A new report found that 85% of pharma respondents are increasing their artificial intelligence investments, and 70% see AI as an immediate priority. Two experts discuss how biopharmas are implementing and adopting AI, including their increased use of external help with the process.
George Tidmarsh has only been at the Center for Drug Evaluation and Research for nine days, but will now add supervision of a second FDA division to his portfolio after Vinay Prasad’s sudden departure.
As analysts parsed news of Vinay Prasad’s ouster, worries over drug approval delays, cell and gene therapy impacts and more were top of mind.
Madrigal will study SYH2086 in combination with Rezdiffra for metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis, aiming for clinical trials in early 2026.
Long-term data presented at the Alzheimer’s Association International Conference show Leqembi can help patients stay in the earlier stages of Alzheimer’s disease as compared to the condition’s natural progression.
Monarez is the first CDC director to be confirmed by the Senate under a new 2023 law and will be the first person without a medical degree to assume leadership of the agency in more than 70 years.
FEATURED STORIES
BioSpace recaps 2024’s top venture capital rounds in biopharma, from Xaira Therapeutics’ blockbuster $1B raise to back-to-back series from obesity-focused Metsera that totaled more than $500M in a space that has garnered more than a fivefold increase in VC dollars this year.
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.
An FDA committee’s September 2024 vote to limit the use of Merck’s Keytruda and BMS’ Opdivo in stomach and esophageal cancers based on PD-L1 expression levels reflects an emerging trend that leverages ever-maturing datasets.
Among the 55 novel drugs that crossed the regulatory finish line last year were notable new mechanisms of action, coming particularly in the oncology and neurosciences spaces.
Benefiting from technological and conceptual groundwork and positive early data, gene therapies are advancing in the clinic for cardiovascular diseases including congestive heart failure, chronic refractory angina and cardiomyopathy.
Licensing deals have risen in prominence in a restrained market environment. Is it desperation, or an important part of the biotech ecosystem? Experts weigh in.
LATEST PODCASTS
Bayer cut its C-suite nearly in half amid a massive restructuring. Meanwhile, the U.S. government says it will pay for Wegovy for patients with heart disease.
This week, we’re talking money! Following the release of BioSpace’s 2024 Salary Report, we discuss salary trends and how they are impacting the biopharma workforce.
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.
Job Trends
Sage Therapeutics, Inc., a biopharmaceutical company leading the way to create a world with better brain health, announced that the Company will participate in the following upcoming investor conferences in May: 2024 RBCCM Global Healthcare Conference : fireside chat on Tuesday, May 14, 2024 at 11:30 a.m. ET.
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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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The Federal Trade Commission has asked for an additional 30 days for its review of Novo Nordisk’s $16.5 billion acquisition of Catalent, with the companies expecting to complete the merger by the end of 2024. -
The Swiss drugmaker is paying $1 billion and committing up to $750 million in milestones for Mariana Oncology’s preclinical cancer pipeline and clinical supply capabilities, the companies announced Thursday. -
Ono Pharmaceutical will pay $25.60 per share in an all-cash deal to buy Deciphera Pharmaceuticals for its potential blockbuster oncology drugs and U.S. sales infrastructure, the companies said Monday. -
Citing anonymous sources involved in a Phase III trial, STAT News reported Sunday that MorphoSys’ pelabresib may worsen the risk of progression to acute myeloid leukemia, potentially putting Novartis’ proposed $2.9 billion acquisition at risk. -
Is there a connection between Bristol Myers Squibb’s announcement that it will reduce its headcount by 6% and the company’s recent acquisitions of Karuna, Mirati and RayzeBio?
WEIGHT LOSS
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Novo Nordisk’s blockbuster type 2 diabetes medication is a sure bet for the list of the next 15 drugs whose Medicare prices will be negotiated in 2025 and go into effect in 2027, according to analysts and academics. -
Novo Nordisk and Eli Lilly are expected to rule the obesity market for a few more years without much challenge. To ensure they stay there as competition enters, the companies are spending billions in licensing and M&A deals. -
Amid a flurry of weight loss readouts, a fresh-on-the-scene startup has come out with Phase I results showing weight loss at day 36 on par with or better than competitors, with few gastrointestinal side effects. -
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. -
Novo Nodrisk’s cannabinoid receptor–targeting obesity pill was picked up in the $1.1 billion acquisition of Inversago Pharmaceuticals last year.
