While a win for consumers, the regulatory action did nothing to stem the manufacture of compounded versions of the popular obesity drugs that are made by Novo Nordisk and Eli Lilly. In fact, the FDA seems to be signaling that “some level of compounded product is acceptable,” according to BMO Capital Markets.
Shares of Rapport Therapeutics popped Monday morning after Phase IIa data for RAP-219 exceeded analyst and Wall Street expectations, reducing seizures by almost 78% in patients with drug-resistant focal onset seizures.
Ivonescimab elicited better overall survival in Asian patients with non-small cell lung cancer than in those from North America and European countries, in Western countries narrowly missing the statistical significance threshold the FDA is seeking.
KER-0193 is a modulator of ion channels connected to autism spectrum disorder. The FDA bestowed orphan drug and rare pediatric drug designations on the candidate earlier this year.
According to analysts, the new data could present a path to accelerated approval for ifinatamab deruxtecan, a product of Merck and Daiichi Sankyo’s troubled ADC partnership.
The World Health Organization’s Essential Medicines list guides high-level procurement and coverage decisions for over 150 countries.
FEATURED STORIES
Regulations aiming to lower the cost of vital medicines will instead end up restricting access and disincentivizing R&D.
Capricor Therapeutics met with the FDA last week for a type A meeting, during which CEO Linda Marbán aimed to explain to the regulator that it got it wrong. Capricor plans to resubmit the application based on deramiocel’s existing dataset.
The Trump administration’s ever-changing tariffs and Most Favored Nation drug pricing are part of a blizzard of unclear, potentially illegal tactics that leave observers throwing their hands in the air.
Drugs are being invented and manufactured right here in the U.S. by Americans, for Americans. So why doesn’t the industry hold the same respect as steelworkers or other all-American pursuits?
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.
A new study in JAMA contradicts a series of statements made by HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. that paint vaccine advisory committees at the CDC and FDA as hopelessly corrupt.
FROM BIOSPACE INSIGHTS
Join our webinar to explore strategies, best practices, and the evolving landscape of QARA in today’s dynamic market.
LATEST PODCASTS
In this episode presented by IQVIA, BioSpace’s head of insights Lori Ellis discusses the evolving role of local qualified persons for pharmacovigilance with Ana Pedro Jesuíno, global head local QPPV network at IQVIA.
Around 3,500 FDA employees received termination emails; FDA Commissioner Marty Makary suggests lowering industry user fees and tying review times to drug prices; the regulator opens its trove of complete response letters in the name of transparency; and two companies receive rejections for rare disease therapies.
In this bonus episode, BioSpace’s Vice President of Marketing Chantal Dresner and Careers Editor Angela Gabriel take a look at Q2 job market performance, layoffs and wider employment trends and policies impacting the biopharma workforce.
Job Trends
In a recent BioSpace LinkedIn poll, nearly half of respondents predicted the job market won’t turn around until 2027 or later. It’s easy to see why people are skeptical, especially when you consider recent hiring activity and layoffs.
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SPECIAL EDITIONS
In this deep dive BioSpace analyzes the neuropsychedelic therapeutics pipeline, which grabbed headlines in February when the FDA accepted the New Drug Application for Lykos Therapeutics’ MDMA capsules for PTSD.
In this deep dive, BioSpace takes a closer look at the drug price crisis in the U.S. As President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump gear up for a rematch in the 2024 election, we explore how federal reforms to lower costs could be leveraged on the campaign trail.
The job response rate has risen year over year, according to BioSpace data, indicating competition for roles posted on our website has increased.
DEALS
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Why did two private equity firms with more than $460 billion under management want a little old gene therapy biotech called bluebird bio? We wanted to know. -
Big Pharmas like Eli Lilly, Sanofi and Novartis headed back to the dealmakers table multiple times, with 32 total deals counted across the industry for the first half. -
The rise of monoclonal antibodies brought back hope for stalling or reversing the devastating neurodegenerative disease. Big Pharma has taken notice with a handful of high-value deals, GlobalData reports. -
Jefferies analysts called the proxy filing, which is a standard disclosure after a merger agreement, “much more intriguing than normal” given the regulatory turmoil it revealed. -
Minovia’s lead product is MNV-201, an autologous hematopoietic stem cell product that is enriched with allogeneic mitochondria.
WEIGHT LOSS
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Eli Lilly’s orforglipron cut body weight to a lesser extent than rival Novo Nordisk’s semaglutide, falling into analysts’ bear scenario for the oral med. Executives brushed off the concerns and said the drug will still have a wide advantage on the market. -
Terns, once a rising star in obesity and the MASH space, will refocus on cancer and partner out a handful of obesity assets. -
Maziar Mike Doustdar, who was named as Novo Nordisk’s new CEO last week, spoke on a second quarter earnings call of reallocating resources to the company’s “main core” of metabolic disease. -
George Tidmarsh takes over temporarily at CBER following Vinay Prasad’s abrupt departure; Replimmune trial leaders protest rejection reportedly driven by FDA’s top cancer regulator Richard Pazdur; Merck’s $3 billion savings push claims 6,000 jobs; and Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla addresses President Donald Trump’s new threats around Most Favored Nation drug pricing. -
Earlier this year, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services scrapped a previous proposal, from the Biden administration, to include anti-obesity medications in Medicare Part D coverage.
