VectorY Therapeutics will evaluate the use of SHP-DB1, a capsid developed by Shape Therapeutics, to deliver therapies to the brain, including VectorY’s developmental Huntington’s and Alzheimer’s disease treatments.
This year, Novo Nordisk and Merck announced significant layoffs, with Novo planning to axe about 9,000 employees and Merck projecting it could let go of roughly 6,000. Meanwhile, Bayer, Bristol Myers Squibb, Novartis and Pfizer have also made noteworthy cuts.
In this episode of Denatured, BioSpace’s head of insights Lori Ellis and Colin Zick, partner at Foley Hoag LLP, spend time discussing some of the points brought up in the Bioprocessing Summit last month. They explore the connections between hammers, AI, The Planet of the Apes and monoliths.
Both BMS and Novo Nordisk have, in recent months, announced steep layoffs as they strive to cut back on costs.
Brepocitinib remains “ahead of competition” in the dermatomyositis space, according to analysts at Leerink, who projected that the drug candidate could hit $2 billion in sales in 2032.
During a hearing in front of the Senate’s HELP committee, Susan Monarez addressed her controversial firing and recalled a conversation where Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. allegedly said that “CDC employees were killing children and they don’t care.”
FEATURED STORIES
While Eli Lilly’s orforglipron is top of mind heading into the European Association for the Study of Diabetes meeting this week, experts told BioSpace the conference will also provide important insights into the therapeutic benefits of incretin therapies beyond weight loss.
On the FDA’s docket for the back half of September is Merck’s proposed subcutaneous formulation of its blockbuster cancer drug Keytruda.
As Novo Nordisk cuts 9,000 people from its organization in a restructuring effort, BioSpace looks back on the Danish pharma company’s rise.
Suddenly one obesity asset has come to define Amgen but executives see a fuller portfolio that will bring the big biotech into the future.
Contingent value rights are rising in a down market, helping to close the gap between buyer and seller expectations in biotech transactions.
Executives at Novartis have not been shy about a desire to buy more companies, with cardiovascular a big focus. In total, the Swiss pharma has put $17.23 billion on the line in M&A and licensing deals this year.
LATEST PODCASTS
Closely watched data from Eli Lilly and Viking Therapeutics this month have reignited the discussion around oral weight-loss drugs—and their ultimate place within the anti-obesity medication market.
In this episode presented by Cresset, BioSpace’s head of insights Lori Ellis discusses clinical trial fail rates and AI’s potential to reduce preclinical costs with Mutlu Dogruel, VP of AI and Mark Mackey, CSO of Cresset.
A draft copy of an upcoming MAHA report reveals a strategy in lockstep with recent HHS actions such as reviving the Task Force on Safer Childhood Vaccines; Viking Therapeutics reports robust efficacy from mid-stage oral obesity candidate but is tripped up by tolerability concerns; Novo Nordisk wins approval for Wegovy in MASH; and Lilly takes a pricing stand.
Job Trends
Companies sometimes miss the mark when it comes to telling employees they’re out of a job. From accidental goodbyes to surprise meetings, there are many strange ways biopharma professionals have learned about layoffs.
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SPECIAL EDITIONS
In this deep dive, BioSpace explores the diverse therapeutic modalities now in development, as well as the opportunities and battles for market dominance in this emerging space.
Year-over-year BioSpace data show there were fewer job postings live on the website in the fourth quarter of 2024, and the decrease was higher than the third quarter’s drop.
The J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference started off with a flurry of deals that reinvigorated excitement across the biopharma industry. Johnson & Johnson moved to acquire Intra-Cellular Therapies for $14.6 billion, breaking a dealmaking barrier that kept Big Pharma’s 2024 biotech buyouts to under $5 billion.
DEALS
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Sarepta’s troubles had nothing to do with Arrowhead’s assets, and yet both companies have seen their stock prices decline this past month. BioSpace caught up with Arrowhead’s Chris Anzalone to talk about the biotech’s role as an RNAi pipeline savior. -
Out-licensing drugs to multinational corporations is a natural step for Chinese biotechs, but the recent rise in deals is only scratching at the surface of partnership-ready biotechs in the region. -
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. -
The collaboration focuses on ‘molecular gates,’ a class of molecules that the startup company Gate Bioscience says can stop pathogenic proteins from leaving the cell.
WEIGHT LOSS
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The World Health Organization’s Essential Medicines list guides high-level procurement and coverage decisions for over 150 countries. -
Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. will appear before the Senate Finance Committee Thursday, ahead of a vaccine advisory committee meeting later in September. Meanwhile, deal-making appetite appears healthy, and the weight loss space continues generating clinical data and other news. -
Novo Nordisk’s Wegovy has been on a winning streak as of late, with a metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis approval last month and prime position in the oral obesity race. -
While Eli Lilly’s orforglipron is full speed ahead for a regulatory filing this year, the pharma is also pushing forward with one more Phase II study of naperiglipron, which uses the same scaffold as Pfizer’s failed obesity drugs danuglipron and lotiglipron. -
In December 2024, Teva also secured FDA approval for the other liraglutide brand Victoza, indicated for type 2 diabetes.