POLICY
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The CDC budget cuts could pose headwinds for HIV drugmakers like Gilead and Merck but are unlikely to severely cripple their HIV divisions, according to analysts. -
The appeals court for the Federal Circuit upheld a lower court’s ruling, finding that Regeneron has not sufficiently established that Amgen’s biosimilar Pavblu violates key patents of Eylea. -
The recommendations were made in a closed session with representatives from CBER, the CDC and Department of Defense. -
As Marty Makary and Jay Bhattacharya sail through the Senate health committee vote, Weldon’s confirmation hearing is canceled. Guggenheim Partners heralded the last-minute move to revoke Dave Weldon’s nomination as “a positive sign for reigning in vaccine criticism.” -
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.
A resume is your introduction to a potential employer, and as the saying goes, “You only get one chance to make a good first impression.” Follow these resume writing tips today.
Being confident about your skills and learning new things are some of the best career advice and tips a professional should know to become better at your workplace.
When dealing with a large group of people, the possibility of handling a disgruntled employee is very likely. Here’s how you can handle them efficiently.
Most people don’t know that asking questions can help with an application. Here are some unique questions for interviewer that you should remember to ask next time.
If you’re questioning which types of leaders you get along with the best, or you’re just wondering what types of leaders exist, you’re in the right place. Here’s a quick breakdown.
Just like first impressions, the first 30 days at your new job can set the tone for a new position.
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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Pfizer, facing increasing pressure from Novartis, is touting a Phase III win for Ibrance as the first clinical evidence supporting the CDK4/6 inhibitor class’ use in patients with a specific type of breast cancer. -
Candel’s trial was conducted under the FDA’s Special Protocol Assessment program, meaning that its data could be used as a basis for a regulatory application. -
With nearly 90% of patients showing no detectable cancer cells after treatment, J&J and Legend’s Carvykti could stave off competition from emerging CAR T therapies such as Gilead and Arcellx’s anito-cel. -
BNT327, now in early-phase trials, is part of a class of drugs that could one day challenge Keytruda’s dominance. BioNTech obtained the candidate when it bought Biotheus last month in an acquisition deal that could reach up to $950 million. -
GSK, Gilead and Arcellx, Vertex and more present new data at the American Society of Hematology annual meeting just as sickle cell therapies Casgevy and Lyfgenia have a new outcomes-based payment model; Eli Lilly and Novo Nordisk pump new funds into manufacturing; and AbbVie makes a Cerevel comeback while uniQure clears a path toward accelerated approval in Huntington’s disease.
NEUROSCIENCE
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BMO Capital Markets analyst Evan Seigerman in a note to investors said the late-stage data for Vertex’s experimental non-opioid pain medication “reaffirms our confidence in the strength of suzetrigine’s profile.” However, William Blair analysts view these data as “an incremental positive” as the company faces challenges in targeting the acute pain market. -
Wave Life Sciences in a Tuesday filing with the SEC said Takeda has elected to terminate its option to continue work on Wave’s WVE-003 clinical-stage Huntington’s disease program—a potential $5 billion commercial opportunity, according to the biotech. -
Johnson & Johnson is cutting several programs—most of which are in neurology and psychiatry—as the company also pulls back from the infectious diseases market. -
Under the deal, the Danish pharma will gain access to Longboard’s 5-HT2C receptor superagonist that is currently in late-stage development for seizures in various developmental and epileptic encephalopathies, including Dravet syndrome. -
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.
CELL AND GENE THERAPY
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To improve its reviewers’ understanding of cell and gene therapy manufacturing, the agency has launched a program that will involve a tour of manufacturing facilities and daily workshops for its staffers. -
Vertex has filed a complaint against the Department of Health and Human Services, seeking to make its fertility preservation program available to federally insured patients needing Casgevy treatment.
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Lexeo Therapeutics’ investigational gene therapy reduces left ventricular volume and wall thickness in patients with Friedreich’s ataxia, according to a small study. -
Interius BioTherapeutics has received approval from Australia’s Human Research Ethics Committee to begin the first-in-human trial of an investigational in vivo CAR-T therapy designed to treat B-cell malignancies. -
Following a disappointing readout last year, uniQure on Tuesday posted promising Phase I/II data for its investigational gene therapy AMT-130 and nabbed the first-ever Regenerative Medicine Advanced Therapy designation from the FDA in Huntington’s disease.
