Takeda’s oveporexton improved wakefulness, attention and other key narcolepsy endpoints “with a high degree of statistical significance,” according to Jefferies analysts.
BMS is spinning out a new company with five immunology assets, including oral drugs being developed for systemic lupus erythematosus and plaque psoriasis, and $300 million in funds from Bain Capital.
The swift FDA action removes an overhang from Sarepta and allows Elevidys to return to the market without another safety study, as had been feared, Jefferies analysts said Monday.
In a Phase Ib/IIa trial, 91% of patients receiving the highest dose of trontinemab were amyloid negative after seven months of treatment, representing what B. Riley Securities called a “paradigm shift” to first-generation FDA-approved antibodies.
The German giant is looking to develop new drugs for undisclosed eye diseases using Re-Vana’s extended-release injectable platform to supply drugs to the eye for months at a time.
The star of GSK’s Hengrui partnership is the COPD candidate HRS-9821, which will complement the pharma’s respiratory pipeline that’s anchored by the anti-asthma drug Nucala.
Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. wants to remove all members of the USPSTF for being too “woke,” according to reporting by the Wall Street Journal. An HHS spokesperson, however, says no final decision has been made about the panel.
FEATURED STORIES
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.
Jay Ferro, EVP, CIO, CPO & CTO at Clario discusses safety, trust and what keeps him up at night.
Just a few months after Vir Biotechnology lost an emergency authorization for its COVID-19 antibody, Marianne de Backer stepped in as CEO to answer a critical question: What’s next?
As the Q4 2024 pharma earnings period rolls on through the first month of President Donald Trump’s second term, executives find themselves faced with policy questions ranging from the Inflation Reduction Act to RFK Jr.
From revenue to R&D investment, Novo and Lilly and their mega-blockbuster weight loss drugs Zepbound and Wegovy have moved into a new pharma stratosphere, far eclipsing their rivals.
Compounding pharmacies aren’t the only makers of off-brand versions of Novo Nordisk’s Wegovy and Eli Lilly’s Zepbound. The situation is causing the FDA regulatory headaches and, more seriously, posing potential risks to the public.
FROM BIOSPACE INSIGHTS
Establishing trust through thought leadership is no longer optional in today’s cautious biopharma market. This webinar will show leaders how strategic insights and targeted outreach can turn awareness into high-converting leads. Watch now.
LATEST PODCASTS
This week, we discuss the expanded approval of Sarepta’s Duchenne muscular dystrophy gene therapy Elevidys, Alnylam’s high stakes ATTR-CM win and highlights from ADA.
BioSpace’s ⁠Lori Ellis⁠ and ⁠Chantal Dresner⁠ bring live updates from ⁠day three of #DIA2024⁠ in San Diego.
DEI
This week on Denatured, Head of Insights Lori Ellis and guests discuss the persisting challenges of diversity, equity and inclusion when designing clinical trials.
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SPECIAL EDITIONS
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.
BioSpace did a deep dive into executive pay, examining the highest compensation packages, pay ratios and golden parachutes—what a CEO would get paid to leave.
DEALS
  1. A longtime biopharma exec and Moderna shareholder argues in an anonymous email to the companies’ CFOs that they have a fiduciary responsibility to close the deal. Analysts say the proposal is interesting but “too simplistic.”
  2. While supportive of Amylyx’s acquisition of a GLP-1 drug, analysts say the company’s future hinges on key upcoming readouts from multiple products in its pipeline.
  3. The acquisition of the contract development and manufacturing organization will allow Agilent Technologies to provide a one-stop source for gene-editing services for its customers.
  4. Oral doses of SIGA Technologies’ antiviral drug Tpoxx will help the U.S. maintain its reserves of the vaccine in preparation for future potential outbreaks, according to the company.
  5. After completing a buyout transaction with The Column Group to remove it from the stock exchange, NGM Bio has raised a $122M Series A to fund a registrational study for a rare liver disease drug and a Phase II trial in hyperemesis gravidarum.
WEIGHT LOSS
  1. Cantor Fitzgerald analyst Olivia Brayer found supplementary bone mineral density data for Amgen’s obesity candidate MariTide that could point to a potentially greater fracture risk than previously revealed, but some other analysts view the findings as a nonissue.
  2. With Novo Holdings’ $16.5 billion buyout of Catalent being reviewed by regulators, what work the contract drug manufacturer may or may not be performing for Eli Lilly remains a point of contention.
  3. Novo said supply of Wegovy and Ozempic is in good shape after the drugs were removed from the FDA’s shortage list last week. But Eli Lilly reported slower than expected sales in the third quarter due to wholesaler destocking.
  4. Novo Nordisk’s total revenue in the third quarter missed analysts’ expectations but sales of weight loss drug Wegovy exceeded the consensus forecast. Still, the Danish drugmaker narrowed its full-year guidance for revenue and operating profit.
