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.
Ionis will receive $280 million upfront and could get up to $660 million in future milestone payments. Ono will take charge of late-stage development as well as regulatory and commercialization activities.
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.
Analysts acknowledged the long-term manufacturing deal could dull Viking’s takeout prospects but hailed it as a smart move to ensure supply.
Vepdegestrant did not improve progression-free survival broadly but saw improvements in one specific patient cohort. Arvinas’ stock took a 43% tumble on the news, and analysts are downcast on the drug’s prospects.
Roche acquired Spark Therapeutics in 2019 for $4.8 billion.
FEATURED STORIES
Multiple players are exploring whether modalities designed to combat B cell malignancies can be repurposed against lupus, myasthenia gravis and other conditions traced to misdirected immune response.
This year has seen several biopharma companies drop Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease programs, but experts say plenty are still chasing these multi-billion-dollar markets.
While some of the initial excitement around immunotherapies has waned, companies—particularly smaller biotechs—are developing newer iterations that will take cancer care to the next level.
FROM BIOSPACE INSIGHTS
In a year when eradicated diseases are on the uptick in America, how will American children survive RFK Jr.’s vaccine scrutiny and inconsistency? Two experts call on pharma and regulatory bodies to rebuild trust.
LATEST PODCASTS
In this episode of Denatured, presented by IQVIA, BioSpace’s head of insights Lori Ellis discusses how AI transformation can help organizations navigate a rapidly evolving regulatory environment with senior director of regulatory innovation and technology, Michelle Gyzen.
Sanofi and BMS paid big money for rare disease and cancer assets, while Regeneron got in the obesity game; AstraZeneca, Gilead and Amgen shone at ASCO; RFK Jr. and the CDC appeared to disagree over COVID-19 vaccine recommendations and several news outlets are questioning the validity of the White House’s Make America Healthy Again report.
HHS Secretary RFK Jr. removes the COVID-19 vaccine recommendation for healthy kids and pregnant women—the latest in a string of changes to vaccine policies; judge issues an order to halt HHS’ reorganization and mass layoff plans; Rocket Pharmaceuticals’ pivotal Danon disease trial is on hold after a patient death; and President Trump has named Mehmet Oz to spearhead his Most Favored Nation drug pricing policy.
Job Trends
Genentech, a member of the Roche Group, announced data from Stage 1 of the National Institutes of Health -sponsored pivotal Phase III OUtMATCH study evaluating the efficacy and safety of Xolair® in patients allergic to peanuts and at least two other common foods were published in the New England Journal of Medicine and featured in a late-breaking symposium at the 2024 American Academy of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology Annual Meeting.
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SPECIAL EDITIONS
A new generation of checkpoint inhibitors is emerging, with some showing more promise than others. From recent TIGIT failures to high-potential targets like VEGF, BioSpace explores what’s on the horizon in immuno-oncology.
Peter Marks, the venerable head of the FDA’s Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research, has been forced out. In this special edition of BioPharm Executive, BioSpace takes a deep dive into the instability of the HHS.
Year-over-year BioSpace data show biopharma professionals faced increased competition for fewer employment opportunities during the first quarter of 2025.
DEALS
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Merck finalized the acquisition of immune-focused Prometheus Biosciences for approximately $10.8 billion, picking up mid-stage ulcerative colitis and Crohn’s asset. -
BioNTech will pay Shanghai-based Duality Biologics $170 million upfront for rights to two of its topoisomerase-1 inhibitor-based antibody drug conjugates. -
There have already been several big biotech licensing deals in Q1. See inside for some of this quarter’s biggest licensing deals — from the surprising and pivotal to the lucrative and consequential. -
Jounce Therapeutics has received an unsolicited and non-binding acquisition proposal from Concentra Biosciences, looking to buy 100% of Jounce’s equity at a per-share price of $1.80 in cash. -
The SVB failure appears to have been caused by an underwritten public offering to raise $2.25 billion to cover security losses announced during SVB’s Q1 2023 mid-quarter update.
WEIGHT LOSS
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In what Guggenheim Partners called one of Metsera’s “critical program milestones” this year, its ultra-long-acting amylin injection MET-233i showed promising weight-loss over about eight months. -
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. -
Eli Lilly joins up with Camurus to make long-acting versions of the pharma’s obesity and diabetes drugs, joining the industry’s growing pipeline of programs that are differentiated by the frequency of dosing. -
Sanofi and BMS paid big money for rare disease and cancer assets, while Regeneron got in the obesity game; AstraZeneca, Gilead and Amgen shone at ASCO; RFK Jr. and the CDC appeared to disagree over COVID-19 vaccine recommendations and several news outlets are questioning the validity of the White House’s Make America Healthy Again report. -
Regeneron’s shares have declined nearly 17% following the failure of the company’s Dupixent follow-up itepekimab.
