The deal, which involves a $700 million upfront payment, gives AbbVie access to ISB 2001, a clinical-stage first-in-class trispecific antibody currently being tested for certain kinds of multiple myeloma as well as autoimmune indications.
Partners Ultragenyx and Mereo BioPharma saw their stocks drop by 21% and 30%, respectively, after announcing that the Phase II/III study of their osteogenesis imperfecta candidate will proceed to final analysis, implying it did not show sufficiently strong results at an interim analysis.
The move has sparked concern that the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force could soon be dismissed after a decision by the high court affirmed Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s power to remove its members at will.
The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria will work with Gilead and other private backers to ensure the HIV preventive Yeztugo, approved last month by the FDA, is available in low- and middle-income countries, concurrent with high-income nations.
The number of employees laid off and companies letting people go increased year over year during the first half of 2025. BioSpace recaps the five largest layoff rounds, including cuts at Bayer, BMS and Teva.
Nuclidium’s radiopharmaceutical platform is unique in its use of copper-based payloads, which the biotech claims can deliver higher doses while also being safer.
FEATURED STORIES
ADC Therapeutics, Sutro Biopharma and Zai Lab are among those developing antibody-drug conjugates to address payload and toxicity challenges of current ADCs—and rapidly grow the multibillion-dollar market.
With two decisions originally scheduled for this week already announced, including BridgeBio’s approval in ATTR-CM, the regulator has just one PDUFA on its plate this holiday week.
Sage Therapeutics discontinued development of its lead candidate dalzanemdor after a third clinical failure, leading analysts to question the biotech’s future profitability.
RFK Jr. as HHS head is perhaps President-elect Donald Trump’s most controversial Cabinet pick now that Matt Gaetz has withdrawn as nominee for Attorney General. With Dr. Oz tapped to lead CMS and maybe Marty Makary at the FDA, it’s going to be quite the show.
A judge in the U.K. last month sided with Pfizer over GSK in a respiratory syncytial virus vaccine patent lawsuit, positioning both companies to compete for that market and laying down a marker for ongoing legal clashes in other parts of the world.
While the full impact of the Supreme Court decision remains unknown, the new regulatory landscape could be a net positive for drug developers.
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
This week, Greg, Heather and Tyler discuss reaction to Novo Nordisk’s purchase of Catalent and speculate on what that means for existing manufacturing contracts, customers and consequences with regulators.
This week Lori, Greg and Tyler discuss drug pricing reforms. CMS sent offers to manufacturers of the 10 drugs that have been selected for Medicare price negotiations. What’s the best way forward that benefits patients while still supporting the innovation that makes these drugs possible? How will the election impact negotia
Lori, Greg and Tyler discuss last week’s call for a class-wide box warning on all commercial CAR T therapies, while investigations are ongoing into cases of secondary malignancies. How do we approach this balancing act of treatment and side effects?
Job Trends
AstraZeneca will showcase new clinical and real-world data across its leading inhaled, biologic and early science respiratory portfolio at the American Thoracic Society International Conference, in San Diego, CA from May 17 - 22, 2024.
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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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As the antibody-drug conjugate space continues to heat up, Merck has acquired preclinical startup Abceutics—spun out of the University at Buffalo—and its novel platform that aims to make ADC therapeutics safer. -
The FTC and the U.S. Department of Justice’s antitrust division will have another 30 days to examine Novo Nordisk Foundation’s acquisition of contract manufacturer Catalent, according to an SEC filing. -
Contineum Therapeutics priced its initial public offering Friday, scaling back its expectations for gross proceeds of $110 million for clinical trials of a challenger to Boehringer Ingelheim and Roche. -
Acorda Therapeutics becomes the latest biotechnology company in 2024 to go bankrupt and shutter its business, following years of financial difficulty. Merz Therapeutics will acquire two commercial medicines from Acorda for $185 million. -
Genmab announced Wednesday it is buying ProfoundBio and its pipeline of next-generation antibody-drug conjugates being developed for gynecologic cancers and other solid tumors.
WEIGHT LOSS
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Novo Nordisk’s continuing supply problems for semaglutide come as the pharma tries to expand the drug’s indication, opening it up to more patients—and potentially to heavier production pressures. -
Eli Lilly this week announced plans to sell single-dose vials of its weight loss drug Zepbound directly to consumers. Novo Nordisk could adopt a similar strategy for Wegovy as its CEO is set to testify Sept. 24 before the Senate health committee.
