The CDC director—the first to be confirmed by the Senate under new legislation—has been ousted after less than a month following internal unrest regarding new, more restrictive approvals for updated COVID-19 vaccines, according to multiple sources.
Looking for a biopharma job in San Francisco or South San Francisco? Check out the BioSpace list of eight companies hiring life sciences professionals like you.
In this webinar, we’ll explore how the Truveta Language Model (TLM)—a multi-modal AI model trained on EHR data—unlocks insights from clinical notes at scale. Watch now.
Massachusetts biopharma workforce growth was fairly flat last year, and R&D and manufacturing employment declined, according to a new MassBio report. BioSpace data further highlight challenges facing the state, showing roughly 2,300 people out of work in 2025 and jobs live on the website falling.
Scott Gottlieb, who served as FDA commissioner during the first Trump administration, wrote in a JAMA editorial that China is speeding drugs to market and could potentially surpass the U.S. in the innovation game.
AMX0035—approved as Relyvrio in 2022 for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis but voluntarily pulled from the market last year—was unable to distinguish itself from placebo in a mid-to-late-stage trial of progressive supranuclear palsy.
FEATURED STORIES
Sanofi paid a more than 300% premium on its acquisition of Vigil Neuroscience, suggesting a fierce battle to seal the deal. Across biopharma, companies are sometimes willing to put it all on the line for the right buyout. Novartis’ recent acquisition of Regulus for $800 million upfront provides a case study.
AstraZeneca, Pfizer and more are leveraging the computational power of AI to better design trials, predict the potential efficacy and safety profiles of their molecules and synthesize massive multi-omic information to gain a more complete understanding of challenging cancers.
Looking at licensing deals struck in the past 10 years, Jefferies found that many Big Pharmas do not ultimately follow through with M&A after earning a right of first negotiation. Sanofi, on the other hand, almost always does, as it did with Vigil recently.
Gene therapies have ridden investor mania to huge valuations but commercialization challenges have pushed market caps to the floor. At a roundtable last week, FDA leaders promised faster approvals and broad support to the industry.
As multiple companies vie to expand on Alnylam’s success in commercializing RNAi therapeutics, the pioneering company has set a goal of targeting small interfering RNA to any tissue by 2030.
Vaccine skepticism is at an all-time high in the U.S., and HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is making some drastic moves in the name of reversing that trend. But misinformation and inconsistencies within the country’s healthcare agencies highlight problems with his approach.
LATEST PODCASTS
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 FDA is mired in uncertainty with some staffers losing their jobs over the weekend and more potentially to come, vaccines and psychedelic therapies could be facing very different futures under newly confirmed HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., Moderna continues its downward revenue slide and Merck, Regeneron, BMS and more face strong patent headwinds.
In the first podcast in a special series focused on BioSpace’s NextGen Class of 2025, Senior Editor Annalee Armstrong speaks with Dannielle Appelhans, CEO of COUR.
Job Trends
Merck, known as MSD outside of the United States and Canada, announced that the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices unanimously voted to recommend CAPVAXIVE™ as an option for adults 65 years of age and older for pneumococcal vaccination.
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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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M&A was already on the upswing in 2024, and the new Trump administration may support that trend. But if data aren’t handled properly, acquisitions won’t reach their full potential. -
With just one asset in weight loss moving through the clinic, Pfizer targets the space for potential dealmaking, as well as bringing assets over from China. -
Biogen’s effort to buy Sage against the board’s wishes and a long-time effort by investor Alcorn to scuttle Aurion’s IPO underscore the cutthroat nature of biopharma dealmaking. -
Novartis was among the most prolific pharma dealmakers in 2024, a trend that it expects to continue with more bolt-on deals this year to set up for sustainable long-term growth. -
Sanofi’s jump in earnings comes with an increased emphasis on R&D and vaccines, plus an eye cast toward M&A to shore up its pipeline.
WEIGHT LOSS
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Merck has not disclosed which of its peptide therapies it plans to develop oral formulations for. -
Viking Therapeutics enjoyed a nice share rally on the news that rival Pfizer is discontinuing obesity candidate danuglipron. But the biotech has a long way to go to recover after six straight months of decline. -
Pfizer’s discontinuation of danuglipron brings the company down to a single molecule in its obesity pipeline. -
A consumer-driven weight loss market could put pharma at greater risk if a recession hits; the continued turmoil at FDA and other HHS agencies magnifies the uncertainty facing the industry; Lilly files a lawsuit against a med spa selling its drugs; and more. -
Wegovy and Zepbound are just the latest drug dyads to face-off in the competitive pharma market, continuing a legacy of rivalry that includes blockbuster drugs Keytruda, Humira and Eliquis.
