The biopharma job market remains challenging, based on BioSpace data. In August, job postings live on the website dropped 32% year over year. In addition, during the first eight months of 2025, over 26,000 people were laid off or projected to be laid off.
New York City has seen increased life sciences employment during the past decade as public funding and key projects like JLABS @ NYC have given the area a boost. A Partnership Fund for New York City executive discusses the city’s strengths and a notable challenge facing businesses.
Capsida has yet to disclose the exact cause of death. The patient had received the gene therapy CAP-002 for a type of epilepsy.
New draft guidelines suggest the FDA is open to exercising regulatory flexibility for non-opioid drugs being developed for chronic pain.
Analysts at BMO Capital Markets expect the lack of other exon-44-skiping therapies to facilitate a “smooth” approval process for Avidity’s del-zota.
Claiming that the domestic market undervalues pharma innovation, Merck has decided to pull the plug on all of its R&D efforts in the U.K.
FEATURED STORIES
Artificial intelligence won’t replace people in biopharma, but it is infiltrating every step of drug development, including in some ways that aren’t so obvious.
Sanofi looks to follow a deep history of Big Pharma offloading their consumer healthcare businesses.
Analysts expect the partners’ first-mover advantage, clinical data and existing presence in lung disease to translate into significant sales, with GlobalData predicting Dupixent’s COPD revenues will top $6.5 billion within 10 years.
Since its inception in 1992, the FDA’s accelerated approval pathway has helped shepherd nearly 300 new drugs to the market. However, recent years have seen a number of high-profile market withdrawals and failed confirmatory trials.
As companies roll out data showing the power and improved safety profile of antibodies that target two antigens, analysts say the class could overtake monoclonal antibody Keytruda as the “immunotherapy backbone” of solid tumor treatment.
Large pharmaceutical companies were out in force at this week’s 2024 Cell & Gene Meeting on the Mesa, as they look to expand their presence in the industry.
LATEST PODCASTS
In this episode of Denatured, Jennifer Smith-Parker speaks to Kenneth Galbraith, CEO of Zymeworks and Josh Smiley, president and COO of Zai Lab, about how renewed confidence is driving biotech entering 2026.
Eli Lilly’s retatrutide exceeds expectations in Phase III, capping off a sparkling 2025 for the obesity titan; an internal FDA safety review finds no confirmed pediatric deaths caused by COVID-19 vaccines, and Commissioner Marty Makary says no black box warning will be attached to the shots; and BioSpace looks at six biotechs that could be pharma’s next buy.
In this episode of Denatured presented by AnaptysBio, Jennifer Smith-Parker speaks to Dr. Joe Murray, Mayo Clinic; Marilyn Geller, the Celiac Disease Foundation; and Dr. Paul Lizzul, AnaptysBio, about the challenges and opportunities facing celiac disease treatment.
Job Trends
4D Molecular Therapeutics, a leading clinical-stage genetic medicines company focused on unlocking the full potential of genetic medicines to treat large market diseases, announced that management will participate in fireside chats at upcoming investor conferences in March.
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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
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Tome Biosciences has only been on the scene for a short time but on Tuesday notched an acquisition of CRISPR-based biotech Replace Therapeutics for $65 million upfront. -
All three companies closed out the year, which saw significant growth in mergers and acquisitions, with high-value deals that could potentially set the tone for M&A in 2024. -
The acquisition announced on Friday will give Bristol Myers Squibb ownership of Karuna Therapeutics’ investigational antipsychotic KarXT, which is being tested for schizophrenia and Alzheimer’s disease psychosis. -
Continued fallout from the IRA, heightened antitrust enforcement and the rise of AI will all shape the first wave of biotech mergers and acquisitions coming this year, experts tell BioSpace. -
What needs to happen for funding in biopharma to bounce back? BioSpace’s Lori Ellis discusses the macroeconomic environment and biopharma funding outlook with venture capital guests Ansbert Gadicke, Martin Gershon and Mike Goguen.
WEIGHT LOSS
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The U.K.’s National Institute for Health and Care Excellence has endorsed the use of Eli Lilly’s Zepboundfor weight management in patients with BMI of 35 kg/m2 and above and at least one weight-related comorbidity. -
Structure Therapeutics’ GLP-1 receptor agonist GSBR-1290 achieved mean weight loss of 6.2% in overweight or obese patients. The company’s shares jumped to a six-month high on the news Monday. -
Driven by growing market demand and an improving supply chain, the global weight-loss drug market is expected to hit $150 billion in value by the early 2030s, according to analysts cited by Reuters. -
The FDA currently does not recommend using changes in lean mass as an endpoint in clinical trials for weight loss drugs. Should it? -
Amid shortages of its Mounjaro and Zepbound blockbuster drugs, Eli Lilly on Friday said it is investing an additional $5.3 billion in its production site in Lebanon, Indiana, to boost output of their active ingredient.
