Washington has had notable life sciences job growth over the past 10 years, according to a Life Science Washington report. The association’s CEO and a biopharma CEO discuss what makes the state stand out, including its talent pool, AI leadership and entrepreneurship support.
In this episode presented by Cresset, BioSpace’s head of insights Lori Ellis discusses clinical trial fail rates and AI’s potential to reduce preclinical costs with Mutlu Dogruel, VP of AI and Mark Mackey, CSO of Cresset.
Stealth BioTherapeutics originally submitted elamipretide for approval in January 2024, only to receive a rejection in May of this year. In addition to accepting the biotech’s resubmission, the FDA has promised to take action on the candidate by Sept. 26.
President Donald Trump first threatened pharma tariffs in February and recently said they were imminent. Johnson & Johnson’s new investment adds to a $55 billion pledge made by the company in March.
Hundreds of HHS Staffers Accuse RFK Jr. of ‘Sowing Public Mistrust’ Against CDC After Shooting at HQ
In an open letter, Health and Human Services employees asked the Secretary to stop and disavow the spread of health misinformation, particularly about vaccines, infectious diseases and federal health agencies.
The delays, first revealed in Regeneron’s Q2 report, were chalked up to manufacturing issues at Novo Nordisk-owned plants.
FEATURED STORIES
The FDA and NIH recently announced plans to phase out animal testing requirements for some therapies. While organoid and AI providers celebrate, scientists warn that questions over safety, applicability and implementation remain.
While sparking excitement among biopharma companies focused on rare and ultrarare indications, experts say FDA Commissioner Marty Makary’s proposal is light on details and raises potential concerns about safety, access and liability.
While the Trump administration has painted the jettisoning of staff and regulations as good for business, there are multiple reasons it’s unlikely to work out that way.
The number of employees laid off increased year over year during the first quarter. BioSpace recaps the five largest rounds of layoffs, which included BMS and Novartis cuts.
As the Trump administration slashes funding for HIV-related research and infrastructure, Gilead, Immunocore and more are targeting the next goalpost: a cure.
To more effectively treat neurodegenerative conditions, we first need diagnostic tools that lend a more complete picture of protein aggregates in the brain.
FROM BIOSPACE INSIGHTS
BioSpace surveyed life sciences employers to understand attitudes and current trends on AI usage in recruiting. This report explores the benefits of using AI tools in recruitment and provides practical recommendations for HR and talent acquisition professionals to leverage AI effectively. Concurrently, this report highlights the challenges and risks of using these tools without critical thought and intention.
LATEST PODCASTS
In this bonus episode, BioSpace’s vice president of marketing Chantal Dresner and careers editor Angela Gabriel take a look at Q4 job market performance and what we expect to see ahead.
In this episode of Denatured, BioSpace’s Head of Insights Lori Ellis talks to Dr. Peter Marks, Director, CBER about his thoughts on the future of cell and gene therapies.
J&J, GSK, Eli Lilly and others struck high-value transactions in the early days of biopharma’s annual kickoff conference. Meanwhile, Biogen proposes to acquire struggling neuro partner Sage, and obesity dominates discussions as Pfizer goes “all in.”
Job Trends
Takeda announced that the EC approved FRUZAQLA as a monotherapy indicated for the treatment of adult patients with metastatic colorectal cancer who have been previously treated with available standard therapies, including fluoropyrimidine-, oxaliplatin-, and irinotecan-based chemotherapies, anti-VEGF agents, and anti-EGFR agents, and who have progressed on or are intolerant to treatment with either trifluridine-tipiracil or regorafenib.
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SPECIAL EDITIONS
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.
BioSpace data show biopharma professionals faced increased competition for fewer employment opportunities during the second quarter of 2025, with increased pressure from further layoffs.
