The ongoing conflicts between Ukraine and Russia, as well as Israel and Palestine, have sent ripples across various industries, including pharma. Medical science liaisons can help.
Health-focused nonprofits like the Drug Information Association (DIA) serve as crucial bridge-builders in the healthcare ecosystem during a time of uncertainty.
Eli Lilly says Indianapolis-based Premier Weight Loss is cracking open auto-injector pens containing its blockbuster drug and repackaging them into separate doses.
One day after the European Medicines Agency requested that three clinical trials of Elevidys be placed on hold after the death of a U.S. teenager, a data monitoring committee concluded that they should continue unchanged.
Roche’s reorganization of Spark Therapeutics is coming more into focus, with nearly 300 employees being let go by the end of this year. Spark also trimmed its staff in 2024.
The FDA has asked for another well-controlled trial to establish the efficacy of reproxalap in dry eye disease.
The FDA derives just under half of its yearly funding from pharma user fees, which help support its operations and fund employee salaries. An analysis from AgencyIQ suggests that the agency is dangerously close to losing it all.
FEATURED STORIES
Less than a day into his second term, President Donald Trump ordered a freeze on communications at major public health agencies, among other moves that have sent waves through the biopharma industry.
At J.P. Morgan, most biopharma executives expressed a neutral stance on the incoming administration, but just days later, President Trump issued multiple executive orders that concern the industry.
Five years ago, Gilead signed a massive deal with Galapagos. After a restructuring, the pharma is still hunting for the potential it saw at the original signing.
LATEST PODCASTS
The BioSpace team is recording from San Francisco as they bring you the the latest highlights from JPM2024.
BioSpace and guests from Halia Therapeutics, Triumvira Immunologics and the Alzheimer’s Drug Discovery Foundation discuss alternative financing strategies to consider for 2024. Listen now.
Greg Slabodkin, Heather McKenzie and Tyler Patchen discuss BioSpace’s tenth annual NextGen list of the hottest new life sciences companies.
Job Trends
Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, Inc., the leading RNAi therapeutics company, announced the publication of its 2023 Corporate Responsibility Report.
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SPECIAL EDITIONS
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.
Peter Marks, the venerable head of the FDA’s Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research, has been forced out. In this special edition of BioPharm Executive, BioSpace takes a deep dive into the instability of the HHS.
Year-over-year BioSpace data show biopharma professionals faced increased competition for fewer employment opportunities during the first quarter of 2025.
DEALS
  1. At the center of the deal is Amolyt Pharma’s late-stage candidate eneboparatide for the rare disease hypoparathyroidism. AstraZeneca also gains ownership of AZP-3813, which is being assessed for acromegaly in a Phase I trial.
  2. IFM Therapeutics announced Wednesday its subsidiary IFM Due has been acquired by Novartis. The acquisition provides the Swiss pharma with full rights to IFM Due’s portfolio of STING antagonists targeting inflammation-driven diseases.
  3. The early-stage oncology startup filed for an initial public offering on Wednesday, seeking funds to help develop its novel cancer therapies targeting extrachromosomal DNA.
  4. Follow along as BioSpace keeps you up to date on the latest pharma and biotech M&As, from announcements to closings.
  5. Companies inked 204 deals in the fourth quarter of 2023 with venture capital funding slipping to $6.3 billion from $7.8 billion in the third quarter last year, according to market data firm Pitchbook.
WEIGHT LOSS
  1. While type 2 diabetes and obesity are the primary conditions currently treated with blockbuster GLP-1 drugs, Novo Nordisk and Eli Lilly aim to enter additional markets.

  2. With GLP-1 receptor agonists expected to dominate the weight loss market in the near term, several young companies are building on this mechanism, while others are taking a completely different approach.
  3. After nixing a twice-daily version of its oral GLP-1 agonist, Pfizer is hoping to break into the weight-loss space with a once-daily version, but experts question its outlook.
  4. Roche’s oral GLP-1 receptor agonist CT-996—obtained in the $2.7 billion acquisition of Carmot Therapeutics—reduced body weight by more than 6% at four weeks versus placebo in a Phase I trial.
  5. 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.
POLICY
  1. In a letter to FDA Commissioner Robert Califf, a House committee flagged several U.S. companies—including Eli Lilly and Pfizer—that have allegedly worked with the People’s Liberation Army on clinical trials in Xinjiang, raising ethical and intellectual property concerns.
  2. Last week, the Biden administration revealed the first drug prices negotiated under the Inflation Reduction Act; Lykos, Grail and others make substantial staffing cuts, and Pfizer/BioNTech see mixed results for their COVID/flu vaccine.
