From a small team of researchers and skipped salaries, CEO Michelle Xia has steered Akeso to become one of the most exciting companies in the industry today.
Looking for a job in oncology? Check out the BioSpace list of nine companies hiring life sciences professionals like you.
Sanofi’s Orano Med-partnered radioligand therapy AlphaMedix achieved all primary efficacy endpoints, which included a measure of overall response rate, in the mid-stage ALPHAMEDIX-02 study.
The centerpiece of the deal is orelabrutinib, a BTK inhibitor in late-stage development for multiple sclerosis that Biogen once paid $125 million for but abandoned after less than two years of testing.
In the Phase III FIBRONEER-IPF study, Jascayd demonstrated significant lung capacity improvements over placebo.
The $48 million award, granted through the Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health, will help Kernal take its in vivo mRNA-encoded CAR T therapy forward.
The U.S. government remains shut down, with the FDA closed for new drug applications until further notice; cell and gene therapy leaders gather for the annual meeting in Phoenix with the field in a state of flux; Pfizer and Amgen will make drugs available at a discount as President Donald Trump’s tariffs still loom; and new regulatory documents show how Pfizer beat out the competition for Metsera.
FEATURED STORIES
A cautionary tale illustrates how forging a deal with a Big Pharma can have unexpected and far-reaching tax consequences.
Elisa Cascade, CPO at Advarra explains why addressing the challenges faced by clinical research sites is vital for improving patient trust and the overall viability of clinical trials.
COUR Pharmaceuticals has been around a while, but not until last year did the company solidify behind its ultimate mission with a series A raise.
FDA
The hammer came down on an unspecified number of FDA employees this weekend, days after Robert F. Kennedy Jr. was confirmed as HHS Secretary.
Continuing our SCOPE 2025 coverage, Rohit Nambisan, CEO at Lokavant addresses not only current challenges, but the life sciences industry’s responsibility to maintain scientific integrity.
Biopharma doubles down on immunology and inflammation as companies target new pathways and seek to improve on current options in inflammatory bowel disease, atopic dermatitis, myasthenia gravis and more.
FROM BIOSPACE INSIGHTS
Biotech’s slump may finally be over in 2026. In interviews with BioSpace, Zymeworks’ CEO Ken Galbraith and Zai Lab’s President and COO Josh Smiley explain what’s fueling the comeback.
UPCOMING EVENTS
LATEST PODCASTS
The FDA took center stage last week as it approved the first-ever MASH therapy and considered additional approvals for CAR-T therapies, whose safety the agency has been investigating since last year.
This episode focuses on a healthy discussion regarding the IRA, particularly the unintended consequences to small molecule development within the industry and for patients.
Heather, Greg and Tyler discuss a busy news week including Wegovy’s label expansion, biosimilars, surprise donanemab delays for Eli Lilly and speculate on election impact.
Job Trends
Moderna, Inc. (NASDAQ:MRNA) today announced that the Company will present data from its respiratory portfolio, including vaccines and vaccine candidates against COVID-19.
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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
  1. Biogen recently bolstered its pipeline with a potential $1.8 billion acquisition of Human Immunology Biosciences, following other big players looking to cash in on a global immunology market estimated to grow to $257 billion by 2032.
  2. In an SEC filing on Friday, Alumis said it aims to start late-stage trials of a TYK2 inhibitor in plaque psoriasis this year and is seeking public funding for the studies.
  3. After rejecting a previous takeover offer from Future Pak, Vanda Pharmaceuticals is now fielding another acquisition proposal from Cycle Pharmaceuticals, which values the biotech at $8 per share.
  4. Telix Pharmaceuticals is looking to cash in on radiopharmaceuticals, which have emerged as one of the hottest spaces in oncology, with an initial public offering to help support its pipeline of targeted radiation products.
  5. Illumina on Monday announced that its board of directors is spinning off Grail and has applied to list the cancer diagnostics company on the Nasdaq.
WEIGHT LOSS
  1. Cell and gene therapy investment rebounds; WuXi Biologics and other companies named in BIOSECURE Act mull options; Bayer, J&J and Pfizer’s recent layoffs; updates from the weight loss space.
  2. Eli Lilly CEO David Ricks is confident his company and peer Novo Nordisk are years ahead in the weight loss space, as biotechs press on with compelling data.
  3. Alongside the settlement, Novo and Viatris have asked the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office to terminate its review of the validity of the Danish drugmaker’s semaglutide patents.
  4. After psychological side effects doomed the first generation of cannabinoid receptor 1–targeting drugs for weight loss, Novo Nordisk, Corbus Pharmaceuticals and Skye Bioscience are betting that a new mechanism of action will improve the safety profile.