DEALS
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Biopharma executives shared their thoughts on the potential impacts of the new administration; Annalee Armstrong recaps JPM and her talks with Biogen, Gilead, Novavax and more; Wegovy’s higher dose induces more weight loss; AstraZeneca and Daiichi Sankyo’s Dato-DXd scores its first FDA approval. -
Biopharma executives make their predictions for the year ahead, from a bold forecast for the return of the megadeal to a plea for the slow, healthy recovery of the industry at large. -
While investors and analysts push for a deal, Biogen CEO Chris Viehbacher and Head of Development Priya Singhal refuse to make one out of desperation. -
J.P. Morgan kicked off with a flurry of deals, with Eli Lilly, GSK and Gilead all announcing deals potentially worth more than $1 billion while J&J committed $14.6 billion to buy Intra-Cellular. These moves have reinvigorated sentiment across the biopharma industry. -
In exchange for its investigational gene therapies, Regenxbio will receive $110 million upfront and up to $700 million in milestones. After hitting an all-time low of $6.95 at close of business yesterday, the stock surged on the news by nearly 20% before markets opened Tuesday.
WEIGHT LOSS
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Under the terms of the agreement, OPKO will accept 60% of the development costs, while Entera will shoulder 40%. -
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.
POLICY
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Industry watchers responded mostly positively to the commissioner’s new voucher program, but worries remain over staffing cuts at the agency. -
The new version of the bill will still need to go through the entire House and Senate. -
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. -
The program will bring together experts from across the FDA for a team-based review, rather than having an application move across numerous offices within the agency before getting a yay or nay. -
District Judge William Young, a nominee of Republican President Ronald Reagan, blasted the Trump administration’s NIH cuts as discriminatory and “bearing down on people of color because of their color.”
Despite recent layoffs and closures in the state, there are still many companies actively recruiting for roles in California.
Consider each company using three different criteria: its match with the candidate’s “why,” its financial health and its employee reviews.
Carina Clingman, founder of The Collaboratory Career Hub, answers questions about the ins and outs of finding, landing and succeeding in biotech jobs.
Research associates are always in demand. Check out these top companies currently hiring RAs.
Newer hiring models based on skills applicants have learned and their general potential for growth could avoid the drawbacks of relying on degrees and experience.
The biopharma industry is moving toward using AI to try to determine how well a given person would perform in a role, with applications that go beyond recruiting.
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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With ivonescimab’s data coming solely from China, its prospects in the U.S., where Summit owns the rights, remain up in the air. -
Presentations at this year’s American Association for Cancer Research meeting could have a broad impact on the treatment landscape for head and neck and lung cancer, and implications for specific drug modalities like TIGIT and VEGF. -
Analysts at BMO Capital Markets expect Summit and Akeso’s HARMONi-6 readout to put some pressure on Merck and its blockbuster biologic Keytruda. -
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.
NEUROSCIENCE
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The British pharmaceutical giant is working with the U.K. Dementia Research Institute to exploit a “natural randomization” experiment to determine whether 65- and 66-year-olds who received GSK’s shingles vaccine Shingrix have reduced dementia risk. -
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.
CELL AND GENE THERAPY
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As FDA seeks to rehire some fired employees, Donald Trump threatens to enact tariffs on pharma companies unless they reshore manufacturing; another lawsuit hits the complex GLP-1 compounding space as Eli Lilly offers expanded Zepbound options; and struggling gene therapy biotech bluebird bio goes private in an attempt to stay solvent.
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At the 2025 National Biotechnology Conference, gene therapies, bispecific antibodies and other novel modalities—relative newcomers to medicine—will be much discussed. In this curtain raiser, BioSpace speaks with conference chair Prathap Nagaraja Shastri of J&J about these highly anticipated topics. -
The treatment, called DB-OTO, is one of several early-stage gene therapies being developed to treat relatively straight-forward causes of genetic deafness. -
The proposed acquisition by global investment firms Carlyle and SK Capital Partners could net shareholders $3 per share plus potential CVR dollars and provide bluebird bio with primary capital to expand the commercial reach of its gene therapies. -
The move comes weeks after Pfizer terminated its partnership with Sangamo Therapeutics for another hemophilia gene therapy.
