The pending deal was rumored overnight after a report from the Financial Times, spurring analysts to speculate that if true, the entire gene editing space would see a boost at the markets.
The high court’s order blocks a May decision by a California court that temporarily blocked the efforts of Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to drastically reduce the size of his agency’s workforce.
Leerink Partners called the announcement a ‘positive’ given the delayed timeframe and the uncertainty that the administration will implement tariffs at all.
The FDA will allow a new dosing schedule for Eli Lilly’s Alzheimer’s drug Kisunla that could lessen a known side effect of the monoclonal antibody drug class that has led to several deaths.
H2 2025 catalysts to watch, biopharma implications of President Trump’s tax law, KalVista’s new hereditary angioedema drug that Marty Makary reportedly tried to reject, another lawsuit aimed at Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and a plea from patients with ALS for access to BrainStorm’s NurOwn.
Actithera’s radiopharma assets irreversibly bind to their targets, allowing for longer retention of the drug inside tumors.
ALS
BrainStorm Cell Therapeutics issued a statement Tuesday supporting a Citizens’ Petition submitted to the FDA requesting the approval of its cell therapy NurOwn, whose BLA was withdrawn in 2023. A Phase IIIb trial was scheduled to begin last month.
FEATURED STORIES
With Eisai and Biogen’s Leqembi and Eli Lilly’s Kisunla launching onto the market, the 2024 Clinical Trials of Alzheimer’s Disease conference focused on the role these drugs might play, as well as combination therapies and innovative new treatment options.
The past four years have brought disappointment for the Huntington’s community, but optimism is growing as companies including Prilenia and Wave Life Sciences eye paths to approval of therapies that could address the underlying cause of the disease.
Digitization enables each drug to have a software-enhanced version optimized for individual patients.
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.
With climbing biotech M&A and IPO activity following the post-pandemic slump, experts offer insights on maximizing value and otherwise capitalizing on exit opportunities.
In a tough fundraising space, cell therapy biotechs pursuing autoimmune indications review staffing to ensure the right expertise is in place to tackle the new disease area.
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
BioSpace and guests from Halia Therapeutics, Triumvira Immunologics and the Alzheimer’s Drug Discovery Foundation discuss alternative financing strategies to consider for 2024. Listen now.
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On this episode of the Weekly: Biden administration puts pressure on the biopharma industry; renewed interest in psychedelics after MindMed announces LSD-based candidate meets primary endpoint; bluebird changes its tune.
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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. At the center of the deal is Amolyt Pharma’s late-stage candidate eneboparatide for the rare disease hypoparathyroidism. AstraZeneca also gains ownership of AZP-3813, which is being assessed for acromegaly in a Phase I trial.
  2. IFM Therapeutics announced Wednesday its subsidiary IFM Due has been acquired by Novartis. The acquisition provides the Swiss pharma with full rights to IFM Due’s portfolio of STING antagonists targeting inflammation-driven diseases.
  3. The early-stage oncology startup filed for an initial public offering on Wednesday, seeking funds to help develop its novel cancer therapies targeting extrachromosomal DNA.
  4. Follow along as BioSpace keeps you up to date on the latest pharma and biotech M&As, from announcements to closings.
  5. Companies inked 204 deals in the fourth quarter of 2023 with venture capital funding slipping to $6.3 billion from $7.8 billion in the third quarter last year, according to market data firm Pitchbook.
WEIGHT LOSS
  1. A day after Eli Lilly’s obesity and weight-loss therapies were removed from the regulator’s database, Novo Nordisk also made strides in boosting the supply of all but one of semaglutide’s shortages.
  2. The company is projecting that future growth will be driven by geographic and label expansions for its rare disease assets, as well as potential approvals in obesity.
  3. All doses of Eli Lilly’s type 2 diabetes medication Mounjaro and weight-loss drug Zepbound are now available, according to an update on Friday to the FDA’s drug shortage database.
  4. Eli Lilly on Thursday released late-stage data showing a 38% reduction in the risk of heart failure outcomes, as it plays catch-up with Novo Nordisk’s semaglutide which won the FDA’s cardio nod in March.
  5. Second-quarter earnings season continues with Big Pharma beating Wall Street expectations, the author of an encrypted email sent to BioSpace has a proposal for Moderna and Merck, Roche and Viking seek quicker entry to the obesity market, and AAIC is in full swing.
POLICY
  1. At J.P. Morgan, most biopharma executives expressed a neutral stance on the incoming administration, but just days later, President Trump issued multiple executive orders that concern the industry.