  5. While expected and seen as largely incremental, Jefferies analyst Peter Welford in a Tuesday note to investors said the detailed data for three early-stage assets support moving them into Phase IIb studies and creates a “foothold” for AstraZeneca in the weight loss space.
POLICY
  1. Biotech companies are already seeing regulatory delays and plenty of uncertainty after around 3,500 FDA employees were cut by the Trump administration.
  2. Pharma stocks went on a wild ride Wednesday amid whiplashing tariff threats from the U.S. president.
  3. FDA
    Experts express concern that last week’s unprecedented FDA layoffs will trigger a little-known mechanism that could result in a “disaster” the Trump administration doesn’t see coming.
  4. The Fourth Circuit’s ruling follows a Supreme Court verdict that also allowed the Trump administration to move forward with its mass layoffs at federal agencies.
  5. As the industry awaits official word from the administration on how the tariffs will hit, analysts go over the possibilities with one certainty: there will be increased costs for medicines.
CAREER HUB
Here are four questions to think about when considering a career change during the pandemic.
Finding the most cost-effective school for your undergraduate pharmaceutical degree can allow you to start working in the field without incurring astronomical student debt.
Peer review is integral to the scientific process, and one group plays a bigger role than you might think: Scientific Review Officers.
Take a look at which states pay the highest and lowest salaries for pharmacists and how that pay compares to the cost of living.
From research to sales and marketing, the pharma industry has a wide range of employment opportunities to accommodate those looking for a chance to work in the field.
A life science degree can provide various academic and professional opportunities to you. Here’s an overview of what you can do with a life science degree.
Understanding the difference between talent acquisition and recruitment is vital not only for your hiring process but for the entire organization.
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
The mad rush for safe and effective obesity drugs has winners—including Eli Lilly’s Zepbound and Novo Nordisk’s Wegovy—and losers. Here are five molecules that never made it to the market.
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. The Japanese pharma had one asset rejected by the FDA and withdrew a regulatory application for another, but already this month the company has secured an approval for AstraZeneca-partnered Dato-DXd, to be marketed as Datroway.
  2. The unsuccessful Phase III results are the latest to suggest that the blockbuster cancer drug is finally bumping up against its limits after racking up around 50 approvals since getting its first FDA nod in September 2014.
  3. Protein degradation–focused Neomorph nabs its third Big Pharma deal of around $1.5 billion in less than a year.
  4. With an eye toward advancing a novel antibody-drug conjugate for gastrointestinal cancers, ArriVent is the latest biopharma player to ink a deal with a Chinese biotech.
  5. IPO
    Ascentage is looking to use the IPO proceeds to advance its Phase III candidates for chronic or small lymphocytic leukemia and for certain types of chronic myeloid leukemia.
NEUROSCIENCE
  1. The darlings of the weight loss and diabetes spaces, GLP-1 receptor agonists have shown promise against Alzheimer’s in recent studies—with Phase III results expected next year from Novo Nordisk.
  2. The Muna partnership will give GSK access to Muna’s MiND-MAP platform, which it will apply to postmortem brain samples to identify potential therapeutic targets for Alzheimer’s disease.
  3. Novartis, Gilead, Roche and Takeda commit to new partners in a spate of mid-sized collaborations this week. Meanwhile, Applied Therapeutics’ stock tanks 80% after govorestat is denied approval, Intra-Cellular Therapies seeks to expand Caplyta into major depressive disorder and the FDA investigates the safety of bluebird bio’s Skysona.
  4. Intra-Cellular submitted its application to the FDA for Caplyta’s approval in major depressive disorder, potentially opening up an additional $1 billion in sales. Still, the stock remains “cheap,” according to Jefferies analysts.
  5. Monday’s agreement comes days after PTC discontinued the development of another asset, utreloxastat, due to disappointing Phase II data in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.
CELL AND GENE THERAPY
  1. Tim Hunt, CEO of the Alliance for Regenerative Medicine, said Monday at the 2024 Cell & Gene Meeting on the Mesa that investments reached $10.9 billion in the first half of this year—outpacing 2019’s $9.8 billion total—but far below the pandemic peak.
  2. The Financial Times reported Thursday that WuXi AppTec is looking to sell its cell and gene therapy manufacturing unit, with facilities in Philadelphia, while WuXi Biologics wants to offload some of its production sites in Europe.
  3. Stephen Majors from the Alliance for Regenerative Medicine, which hosts the conference, spoke with BioSpace about what the more than 2,000 attendees can expect to learn next week in Phoenix about the pressing issues confronting the industry.
  4. To say that 2seventy bio’s short two years of existence have been dramatic is an understatement. CEO Chip Baird told BioSpace transparency and a committed staff have kept the biotech going through thick and thin.
  5. District Judge Jesse Furman ruled that the plaintiff, UMB Bank, does not have standing to bring the case against Bristol Myers Squibb because it is not a properly appointed trustee for shareholders’ contingent value rights.