While the company’s sales outlook was otherwise rosy, Merck took sales hits on Gardisil, Proquad, Varivax and Vaxneuvance.
Bristol Myers Squibb beat analyst and consensus estimates for the third quarter with $12.2 billion in sales, but executives on the company’s investor call faced questions about a sluggish uptake for schizophrenia drug Cobenfy as well as a highly anticipated Alzheimer’s psychosis readout for the product.
To expand the population for the anti-amyloid Alzheimer’s drugs, Lilly and Biogen are testing presymptomatic patients. Will doctors be open to this paradigm-shifting change?
In this episode presented by Element Materials Technology, BioSpace’s head of insights discusses how China, historically focused on manufacturing, is increasingly becoming an innovation leader, particularly in pharmaceuticals, with guests Dr. Jihye Jang-Lee and Dr. Khanh Courtney. Ultimately, balanced strategies involve domestic capacity investments coupled with global collaboration.
Mounjaro and Zepbound contributed more than $10 billion to the $11.98 billion in sales Lilly recorded for key products in the third quarter, despite price decreases for the GLP-1 medicines.
The investment, which will expand Eli Lilly’s existing campus in Puerto Rico, is slated to create 100 new jobs, on top of around 1,000 construction-related roles.
FEATURED STORIES
The Inflation Reduction Act includes an exemption for orphan drugs for a single indication, but experts say this is far from sufficient to maintain momentum in the rare disease space.
In advance of this week’s CDC vaccine advisory meeting, HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. restacked the committee, claiming problematic industry ties within the previous group. Experts say ACIP had long navigated COIs appropriately and that the new appointees risk the apolitical nature of membership.
On the sidelines of BIO2025, Julie Gilmore, head of Lilly Gateway Labs, shares her thoughts on the $1.3 billion Verve Therapeutics buy, where Lilly’s therapeutic puck is potentially going and how the company is leveraging its unprecedented success in obesity to support young biotechs.
EY’s 2025 Biotech Beyond Borders report provides a sobering snapshot of the industry’s financial health, with more and more companies facing cash runways of less than one year. The analyst firm’s leaders urge a return to basics for biotech.
Industry watchers responded mostly positively to the commissioner’s new voucher program, but worries remain over staffing cuts at the agency.
Findings that U.S. companies can sue foreign rivals despite limited business operations in the country could dissuade drug developers from targeting the U.S. market, potentially benefiting domestic producers of biosimilars.
LATEST PODCASTS
In this episode of Denatured, BioSpace’s Head of Insights Lori and guests from Teva Pharmaceuticals and TOWER Capital Group discuss how critical it is to incorporate women into leadership positions and board rooms as a sound investment strategy.
Trump fingers Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to lead the HHS, lupus and ATTR-CM dominate headlines this week, bluebird bio has a cash gap to leap and RegenxBio eyes Sarepta in Duchenne muscular dystrophy.
A tale of two multi-billion schizophrenia deals, AstraZeneca touts strong sales while deflecting questions about an investigation into China exec, the Huntington’s pipeline builds momentum and layoffs continue with Sana Biotechnology and 23andMe.
Job Trends
Bristol Myers Squibb announced data from three studies evaluating Breyanzi®, including long-term data with three-year follow-up from the Phase 3 TRANSFORM trial of Breyanzi as a second-line treatment in patients with relapsed or refractory large B-cell lymphoma.
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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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On the heels of an FDA approval for its monoclonal antibody Bizengri, Merus will generate three novel cancer-targeting antibodies that it will pass over to Biohaven to link into antibody drug-conjugates. -
Biogen’s proposed acquisition comes after two difficult years of regulatory and clinical challenges, during which shares of Sage Therapeutics have fallen by more than 90%. -
The Biotech Ecosystem Venture Fund will combine the sourcing capabilities of venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz (a16z) with Eli Lilly’s expertise in R&D—plus half a billion in capital from the Big Pharma. -
Initial rounds of VC financing totaled $7.7 billion over 137 deals for biopharma in 2024, compared to $3.8 billion over 156 deals in 2023. -
J.P. Morgan releases its quarterly look-ahead days before the entire biopharma industry descends on San Francisco for the annual J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference.