POLICY
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President Donald Trump is considering tariff exemptions for certain “non-patented” pharmaceuticals, though the White House has yet to release specific guidelines. -
A draft executive order obtained by The New York Times purports to clamp down on the pharmaceutical industry’s ability to buy new molecules from biotechs based in China, along with a number of other proposed reforms. -
New draft guidelines suggest the FDA is open to exercising regulatory flexibility for non-opioid drugs being developed for chronic pain. -
Former CDC director Susan Monarez and former chief medical officer Debra Houry will appear in front of the Senate HELP Committee on Sept. 17. -
In a livestreamed meeting Tuesday afternoon, Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. drew a dark portrait of the state of America’s health while addressing the MAHA Commission’s most recent report, which includes plans to research potential links between vaccines and rising rates of chronic disease.
Learn about making the most of interview feedback, navigating bonus clawbacks and networking for niche roles.
Layoffs leave more than empty desks—they leave uncertainty, guilt and anxiety. Three simple steps will help you regain control of your work, well-being and career.
As they navigate a competitive job market, biopharma professionals are making four key interview mistakes, according to two talent acquisition experts. They discuss those errors and offer tips for how to get those critical conversations right.
Executive coaches can help executives take their game to the next level in four key ways, from improving their self-awareness to reshaping their thinking.
A BioSpace LinkedIn poll found that job ghosting and ghost jobs are the biggest pet peeves for applicants now. Recruitment Manager Greg Clouse offers advice on dealing with them.
Plus, how to use your network effectively and create job opportunities before they exist
HOTBEDS
REPORTS
The 9% average salary increase from 2023 to 2024 was the largest for life sciences professionals since 2021. Several factors could be behind the spike, including companies providing higher pay because bonuses and stock compensation went down.
Landing a job remains challenging for life sciences professionals, according to a new BioSpace report. While 59% of surveyed organizations are actively recruiting, nearly half of unemployed survey respondents had been out of work for at least six months, and 20% of surveyed employers expect to lay off employees this year.
Year-over-year BioSpace data shows there are fewer job postings live on the website and far more competition for them.
CANCER
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Krystal Biotech’s decision follows the FDA’s rejection last month of Replimune’s RP1, which works similarly to Krystal Biotech’s KB707. The biotech said this has introduced “heightened uncertainty” regarding a potential accelerated pathway for the candidate. -
The FDA recommends that companies use overall survival as a primary endpoint for clinical trials where feasible. The new guidance follows the surprising return of CBER Head Vinay Prasad, who has previously argued for prioritizing OS. -
The platform strategy of using one molecule to target an underlying biological pathway to address many different diseases can be a goldmine for smaller companies. But it also has a unique set of challenges. -
VantAI will use its machine learning capabilities to identify novel target-effector pairs that Halda can use in designing its bifunctional small-molecule drugs. -
The Department of Health and Human Services’ mRNA pullback only applies to their use in upper respiratory disease, according to Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
NEUROSCIENCE
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The reprioritization effort will help AC Immune extend its cash runway through the third quarter of 2027. -
Some of the biggest SPACs from the industry’s pandemic-fueled heyday are no longer on the market. -
Novartis is licensing ARO-SNCA, a preclinical siRNA therapy for synucleinopathies, a group of neurodegenerative disorders including Parkinson’s disease. -
While the approval of Leqembi Iqlik bodes well for Biogen and Eisai’s planned application for a subcutaneous induction regimen next year, its financial impact remains “uncertain,” as potentially higher revenues from the injection could be offset by steeper costs of production, according to Jefferies. -
After a demoralizing period punctuated by the withdrawal of one of the few marketed therapies for ALS, investment in new biotechs, state-backed collaborative initiatives and buzz at BIO2025 suggest a new day in drug development for one of medicine’s most intractable diseases.
CELL AND GENE THERAPY
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In late May, a patient died after receiving Rocket Pharmaceuticals’ investigational gene therapy for Danon disease, spurring the hold. After lowering the dose and changing the regimen of immune modulators patients receive, the company has received FDA clearance for the trial to continue. -
The FDA has postponed its decision date for Regenxbio’s Hunter syndrome gene therapy to review additional longer-term clinical data for the asset. -
Kriya is advancing a host of gene therapies for a wide variety of chronic diseases, including geographic atrophy, trigeminal neuralgia and type 1 diabetes. -
Prasad Returns, Delany Departs, Lilly’s Weight Loss Pill Disappoints and Sarepta’s Fallout ContinuesCBER Chief Vinay Prasad reclaimed his job less than two weeks after his mysterious exit; MAHA implementor Gray Delany is out after reportedly sparring with other agency officials over communications strategy; Eli Lilly’s first Phase III readout for oral obesity drug orforglipron missed analyst expectations; and Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals addresses the recent woes of its of partner Sarepta.
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Jefferies analysts said these detailed safety outcomes confirm the gene therapy’s positive risk/benefit profile in ambulatory patients with Duchenne muscular dystrophy.