  2. 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.
  3. Drugmakers will have until the end of February to decide whether they want to participate in the second round of Medicare negotiations or not. CMS has until June 1 to send an initial offer for the adjusted prices.
  4. Novartis is locked in a legal back-and-forth with MSN Pharma over alleged patent infringement of its heart failure drug Entresto.
  5. Along with its gene editing therapy Casgevy, Vertex is offering fertility preservation support for its patients—a program that the HHS claims violates anti-kickback statutes.
CAREER HUB
Curious to know how you can tailor your resume? This blog post will give you some tips on tailoring your resume so it stands out from the rest of the pile!
Here are four questions to think about when considering a career change during the pandemic.
A career in regulatory affairs combines knowledge of law, science, economics and more. Those who follow this biotech career path aren’t necessarily scientists, but they do need to understand the science behind the products that they need to regulate.
Are you currently working full time and in school earning a master’s degree? If so, do learn these time management skills to balance your personal and professional life.
Establishing boundaries between your personal and professional lives is the key to maintaining fulfilling versions of each.
Is your job is slowly starting to make you feel unmotivated or unproductive? Are you unable to work properly? Use these motivation tips to rejuvenate yourself.
As we leave the winter of 2020-21 behind, let’s learn more about the strategies to help college graduates secure employment during COVID-19.
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
FDA
A draft copy of the Make America Healthy Again Commission’s latest report, obtained by Politico, focuses on vaccine-related injuries and expediting access to investigational medicines for children—even though the FDA has recently rejected several of them.
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. Jefferies analyst Kelly Shi in a Sunday note to investors said that both data drops for Revolution Medicines’ experimental RAS inhibitors are positive and could be “synergistic” in the first-line setting for pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma.
  2. Bank of America analysts said prior to Thursday’s readout that Tyra Biosciences’ TYRA-300 could rival Johnson & Johnson’s kinase inhibitor Balversa, which has suffered from safety concerns and poor tolerability.
  3. The regulator’s approval on Friday of Vyloy for gastric or gastroesophageal junction cancer makes it the first and only claudin 18.2–targeted therapy approved in the U.S. for these indications, according to Astellas.
  4. Pharmaceutical companies are combining antibodies with radioisotopes in a bid to more precisely deliver radiation to cancers and tumors.
  5. The move is a blow to Gilead’s cancer portfolio. Trodelvy, an antibody-drug conjugate granted accelerated approval for bladder cancer in 2021, failed its confirmatory trial earlier this year.
NEUROSCIENCE
  1. Sangamo Therapeutics announced Tuesday it secured an exclusive licensing agreement with Roche’s Genentech, which is paying $50 million in near-term upfront fees and milestone payments to develop novel genomic medicines for neurodegenerative diseases.
  2. Longeveron and Lexeo Therapeutics are working on CGT therapies to treat Alzheimer’s disease, but it’s not clear whether they have a better chance of success than traditional approaches.
  3. Active immune therapies hold promise for preventing or slowing disease onset, but some experts warn of potential safety risks.
  4. Eisai presented a plethora of data on the drug at the Alzheimer’s Association International Conference, including a study showing the consequences of pausing treatment.
  5. Sangamo and Pfizer’s hemophilia A gene therapy candidate scored a Phase III victory last week. However, with the genomic medicine company soon to run out of cash, Sangamo’s short-term prospects look bleak but not unsalvageable, analysts say.
CELL AND GENE THERAPY
  1. Regeneron Pharmaceuticals on Wednesday revealed that its investigational gene therapy DB-OTO restored hearing in two young children, according to an oral presentation at the American Society of Gene & Cell Therapy annual meeting.
  2. Pfizer’s investigational Duchenne muscular dystrophy gene therapy fordadistrogene movaparvovec has been hit with another patient death, forcing the pharma to pause dosing in its Phase III study.
  3. FDA
    As Sarepta Therapeutics moves closer to full approval and an expanded label for its gene therapy, some experts push back on clinical efficacy and cost while others note the hope it provides patients with Duchenne muscular dystrophy.
  4. Tuesday afternoon’s session was standing room only as representatives from various biopharma companies presented on their work to improve the efficiency and quality of AAV production.
  5. AAVs and accelerated approval are just two of the topics being discussed at ASGCT. Meanwhile, the race between Vertex and bluebird bio’s gene therapies Casgevy and Lyfgenia is heating up.