WEIGHT LOSS
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The company unveiled plans last week to test its GLP-1/glucagon dual receptor agonist in alcohol use disorder and alcohol-related liver disease. -
As obesity drug developers compete for the highest weight-loss efficacy, experts contend that overall health outcomes—evidenced by successful studies in therapeutic areas like cardiovascular and sleep apnea—may prove a greater market advantage. -
The Maryland-based biopharma joins Eli Lilly and Novo Nordisk in trialing a GLP-1 agonist for alcohol- and liver-related conditions. -
Roche and Zealand plan to study petrelintide as a monotherapy and in combination with CT-388, a dual agonist of the GLP-1 and GIP receptors that Roche picked up in its recent acquisition of Carmot Therapeutics. -
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.
POLICY
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Given the evidence, the committee has recommended that the labels for Novo Nordisk’s Wegovy and Ozempic be updated to include the “very rare” risk of non-arteritic anterior ischemic optic neuropathy. -
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. -
The lawsuit alleges that HHS leadership knew the records they used to guide their layoff decisions were inaccurate and contained errors. -
In comments posted in response to the Trump administration’s pharma tariff investigation, companies and industry groups offered solutions to ease the impacts if the plan must go ahead. -
The overturning of the FDA’s lab-developed tests rule is just the tip of the iceberg. With the loss of Chevron deference, power has shifted from federal agencies to the courts, with potential implications for everything from the FDA shortage list to CMS drug price negotiations.
Location is everything when it comes to compensation in the life sciences. We’ve compiled data from BioSpace’s 2023 Life Sciences Salary Report to help you choose the best place to live and work.
Sales and marketing roles in the life sciences field are in high demand. To help with your job search, we’ve compiled a guide to sales and marketing jobs in the life sciences industry.
With a swirl of rumors around the changes in ownership in the pharma industry, this invariably triggers reviews of business strategies. Because of this, wider skillsets from related sectors are needed.
Candice Richards, the Manager of Talent Acquisition at Kyowa Kirin North America, shed some light on what to expect from a pharma interview and how to effectively prepare.
BioSpace sat down with Gregg Burkhalter, a LinkedIn Expert, for a quick Q&A about the three most common LinkedIn mistakes and how they can affect your personal brand.
There are many reasons why you might want to negotiate your stock options. Read on to discover what stock options are and how to negotiate your stock options with your employer.
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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Combining Trodelvy with Keytruda and pushing it into the frontline setting could “potentially double” the ADC’s market in metastatic triple-negative breast cancer, according to analysts at Truist Securities. -
Analysts at Leerink Partners said in a Monday note that DESTINY-Breast09’s findings “could support an approval” for Enhertu in first-line HER2+ metastatic breast cancer. -
Future Pak—whose acquisition offer was rejected by Vanda Pharmaceuticals last summer—is offering to buy Theratechnologies for an unsolicited $255 million. The Canadian biotech is under an exclusivity agreement with another yet-to-be-disclosed potential purchaser. -
AI is enabling the development of a next generation of drugs that can more precisely target cancer cells while sparing healthy tissues. -
Lined up for the FDA in the coming weeks are a cell-based gene therapy for a rare skin disease and two product expansions for Regeneron, one with partner Sanofi.
NEUROSCIENCE
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The gene therapy world is in turmoil, but Arbor, armed with more than $1 billion in partnerships and raises, is going forward. -
Ionis and Ultragenyx are competing to develop oligonucleotide treatments for Angelman syndrome, but will Neuren’s peptide catch up? -
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. -
Analysts do not believe the Phase III stumble for aticaprant will derail J&J’s broader neuroscience strategy, particularly given its recent $14.6 billion acquisition of Intra-Cellular Therapeutics and the success of Spravato for treatment-resistant depression. -
The new formulation of Keytruda, currently under FDA review, is sparking conflict with Halozyme, which makes enzymes that convert intravenous drugs into injectable versions.
CELL AND GENE THERAPY
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In this episode, presented by the Genscript Biotech Global Forum 2025, BioSpace’s Head of Insights Lori Ellis and Tom Whitehead continue to discuss the patient and caregiver experience, where Tom gives his insights to the future of CGTs. -
Gilead beat consensus estimates in Q4 with $7.6 billion in revenue, driven largely by its HIV drug Biktarvy and CAR T therapies Trodelvy and Yescarta.
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Vertex expects to make the newly approved non-opioid pain medicine Journavx available by the end of February. -
Adding a new indication for the CAR T cell therapy could help BMS offset the loss-of-exclusivity headwinds it faces in the coming years.
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Faced with the encroaching threats of patent expirations and generics, biopharma companies in 2024 invested 33% more in licensing deals, on average, than in 2023 with an eye toward enriching their pipelines with novel and potentially more effective therapies.
