/PD-L1xVEGF space. -
Updated Phase I/Ib data in hand, Arcus will launch a Phase III trial as it aims to compete with Merck, whose drug secured approval for a type of kidney cancer in 2023.
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Following Merus’ splash last month with a “best-in-disease profile” for its head and neck cancer bispecific, Bicara touted positive results for its monocolonal antibody, but analysts say Merus still has the upper hand. -
Arguably the most notable of the FDA’s upcoming decisions is that regarding Gilead’s twice-yearly HIV prophylaxis lenacapavir.
NEUROSCIENCE
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After a tense exchange, Senator Patty Murray (D-WA) told Kennedy that by implementing sweeping cuts to the HHS, he is “enacting his budget,” which “Congress has not passed.”
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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 FDA also changed its tune and is now planning to convene an advisory committee to discuss Biohaven’s application. -
Azafaros will use the Series B haul to push lead asset nizubaglustat into late-stage studies for Niemann-Pick disease Type C and GM1/GM2 gangliosidoses later this year. -
To more effectively treat neurodegenerative conditions, we first need diagnostic tools that lend a more complete picture of protein aggregates in the brain.
CELL AND GENE THERAPY
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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. -
Lilly will use Rznomics’ proprietary ribozyme technology to develop RNA editing therapies for congenital hearing loss. -
After warnings that the dragged-out process was putting the cell therapy company at risk of bankruptcy, bluebird bio now has a new deal to offer shareholders.
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It’s another wild twist in the story of Galapagos, a company that has been around for more than 25 years but has yet to get a therapy approved. -
The cell engineering company, co-founded by oncologist and writer Siddhartha Mukherjee, does not see a path forward for its pipeline of early-stage cell therapies for two different types of cancer.