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Siding With Novo and Lilly, Court Agrees to First Tackle ‘Cross Cutting Issues’ in GLP-1 LitigationsIn agreeing with Novo Nordisk and Eli Lilly, Pennsylvania judge Karen Spencer Marston said the court should first settle questions of gastroparesis diagnosis and sufficient warnings for side effects. -
Through its online pharmacy LillyDirect, Eli Lilly announced Tuesday it will allow patients to purchase single-dose vials of Zepbound—without the autoinjector—at a 50% discount or more versus other incretin obesity treatments. -
In this deep dive BioSpace dissects the global obesity and diabetes markets along with the growing pipelines that aim to serve them.
POLICY
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Amid growing concern of the overuse and misuse of obesity drugs, the UK’s pharmacies regulator rolled out stricter guidelines for online pharmacies selling medicines including Novo Nordisk’s Wegovy and Eli Lilly’s Mounjaro. -
J&J, AstraZeneca, Novo Nordisk and Roche are among the companies that might take a hit from the soon-to-be-enacted fees, according to analysts. -
Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.—Trump’s pick for HHS secretary who endured confirmation hearings last week—has repeatedly criticized industry ties to the FDA, particularly financial links between the two, which could indicate trouble for the user-fee model. -
While the former Biden administration showcased the Inflation Reduction Act as a key victory in the fight over high drug prices in the U.S., Trump has so far been mum on how the controversial law could evolve in the coming years. -
Senators on the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions committee were critical of Kennedy’s long history as an anti-vaccine campaigner.
Do you know that growing emotional intelligence at workplace can be beneficial for career growth? If not, have a look at the article and learn some tips.
Controlling interruptions when working from home can be challenging, but a little planning and some established rules can help.
Are you an introvert who is worried about your performance? Well, do you know that these unique skills can make you an excellent leader? Let’s find out those skills.
If you’re struggling to find your dream job or unsure of what your next career move should be, career assessments might be the next right step. Here’s how to do it.
Along with the growing trends of working from home and online, freelance careers are becoming a more popular career path. Here’s everything you need to know.
We’ll answer these questions and a few others here in order to help you determine which path best fits your needs for the future of your biotech career.
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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The deal has secured Novartis the chance to work with Ratio Therapeutics on a novel drug candidate that could fortify the Big Pharma against competition from would-be radiopharmaceutical rivals such as BMS and Lilly. -
Despite recent enthusiasm around the PD-1/VEGF space, BMO Capital Markets analyst Evan Seigerman noted that Merck’s pact with LaNova Medicines is more “conservativism” on the pharma’s part than confirmatory of recent data in the drug class. -
GSK is carving out a niche for Blenrep in the second-line multiple myeloma setting, for which it projects multi-blockbuster potential for the antibody-drug conjugate. -
Following strong treatment response data for Adaptimmune’s lete-cel, the biotech is planning to initiate a rolling BLA submission to the FDA, set to start by the end of 2025. -
The acquisition will give BioNTech full ownership of an investigational bispecific antibody targeting the PD-L1/VEGF-A pathways, a hot area in oncology that could potentially replace standard checkpoint inhibitors for cancer treatment.
NEUROSCIENCE
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The FDA previously refused to review Biohaven’s candidate in the indication due to a failed late-stage trial. However, the company is now planning to file an NDA in the fourth quarter of 2024. -
As the FDA prepares to render a verdict on BMS’ closely watched schizophrenia drug, BioSpace takes a closer look at the late-stage pipeline for this neuropsychiatric disorder. -
The positive readout in patients with non-relapsing secondary progressive multiple sclerosis comes on the heels of back-to-back failures in which tolebrutinib was unable to improve relapse rates in patients with relapsing MS. -
Launched in 2020 to more quickly bring to market an effective medicine for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, the HEALEY Platform Trial has generated disappointing results for many but also continuing programs from Clene and Prilenia. -
The FDA has six target action dates ahead to round out September as drugs for gastroparesis, Niemann-Pick disease type C and more await decisions.
CELL AND GENE THERAPY
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The FDA is facing four big target action dates in the final week of June, including one label expansion for a bispecific antibody and another for an investigational gene therapy. -
The plethora of genes involved in obesity presents an intriguing opportunity for both gene silencing and ex vivo gene therapy approaches. -
Results of a large Stanford Medicine study, published Wednesday in The New England Journal of Medicine, finds CAR-T therapies carry a low risk of secondary malignancies not related to the T cells. -
Pfizer’s investigational Duchenne muscular dystrophy gene therapy, fordadistrogene movaparvovec, failed in a late-stage study to significantly improve motor function in patients versus placebo. -
Given their seven-figure price tags, it’s not clear how accessible the would-be cures will be to U.S. patients on public or private insurance.