  5. Scaling GLP-1 manufacturing capacity remains a key priority for the pharma industry, to help supply catch up with the insatiable demand for weight loss drugs.
POLICY
  1. BioSpace remembers COVID-19 five years after the pandemic was declared, Novo Nordisk’s CagriSema again misses expectations as the company joins a lawsuit filed by drug compounders against the FDA, Viking secures ample supply of its investigational obesity medication, J&J strikes out in depression, and Makary and Bhattacharya near confirmation.
  2. Marty Makary, likely FDA commissioner under President Trump, appeared before Congress this week as the agency he’s set to lead continues to be rocked by sweeping changes and about-faces.
  3. Days after suffering a rejection in Australia, the Alzheimer’s drug hit another roadblock in the U.K., which found the drug not cost-effective.
  4. Analysts at Jefferies see Makary as a positive for the rare disease space, given his support for accelerated approvals and openness to “customizing regulatory pathways for rare diseases.”
  5. The Senate hearing for FDA Commissioner nominee Marty Makary comes after President Trump’s NIH pick, Jay Bhattacharya, was grilled by the legislative body on Wednesday.
CAREER HUB
These words are used frequently for a reason. But what are companies really getting at with these job description buzz words?
Think about why you are the best candidate for the position and sell yourself. Here are a few ways to do that.
How do you find success (and not feeling like you’re drowning) when you have to onboard to a new job virtually? We have a few ideas.
Depending on your master’s program of interest and your personal qualifications, you might need to take months (or years) to develop into the type of candidate that is admitted.
If you are certain that attending graduate school is the right move for you, it’s time to look into the specifics of various programs.
While continued learning opportunities are easy to access and many are quite affordable, the real question is, can you list these courses on your resume? And if you do so, what will recruiters in the biotech field think of them?
Some semblance of a work-life balance is already a challenge to maintain, but doing so when you’re working and living in the same space takes effort and one (or more!) of these strategies.
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
Top Trump administration officials have taken issue with Marty Makary’s management style, pointing to infighting between his appointees and the difficulty to get a hold of the FDA commissioner.
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. Madrigal Pharmaceuticals, X4 Pharmaceuticals and Day One Biopharmaceuticals secured their maiden approvals this year in metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis, WHIM syndrome and pediatric low-grade glioma. Geron Corporation and ImmunityBio also notched wins.
  2. First approved in 2021, Jemperli has now become a cornerstone of GSK’s cancer business, earning more than $160 million in the third quarter.
  3. Both vibostolimab and favezelimab have had disappointing runs leading up to their termination, sustaining several late-stage failures.
  4. The FDA cited issues with a manufacturing facility as the reason for the rejection. J&J is currently “working closely” with the regulator to resolve these problems.
  5. Bristol Myers Squibb aims to generate around $1.5 billion in savings through 2025—a goal that it hopes to reach by lowering third-party expenditures, focusing only on key growth brands and cutting some 2,200 jobs by year-end.
NEUROSCIENCE
  1. Bristol Myers Squibb’s third-quarter results benefited from sales of its legacy brands Eliquis and Revlimid, as well as growth portfolio products such as Abecma, Breyanzi and Reblozyl.
  2. In another delay for the psychedelic treatment space, Compass Pathways announced adjusted timelines for two Phase III trials of its psilocybin to address treatment-resistant depression.
  3. Biogen touted strong Q3 sales of its Alzheimer’s drug Leqembi a day after announcing a deal worth up to $1.45 billion with Neomorph to discover and develop molecular glue degraders.
  4. On its third-quarter earnings call Tuesday, Sage highlighted the launch of its Biogen-partnered postpartum depression drug Zurzuvae but said it will stop pursuing approval for major depressive disorder, which the FDA previously denied.
  5. Approved by the FDA in July to treat adults with early symptomatic Alzheimer’s disease, Eli Lilly’s Kisunla reduced the brain swelling of patients in a late-stage trial following an adjusted dosing regimen.
CELL AND GENE THERAPY
  1. Sarepta has been hit with another patent infringement lawsuit, this time from Sanofi and its subsidiary Genzyme alleging that the biotech used protected technology related to AAV vectors.
  2. The advantages of using circular RNAs—including increased durability, enhanced protein expression and substantially lower manufacturing costs compared to linear mRNAs—have driven a spate of investment in this technology.
  3. Fatalities are an unfortunate reality of clinical trials. How can companies best protect themselves?
  4. After more than a decade devoid of therapeutic advancements, a first-in-class T cell receptor therapy could be on the immediate horizon for synovial sarcoma patients.
  5. The company’s candidate, giroctocogene fitelparvovec, met its primary and key secondary objectives of superiority compared to the standard treatment of regular Factor VIII infusions.