POLICY
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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. -
The move comes after Robert F. Kennedy Jr. received pressure from the Children’s Health Defense, an anti-vaccine non-profit that he co-founded, which last month sued him over his failure to run the “statutorily required Task Force on childhood vaccine,” according to the lawsuit. -
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. -
As Trump has pressured drugmakers to lower the cost of medicines in the U.S., the pharma industry has coalesced behind a message of rebalancing what nations pay to better reflect the innovation and value of drugmaking. -
The HHS secretary recently canceled $500 million worth of BARDA contracts around mRNA vaccine research. But the U.S. government has already spent billions on this work, which has saved millions of lives.
Check out five New York companies hiring biopharma professionals like you, including 2025 Best Places to Work winners.
Plus, communication errors that cost job offers and how to craft a LinkedIn “About” section
Year-over-year BioSpace data shows there are fewer job postings live on the website and far more competition for them.
At Johns Hopkins University, the biomedical engineering program’s Design Team offering lets undergraduates dive deep into clinical projects that can help them land industry jobs, get provisional patents or even start companies.
Not everyone who completes a life sciences Ph.D. wants to continue working in a laboratory or in research. If this is the case for you, here are 12 careers for Ph.D. life scientists outside of the lab.
Candidates looking to enter biotech should focus on cultivating key skills, thoughtfully crafting their resumes and putting their best, most authentic foot forward in interviews. An internship, co-op or fellowship won’t hurt, either.
HOTBEDS
REPORTS
This labor market report examines Q3 life science job market trends and the recruitment outlook for Q4 and beyond.
BioSpace surveyed life sciences employers to understand attitudes and current trends on AI usage in recruiting. This report explores the benefits of using AI tools in recruitment and provides practical recommendations for HR and talent acquisition professionals to leverage AI effectively. Concurrently, this report highlights the challenges and risks of using these tools without critical thought and intention.
As competition for life sciences talent peaks, BioSpace has undertaken research to determine what employers can do to ensure they don’t lose out on talent they actually want to hire and retain.
CANCER
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Second-quarter earnings come amid many high-level challenges for the biopharma industry. How will these five closely watched biotechs fare? -
The new target action date for Blenrep, which GSK is proposing for the second-line treatment of relapsed or refractory multiple myeloma, is Oct. 23. -
The latest round of terminations, which will take effect Sept. 15, comes after Genentech fired more than 500 employees in the last 15 months. -
Dispatch seeks to address two main challenges of immunotherapies in solid tumors: the lack of a target and the immunosuppressive tumor environment. -
BMO Capital Markets pointed to FDA leadership, and CBER Director Vinay Prasad in particular, as potential factors in the agency’s decision to issue a complete response letter for Replimune’s viral treatment RP1 for advanced melanomas. Shares of the company tumbled 75% on Tuesday.
NEUROSCIENCE
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Long-term extension data presented at the Alzheimer’s Association International Conference showed amyloid plaque reaccumulation remained slow at up to 2.5 years of follow-up in patients who were taken off of treatment with Eli Lilly’s anti-amyloid antibody. -
Long-term data presented at the Alzheimer’s Association International Conference show Leqembi can help patients stay in the earlier stages of Alzheimer’s disease as compared to the condition’s natural progression. -
Sarepta’s Elevidys is back on the market for ambulatory patients with Duchenne muscular dystrophy, Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. reportedly plans to dissolve the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force and “fix” the vaccine injury compensation program, Merck, AstraZeneca and more report Q2 earnings, Novo names a new leader and Roche’s trontinemab impresses at AAIC25.
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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. -
Despite the failure of its Recognify-partnered inidascamine, Jefferies analysts do not expect a definitively negative stock impact on atai, given the company’s promising psychedelic pipeline.
CELL AND GENE THERAPY
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Sarepta Therapeutics’ stock has dropped precipitously as questions swirl around the safety of its gene therapies. Meanwhile, the Duchenne patient community fears losing access to Elevidys while the regulator considers more drastic action. -
After initially refusing to suspend Elevidys distribution after two deaths, Sarepta has now given in to the FDA’s request, noting the need to maintain a good working relationship with the regulator. -
In light of recent patient deaths, the FDA has also revoked its platform designation for Sarepta’s AAVrh74 technology. The designation, granted last month, was the first of its kind to be announced publicly. -
Amid a season of regulatory and scientific advances, experts reveal a culture of data hoarding among cell and gene therapy developers that is reinforcing fragmentation, stalling innovation and delaying access to treatments. -
Following the death of two teenage patients with Duchenne muscular dystrophy following Elevidys treatment, Sarepta Therapeutics adds a black box warning to the gene therapy for acute liver injury and failure and parts with more than a third of employees.