POLICY
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Regeneron’s lawsuit, filed earlier this year, alleged more than 30 counts of patent infringement against Amgen and its biosimilar to the blockbuster eye therapy Eylea. -
As technology continues to evolve, companies should have strategies that incorporate an understand of where they are now, where they want to be, and do they have the talent to get there. -
In a high-profile showdown Tuesday with Sen. Bernie Sanders’ Senate health committee, Novo Nordisk CEO Lars Fruergaard Jørgensen will be asked to defend the drugs’ U.S. monthly list prices of $969 and $1,349, respectively. -
Regulators, policymakers and others can more effectively battle the disease by creating incentives to make mpox a more attractive investment opportunity. -
A lawsuit filed by the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America, which claims the Inflation Reduction Act’s Medicare Drug Price Negotiation Program is unconstitutional, now goes back to a lower Texas court.
Here are 10 ideas for using cover letters in ways you may not have thought of.
One of the challenges of getting an employer to pay attention to your cover letter is that it looks uninviting. Here are some cover letter formats you can use to perfect your resume.
As the first part of a six-part series describing the hottest careers in the biopharma industry, we discussed the rewarding career of genetic counselor. Now, let’s take a look at the high in demand biopharma careers of biostatistician and biometrician.
Case job interviews are aimed at gauging at least some of the skills used in a consulting practice.
No matter where in the process you are, here are the questions you should be asking your interviewer.
Here’s a breakdown of how to talk to a future employer about an employment gap in your resume depending on the situation that caused it. So keep reading.
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 regulator’s Complete Response Letter flagged problems at a third-party fill/finish site, which Regeneron says it has already addressed. The manufacturing facility is currently awaiting reinspection. -
Johnson & Johnson announced Tuesday that the FDA has approved Rybrevant with Lazcluze as a first-line chemotherapy-free treatment for patients with EGFR-mutated non-small cell lung cancer. -
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. -
In June, the regulator placed a partial clinical hold on a Phase I trial of the companies’ antibody-drug conjugate after three patient deaths were reported. -
The unit’s closure comes as Genentech’s parent Roche rethinks its cancer business, an effort that has included the discontinuation of three early-stage candidates and a T-cell partnership with Adaptimmune.
NEUROSCIENCE
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Neurocrine Biosciences on Tuesday won the FDA’s approval for a sprinkle capsule formulation of Ingrezza, providing a more convenient route of treatment for Huntington’s disease patients with trouble swallowing. -
On June 10, the FDA will convene its Peripheral and Central Nervous System Drugs Advisory Committee to discuss the New Drug Application for Lilly’s Alzheimer’s drug. -
After a record low in 2022, the pharma industry in 2023 saw a surprise rebound in productivity following one of its slowest years on record, according to a report from audit firm Deloitte. -
Ketabon is working to develop a medication that harnesses ketamine’s antidepressant effects without the safety issues that currently prohibit its at-home use. -
Biogen on Wednesday exceeded analyst profit estimates for the first quarter of 2024 as the biotech’s cost-cutting measures took hold and sales of its Alzheimer’s disease therapy Leqembi started to pick up.
CELL AND GENE THERAPY
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Kelonia Therapeutics’ in vivo gene placement system is being tapped to help Astellas Pharma expand its portfolio of in vivo CAR-T cell therapies for cancer. -
Citing the need for more time to review additional Chemistry, Manufacturing and Controls information, the FDA has extended its target action date for Rocket Pharmaceuticals’ investigational gene therapy by three months. -
With last year’s approval of Vertex and CRISPR’s Casgevy, it’s the start of a new era of gene editing. But there are still challenges we must face. -
Shares of preclinical genetic medicines company Metagenomi tanked more than 30% on Friday afternoon in a disappointing debut for its initial public offering, bucking the trend of positive IPOs so far this year. -
Investors drove up the price of Kyverna Therapeutics’ stock by 59% in its initial public offering on Thursday afternoon, the first day of trading, reaching a peak per-share price of $35.01.