POLICY
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In a fireside chat at the American Society of Gene & Cell Therapy conference, CBER Director Peter Marks spoke with Takeda’s Kristin Van Goor about how the regulator is approaching the exploding gene therapy space. -
Amylyx’s recent decision to withdraw its ALS drug Relyvrio from the market highlights an important business decision for companies: when to continue marketing or investigating a drug that has failed a pivotal or confirmatory study. -
As interest in psychedelic therapies ramp up, Lykos Therapeutics will go in front of the FDA’s Psychopharmacologic Drugs Advisory Committee on June 4 to present its investigational treatment for post-traumatic stress disorder. -
With appeals and additional cases still pending, it remains to be seen if any of the arguments being brought by biopharma companies against the U.S. government will hold up in court. -
The FDA is looking at four decision deadlines in the coming three weeks, including two for a CAR-T therapy and another for a hepatitis B vaccine.
A cover letter cannot be a canned or generic form letter; it needs to be specific in every way.
A phlebotomist is responsible for completing several types of bloodwork activities, including the drawing of patient blood to conduct tests and to store blood donations.
An effective job search involves several approaches to employers and job vacancies. Ideally, you’ll engage in a mix of responding to job postings, approaching employers that have not specifically publicized openings, contacting employers based on networking referrals and reaching out to recruiters.
Here are 10 ideas for using cover letters in ways you may not have thought of.
One of the challenges of getting an employer to pay attention to your cover letter is that it looks uninviting. Here are some cover letter formats you can use to perfect your resume.
As the first part of a six-part series describing the hottest careers in the biopharma industry, we discussed the rewarding career of genetic counselor. Now, let’s take a look at the high in demand biopharma careers of biostatistician and biometrician.
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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Antibody-drug conjugate Adcetris, when used with rituximab or lenalidomide, improved overall survival in patients with relapsed or refractory diffuse large B-cell lymphoma. Pfizer secured access to Seagen’s ADC in March 2023. -
BeiGene’s Brukinsa becomes the first BTK inhibitor approved for follicular lymphoma, the most common type of low-grade non-Hodgkin lymphoma. -
Despite its overall survival and disease progression benefits, the U.K.’s drug cost watchdog has declined to recommend AstraZeneca and Daiichi Sankyo’s Enhertu due to a lack of cost-effectiveness. -
Rybrevant has been approved for use with carboplatin and pemetrexed in the first-line treatment of locally advanced or metastatic non-small cell lung cancer with exon 20 insertion mutations in the EGFR gene. -
Retaining the full rights to Trodelvy, Gilead now has access to $210 million in financing from venture capital firm Abingworth to help push the antibody-drug conjugate into non-small cell lung cancer studies.
NEUROSCIENCE
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Two documents recently came to light: first, the results of a congressional investigation into the approval of Aduhelm; second, a revised clinical trial consent form for lecanemab. -
2022 featured pivotal data that could change the landscape in non-alcoholic steatohepatitis, Alzheimer’s disease, sickle cell disease and many more indications. -
TauRx Pharmaceuticals and Anavex Life Sciences presented positive results from their candidates at the Clinical Trials in Alzheimer’s Disease (CTAD) conference in San Francisco, CA. -
Athira Pharma’s experimental Alzheimer’s therapy, fosgonimeton, continues to show signs of being able to improve cognition and function in patients. -
Eli Lilly’s investigational antibody donanemab met all of its primary and secondary endpoints in the Phase III TRAILBLAZER-ALZ 4 study, the company announced Wednesday.
CELL AND GENE THERAPY
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Avidity has been given the go-ahead by the FDA to request accelerated approval of delpacibart braxlosiran—potentially the first disease-modifying treatment for facioscapulohumeral muscular dystrophy—with an application in the second half of 2026. -
In a roundtable event on Thursday, HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said his office will work to eliminate barriers that keep cell and gene therapies from the market. -
Interim results from a small group of children in a Phase I/II trial are essentially in line with that of Elevidys, according to BMO Capital Markets analysts. -
The Platform Technology Designation, which predates the current FDA leadership, is designed to streamline the drug development and review process, particularly for rare diseases. -
J&J has a multi-year head start, but Gilead believes it can win market share by delivering a drug with better safety and at least as good efficacy.