  3. As the pharma industry awaits congressional action on the bill, gaping holes in the domestic drug manufacturing ecosystem have never been clearer.
  4. The recent invalidation of an AAV gene therapy patent overlooks the complexity of innovation in biotechnology and could put a broad swath of intellectual property at risk.
  5. Two months after winning FDA approval in the same indication, AbbVie and Genmab on Monday secured the European Commission’s nod for its bispecific antibody Tepkinly for the most common type of low-grade non-Hodgkin lymphoma.
CAREER HUB
The interview goes both ways and in order to choose a perfect workplace, you must analyze a few things. Here are a few interview red flags to watch out for during an interview.
Since almost every job market has become more competitive, you need to start improving your skills. Here are a few tips that can help you in skill development.
Before we look at the tips and tricks that can help you bag a job in pharma, we should look at the complications that you might face when getting the job.
Workplace issues can arise anytime so it is always better to be prepared to seek out the problems directly in a mannered way to avoid any kind of personal rivalry.
Let’s talk about some common mistakes job candidates make during interviews, so you can steer clear of them for your next interview! Here’s how to nail a job interview.
Here are some effective career development tips that can help you stay ahead and accomplish milestones. Don;t miss any of it if you want a successful career.
Project leadership is not an easy task to handle. You become responsible for every action. Therefore, learn some tips to perform your duty effectively.
HOTBEDS
Where are the Best Places to Work in life sciences? BioSpace’s annual Best Places to Work list demonstrates a company’s desirability in the recruitment marketplace - find out who made the list this year.
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
The drug, a small molecule protein inhibitor, brought in $132 million in the first quarter, missing consensus estimates by 17%.
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
  1. The mesothelioma approval for the Keytruda combination regimen potentially unlocks a $12 billion market opportunity, according to a recent report from research firm IMARC Group.
  2. The FDA’s approval of Kisqali in combination with an aromatase inhibitor allows Novartis to target patients with earlier breast cancer who are at risk of recurrence.
  3. Infusions of Vertex and CRISPR Therapeutics’ Casgevy and bluebird bio’s Lyfgenia have begun; Moderna targets 10 approvals through 2027; more oral obesity drug data; the latest from ESMO and more.
  4. Despite meeting the primary endpoint in a Phase III study, two patients treated with Merck and Daiichi Sankyo’s experimental antibody-drug conjugate died in a Phase III non-small cell lung cancer study, though the deaths have not been linked to patritumab deruxtecan.
  5. Bristol Myers Squibb presented the positive Phase III results on its already approved Opdivo-Yervoy combo at ESMO over the weekend, while separately announcing that it was returning Immatics’ bispecific T cell engager.
NEUROSCIENCE
  1. Two CRLs from the FDA last week cited concerns with third-party manufacturers, while Indian CDMOs may make a bid for U.S. business if there is a decoupling from Chinese companies under the BIOSECURE Act.
  2. FDA
    Donanemab, which will be marketed as Kisunla, will compete with Biogen and Eisai’s Leqembi.
  3. After back-to-back failures in 2021, Wave Life Sciences has finally aced a Phase Ib/IIa Huntington’s disease trial and is looking to a potential accelerated approval for its investigational antisense oligonucleotide.
  4. The FDA’s calendar is relatively light in July, with only five major deadlines, including one for a PD-1 blocker and another for an opioid overdose drug.
  5. PTC Therapeutics said Thursday the FDA has lifted a partial clinical hold on its Huntington’s disease candidate PTC518 after displaying favorable clinical trends in a mid-stage study.
CELL AND GENE THERAPY
  1. Ahead of the FDA’s June target action date for Sarepta’s Duchenne muscular dystrophy gene therapy, ICER Chief Medical Officer David Rind blasted the regulator’s accelerated pathway in a JAMA viewpoint article.
  2. Astellas Pharma and Poseida Therapeutics have entered into a second CAR-T contract to develop novel and flexible allogeneic cell therapies in oncology.
  3. Q&A: Development Scientist at AGC Biologics Sara Morlacchi analyzes the growth of the cell therapy industry and barriers for cost and accessibility.
  4. FDA
    Pfizer will go toe-to-toe with CSL Behring following the FDA’s Friday approval of its hemophilia B gene therapy Beqvez and will launch a warranty program based on the durability of response.
  5. The Celularity CEO and founder tells BioSpace he believes that placenta-derived cells are the future of stem cell therapies to fight autoimmune disease, cancer, even aging.