POLICY
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Despite rehiring hundreds of FDA, CDC and NIH employees, the Department of Health and Human Services is still a skeleton of its former self under Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. -
Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. endorsed the expanded use of RSV vaccines for people 50 through 59 years old who are at risk of severe disease. -
An open letter signed by more than 50 industry executives blasts a “fundamentally, fatally flawed” report that urges greater restrictions on the abortion pill. -
As an office of the executive branch, the Department of Health and Human Services “does not have the authority” to implement sweeping changes to the structure of the agency as created by Congress, a judge wrote. -
Kennedy wants to expand the injury compensation program to include COVID-19 vaccines, while also stretching the “statute of limitations” to more than three years.
The past year saw the slowest year-over-year growth in biopharma salaries in the past five years, according to the BioSpace 2024 Life Sciences Salary Report.
Staffing agencies say contract work is a great way to break into an industry and avoid a resume gap.
Plus, tips on applying to multiple jobs at the same company, making new work friends, and how to ask for more time at the offer stage.
Presentations are standard requirements in the hiring process for some biopharma positions. Here’s how to approach them.
Depending on their needs, candidates can choose among tools such as AI-powered resume generators, professional coaches and university career services to hone their applications.
Companies are relying on artificial intelligence–powered applicant tracking systems to keep up the evolving recruitment demands. Here is how.
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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AbbVie’s Emrelis is the first non-small cell lung cancer therapy approved for patients with high c-Met expression levels who have received prior lines of treatment. -
Belrestotug showed underwhelming efficacy outcomes in mid-stage studies of non-small cell lung cancer and head and neck squamous cell carcinoma. -
At the intersection of radiation and precision, Novartis, Bayer, AstraZeneca and more hope to cash in on a radiopharmaceuticals market that could top $16 billion by 2033. -
After losing its powerhouse partner, IGM Biosciences closed “most” of its labs and offices and initiated a strategic review of potential strategic alternatives and options for the business. -
The cell engineering company, co-founded by oncologist and writer Siddhartha Mukherjee, does not see a path forward for its pipeline of early-stage cell therapies for two different types of cancer.
NEUROSCIENCE
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Biohaven will use the money to bankroll commercial preparations for the spinocerebellar ataxia drug candidate troriluzole, which is currently under FDA review with a decision expected in the third quarter. -
Despite a dip in sales and a recent schizophrenia stumble, the company drew an optimistic outlook for sales for the rest of the year, even as the specter of pharmaceutical tariffs looms. -
With a new raise provided by Flagship Pioneering, the new company is aiming to find “the silent window” before disease symptoms set in. -
Cobenfy’s late-stage flop is BMS’ second high-profile failure in as many weeks. The pharma announced last week that Camzyos was unable to improve disease burden in non-obstructive hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. -
FDA Commissioner Marty Makary talks about his plans to revamp drug development and reduce ‘conflicts of interest’ between the agency and pharma industry; Roche and Regeneron jump on the U.S. manufacturing train as Trump’s tariffs loom; and Eli Lilly scores a big win for orforglipron while Novo Nordisk reveals it has applied for FDA approval of its oral semaglutide.
CELL AND GENE THERAPY
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The biotech is exploring opportunities for a reverse merger or other business combinations. CFO and now interim CEO Anup Radhakrishnan will take charge of these negotiations. -
After a patient taking the Duchenne muscular dystrophy gene therapy Elevydis died of liver injury, Sarepta will update the label to reflect the safety signal. -
The gene therapy world is in turmoil, but Arbor, armed with more than $1 billion in partnerships and raises, is going forward. -
AstraZeneca has recently been investing heavily in the cell therapy space, including two acquisitions for TeneoTwo and Gracell Biotechnologies. -
Dyne is eyeing an accelerated approval filing for DYNE-251 in early 2026 that would pit the asset against Sarepta’s Exondys 51 in a patient population amenable to exon 51 skipping.
